I can’t believe it! What a terrible loss! That was my first reaction when I read the news on FaceBook about the death of Yoshi Nishimura, considered THE piano technician in Honolulu. Chances are, not many people in the pews and the concert hall audiences knew about this quiet, unassuming man. But I dare say… Read More Aloha, Yoshi
This Sunday is Reformation, one of my favorite Lutheran festivals in the whole church year because it’s a day that I inevitably play Bach. I’ll be playing Bach’s Prelude in E minor, BWV 548a for the prelude and the Prelude and Fugue in E minor (“Cathedral”) BWV 533 for the postlude. During communion, I’ll be… Read More Bach to basics for Reformation
I don’t know whether it’s the fact that we live on an island, or whether it’s a sign of modern life, but it seems like we are always saying ‘goodbye’ to someone. Certainly over the years, the personnel in the choir has changed greatly, as well as the people in the congregation. Some of those… Read More Always saying goodbye
No, that’s not a typo. I’m referring to Jakob Handl (1550-1591), also known as Jacobus Gallus and even Jacobus Handelius, a Slovenian composer who wrote a lot of sacred music and whose music the LCH choir is singing this Sunday. Named Jakob Petelin at birth (meaning “rooster”), Handl used the Latin form of his name… Read More “Handl” with care
No visit to the Northwest would be complete without a visit with composer Peter Hallock, which is exactly what we did a couple of weeks ago when we went for a family funeral. The weekend we were there, Peter had just completed a most prestigious commission — a new anthem called “Advent Calendar” which will… Read More A visit with Peter Hallock
Part of what made the past Gabrieli concert so nerve-wracking and challenging was the fact that as the continuo organist I didn’t have a written-out part. You may remember in previous posts that I wrote about the basso continuo having to read from “figured bass,” a kind of musical shorthand. However, in most of this… Read More Open score Gabrieli
What a week itʻs been! but now that it’s Monday as I write this, we can feel the afterglow of the Glorious Gabrieli concert on September 29th, which on all accounts, was a glorious success. A bunch of LCHers were either involved in the concert (Darel & Georgine Stark, Karyn Castro, Jeremy Wong, Miguel Felipe,… Read More Glorious Gabrieli was glorious!
One of my favorite choral anthems will be sung by the LCH Choir this week but unfortunately we’ll be in Bremerton, WA, celebrating the life of Carl’s stepfather, Edwin Runquist, who died last weekend. The anthem will be “The Lamb,” by contemporary British composer, John Tavener (b. 1944), and you can view a YouTube video… Read More The Lamb
If you’re like me, you are completely dependent on your electronic gadgets — computers, smartphones, tablets, etc. So you can imagine what angst I felt when I realized that I had left my iPad in a restaurant. And it wasn’t a fine dining restaurant either — it was a Subway restaurant in the heart of… Read More There are still good people
As many of you know, I have a special interest in teaching the organ to young children, and over the years can count at least 8 four-year-olds who I’ve started on the organ. So it was with great interest that I read a fascinating post on the New York Times blog about the value of… Read More Perfect pitch and early music lessons