Last week’s soloists for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion were not only the same soloists for Saturday’s St. John Passion, they were the chorus too! That meant there were only two singers per part, and the orchestra outnumbered the chorus. Pacific Music Works’ presentation of the St. John Passion was held in the smaller Nordstrom Recital… Read More St. John Passion
We are in the Pacific Northwest, and since the weather seemed unusually nice for this time of year, decided to visit Victoria, BC. We stayed overnight in Port Angeles then took an early morning ferry to Victoria. Of course no trip to a new city is complete without visiting the local cathedral, so after a… Read More A day in Victoria
We are presently in Port Angeles, WA, Carl Crosier’s boyhood home during his formative years. In addition to driving past his family’s former house (which his father built and designed), we made a special effort to visit Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, which was key to Carl’s becoming a church musician. It so happened that Carl’s… Read More Roots
The Flentrop organ at St. Mark’s is Peter Hallock’s legacy. On Sunday morning we took Peter Hallock to St. Mark’s Cathedral where he had been the church musician for decades. No sooner had we walked in the door and we were besieged with people wanting to come up to greet him. Mel Butler, the organist… Read More Sunday at St. Mark’s
And even if you’re not, perhaps you would like to know about a special concert this Friday: The Sacred & the Avant-Garde Joey Fala, organist Friday, February 28 7:00 pm First United Presbyterian Church 1915 Fifth Avenue Troy, NY. 12180 Program: Te Deum (Jeanne Demessieux) Chant de paix (Jean Langlais) Litanies (Jehan Alain) Choral dorien… Read More If you are in New York
We are in Seattle mostly to visit family and friends, and were very excited to learn that we would be able to attend the performances of both Bach Passions (St. Matthew and St. John) on subsequent weekends. According to the program notes, conductor Ludovic Morlot wanted to present “the best version of the piece that can be done with… Read More Superb performance at Benaroya Hall
Yesterday we were in Tacoma, WA, and took in an all-Bach organ recital at Christ Episcopal Church, where we heard Tomoko Miyamoto from Ferris University in Yokohama, Japan, play selections from Bach’s Clavierübung III, the German organ mass. The tracker organ is by John Brombaugh and is in a lovely acoustic. We found out about the concert through… Read More Bach in Tacoma
Carl and I are in the Seattle area for the next two weeks visiting special friends, and of course, many are people whom we have met through our music. We are staying with our business partner, composer Peter Hallock, who at age 89 is still as sharp as a tack, but doesn’t get out as… Read More Reconnecting with Northwest friends
No, this time we’re not getting ready to perform Bach, this week we are getting ready to listen to Bach. Carl and I are in the Pacific Northwest visiting family and friends and have been listening to Gustav Leonhardt‘s recording of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion while we have been driving around in the car. On… Read More Getting ready for Bach
Ordinarily I refrain from identifying children in this blog, but when this girl’s parents posted this video to YouTube, I figured that it’s okay. (And I got specific permission as well.) The video is of eight-year-old Sophia Stark, daughter of violinist Darel Stark and soprano Georgine Stark, who won the Hawaii Stars Vocal Competition, Keiki Division, for… Read More Like mother, like daughter