Throughout this coronavirus pandemic, the true heroes have turned out to be the unlikely: grocery clerks, gas station attendants, delivery drivers and others who you wouldn’t normally consider as people saving the world. But an organist? More specifically, an organist turned carillonneur, in the person of Joey Fala, my former student? In the March 24th,… Read More Unlikely hero
My friend from the Three Choirs Festival, Rich Arenschieldt, after reading my last post about being grateful to have an organ at home to play, observed that musicians are posting videos of themselves playing at home and sharing them on the Internet: “I love how much music is taking place and how supportive musicians are… Read More In quiet joy
It has now been one week of self-isolation and it being a beautiful day, I decided to escape the confines of my apartment to take a walk. As I walked past St. Andrew’s Cathedral, I was struck by the sight of absolutely no cars in the parking lot, something I have never seen before, especially… Read More Sunday morning and COVID-19
The next two Sundays, March 22 and 29, I was supposed to play the organ for services at Waiokeola Congregational Church … CANCELLED. I was contracted to play organ continuo for a performance of the Mozart Requiem by the Oahu Choral Society on April 4 … CANCELLED. Tom Poole at Calvary by the Sea Lutheran… Read More In the midst of a shutdown …
It happened last week, when Mark Wong came to play the service for the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, and there seemed to be a cipher (a note which sounds without being pushed down). A further investigation by Roy Helms, a member of the choir who once worked with organbuilder Paul Fritts, resulted in the discovery… Read More EEK! I smell a rat!
While the numbers of people were few, the enthusiasm was unmistakable of those who were brave enough to come out to a concert in these frightening times of the coronavirus pandemic. There was no problem keeping a “social distance” from other audience members in the large sanctuary. I’m speaking about yesterday’s absolutely phenomenal organ recital… Read More WOW! Absolutely phenomenal!
Organist Monica Czausz is in Hawaii this weekend (and is my delightful houseguest!) and when she arrived at the airport, she was greeted not only with a flower lei but also a comprehensive schedule of her time here, accounting for all of her practice time but also who was taking and picking her up from… Read More “That’s what we do”
The decision has been made, and I no longer have to wonder about how to manage not getting coronavirus while on a plane. Today I logged onto the website of my travel agent where I saw this message: Owing to the evolving COVID-19 situation and government travel advisories and restrictions, Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Costsaver, Brendan… Read More Out of my hands
Whether it’s picking the Grammy or the Oscar award winners, or even guessing how many jelly beans are in a bowl, some people have all the luck in knowing which movie is going to get Best Picture, or guessing the correct number on “The Price is Right” in order to win a dream vacation. You… Read More Picking the winners
In yesterday’s edition of the New York Times, there was a very interesting article by Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith about how coronavirus is changing church practices, “Worship in the Age of Coronavirus: Prayer, Elbow Bumps, Hand Sanitizer:” Fear of the coronavirus has rippled across the country and directly into places of worship. Religious leaders,… Read More Coronavirus and church culture, part two