When we found out that a Lei Shower and reception were going to be held on my last Sunday, needless to say our biggest disappointment was that my husband, Carl, would not be there because of his commitment to sing with the St. Andrew’s Cathedral choir. So you can imagine my delight and surprise when… Read More The best surprise
In many ways, yesterday’s 10:30 am service was just an ordinary Sunday at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. It being the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the service was preceded by our Sunday School children’s presentation of the Jesse Tree, which are lessons about the preparation of Christ’s coming, interspersed with a musical refrain. Allen Bauchle… Read More ‘An ordinary Sunday service’
bit·ter·sweet adjective being at once bitter and sweet; especially : pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering or regret Over and over again, I heard the term bittersweet in reference to my last Sunday service as Organist at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. I guess people were sad that I had come to the end… Read More Bittersweet
In my nearly 40 years of living in Hawaii, never have I heard the term “lei shower.” So you can imagine my surprise when I opened my email this afternoon and saw this message: To tell you the truth, I’d be content to sit quietly on the organ bench, with my back to to the… Read More Lei shower
By “last week” I’m not referring to the week that’s past — it is my last week as a church organist! Tomorrow night is my last Thursday night choir rehearsal. Except for vacations, I have been at a Thursday night choir practice practically my whole life! And it’s just not been at LCH; in college… Read More Last week
How many people in liturgical churches thought the appointed lessons were a tad incongruent with the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT and the slaughter of innocents? The first lesson from Zephaniah was: Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! And the second lesson was… Read More Rejoice, greatly?
For many years you could consider that the Lutheran Church of Honolulu had a composer-in-residence — Peter Hallock, whose psalmody has been sung since 1986, as well as numerous Advent processionals, grand Easter and Pentecost anthems. You may recall that a few weeks ago I wrote a post about Peter Hallock finishing a commission. A… Read More Advent Calendar
On Monday morning, I needed to drop by LCH to pick up a Christmas carol book because Carl Crosier was going to be playing the piano for a school fundraiser. I ran into the guys from Aloha Roofing (who are replacing the roof this week) patiently waiting outside the building so I opened the gates.… Read More Beware the Organ Killer!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij4sZRY79zo?rel=0] “Nun komm der Heiden Heiland,” played by Ton Koopman at St. Mary’s, Freiberg, Germany. (We heard this extraordinary organ this past summer!) If asked who my favorite composer is, I would say without hesitation, J. S. Bach. After conquering the technical challenges of playing his highly complex music, I must say that I… Read More Bach delivered me!
Last night’s Christmas concert by the St. Andrew’s Priory Choirs was a prime example of the miracle that can happen in performance — when everyone rises to the occasion and exceeds all expectations. As some of you may know, LCH’s Naomi Castro, a daughter of the congregation (I played for her parents’ wedding!) is now… Read More Rising to the occasion