Ten years ago, on August 28, 2014, at 4:00 pm, the earthly life of my husband of 37 years, ended at St. Francis Hospice in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. I had been preparing for this day for months, and published this post only a few minutes later. Only Carl’s picture, no words, except for the dates… Read More Ten years ago …
I may as well titled this post, “Changing Hats.” Or how about “Juggling Balls.” Or try this one, “The Ultimate Multitasker!” It’s been quite a week! Last Saturday I was cheering on my former student, Sophia Stark, as she starred in a Disney-themed concert with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra concert at the Waikiki Shell. Sophia… Read More Switching gears
This weekend, Sophia Stark will be singing with the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra (HSO) in a concert featuring the music from Disney musicals. I believe the last post I wrote about Sophia was when she did a fundraiser for the HSO back in 2022 (“Sophia’s Night”) on her way to study at the Manhattan School of… Read More Amazing Sophia!
I think Bill Potter and I were most surprised to see so many people in the streets of Worcester — and they were not attendees of the Three Choirs Festival! It’s also possible that none of these people heard of the Three Choirs Festival or for that matter, Edward Elgar! Worcester is the home of… Read More More than a Cathedral
Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary Evensong to celebrate the founding of The American Friends of the Three Choirs Festival. Here’s what Rich Arenschieldt, chair of the American Friends, wrote: This year’s festival is a special one for the American Friends, as we celebrate our tenth anniversary. We are offering something never before done at Three… Read More 10th Anniversary Evensong
Yesterday we had the rare opportunity to tour the Nicholson & Co. Ltd Factory, a British organ factory which was founded by John Nicholson (1815–1895) in 1841. One of their most important projects is the restoration of the Gloucester Cathedral organ, which is projected to be completed in 2026, the year of the next Three… Read More ‘Norman’ is keeping watch!
In last night’s post, I neglected to write about the concert we heard after Evensong, performed by the BBC Singers. On one hand, it is a human impossibility to attend every single event of the Festival because many events occur simultaneously. On the other hand, it’s impossible to write about every single concert and every… Read More Superstars
It was maybe only a year or two ago that I was made aware of the importance of the organ in the movie, Interstellar. A friend from my Spanish class sent me a link to a YouTube video, and I listened to a short clip. At the time, I liked it but pretty much forgot… Read More Other worldly Interstellar
Maybe you’ve heard of this term before … and maybe not. Here’s what I found about this phenomenon called “musical chills” in a paper written by Emily Nusbaum and Paul Silva. Have you ever had the experience of listening to a favourite piece of music and suddenly you get a little spikey feeling running down… Read More Frisson
Yesterday was a huge day here at the Three Choirs Festival, starting with a Festival Eucharist in Worcester Cathedral where Charles Marie Widor’s Messe à deux chœurs & deux orgues was the communion setting—set for two choirs and two organs. After lunch we attended a concert by the Corvus Consort, then rushed off to Choral… Read More Saxophone Brunch and Saxophone Byrd!