Today is December 22nd and for the last two weeks, it seems like Carl and I have spent every free moment typing the bulletins for this coming weekend. There are SIX bulletins/booklets to be prepared, and as of now, only three of them are finished. At this time on Monday, Carl was wailing, “Kathy —… Read More The clock is ticking . . .
On Sunday after church, the trebles (sopranos and altos) had their first rehearsal on the Christmas Day music. They will be singing Gabriel Fauré’s Messe Basse for the ordinary, plus the French carol, Il est né. (They’ll also be singing O magnum mysterium by Gerald Near for the communion, and I’m afraid I don’t know… Read More A French Christmas
A few days ago, the local Star-Advertiser newspaper ran an editorial which caught my eye. The headline was “This town needs symphony” and decried the loss of this precious cultural asset in our community. I can’t tell you how dependent we at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu have been over these many years on professional… Read More Symphonic Music at LCH
We are starting to rehearse the Praetorius Christmas Mass for Christmas Eve . . . and if you liked Monteverdi, you are going to LOVE Praetorius! Like the Monteverdi, no instructions were given by the composer as to which parts are covered by soloists and which are sung by choir. So Carl has spent many… Read More Praetorius Christmas Mass
Tomorrow morning, December 11th at 11:45 am the Lutheran Church of Honolulu Choir will give its annual Christmas concert at the Hawaii State Library. We’ve given this concert annually for many years now, ever since David Del Rocco, in the bass section, used to work there. Even though David now teaches at Punahou School, we… Read More Music in the Stacks
One of the stories in the news today is an article on how music can affect you in such a way as to give you chills. Quoting from the article, “Musical chills, write the authors from the University of North Carolina, are “sometimes known as aesthetic chills, thrills, shivers, frisson, and even skin orgasms [who… Read More Messiah gives you chills?
This is the week that was . . . sigh. Five different choirs in at least as many days! Last night (Tuesday), I had a late rehearsal with the Honolulu Handbell Ensemble at St. Theresa’s, which is performing with the Hawaii Sacred Choir on Saturday. Then this afternoon, I was at home working on a… Read More Five Choirs in Five Days!
A few weeks ago, we went into an art gallery at Aloha Tower Marketplace and I saw an especially striking and memorable painting. The artist depicted scenes in which real people are “shadowed” by important figures in their history. I remember one particular painting in which there is a young child with her teacher at… Read More Mr. Regnal Hall, 1926-2010
Today a number of people at church mentioned that they had seen my name in yesterday’s newspaper. In a story about the newly-formed Hawaii Sacred Choir, I was listed as the organist for this group which will debut next Saturday, December 11th, in their 3pm concert at St. Theresa’s Cathedral. Yes, it’s true, and I… Read More The Part Time Church Musician
After a super busy weekend filled with rehearsals and the TONS of music we did for Advent I and Advent Procession, “The Great ‘O’ Antiphons,” (plus Thanksgiving thrown in there), this week has no extra rehearsals or concerts and is somewhat of a relief. I say only, somewhat, because I finally got around to doing the… Read More The calm before the storm