“Masterful.” That was my reaction at Sunday afternoon’s organ recital by James Kealey, the winner of the 2022 American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Organ Playing. James exploited the colors of the organ, and while sometimes the registrations were a bit boisterous, his playing kept me on the edge of my seat!… Read More “Masterful”
Prizewinning organist, James Kealey, is in Hawaii to present a couple of concerts for the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists and was interviewed by Gene Schiller this morning at Hawaii Public Radio. James said that when he was growing up, he wanted to be an airline pilot, and even started studying geography in preparation… Read More James Kealey in Hawaii
Perhaps you are familiar with Michelangelo’s quote about sculpture: Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. ”– Michelangelo Peter Hallock once told us that it is the same with music and poetry. It’s the poetry which dictates what the music will sound… Read More Music and sculpture
A busman’s holiday is simply a vacation or a day off from work where the person still engages in activities similar to what they do at their regular job. In other words, it’s like a bus driver taking a holiday only to spend it driving a bus. Technically, I’m not on a busman’s holiday, because I haven’t… Read More Busman’s holiday
Tonight was the first of two Hallock at 100 concerts that I will be attending this weekend at St. Mark’s Cathedral, dubbed “The Holy Box” because of its shape like a cube. The evening began with a pre-concert conversation with Mel Butler (Peter Hallock’s immediate successor, now retired from the Cathedral and serving St. Luke’s… Read More Hallock in the Holy Box
By that I mean meeting someone in person whom you’ve only known online before! Today I met Dr. Kathleen Jobe, an emergency room physician who is in my Cada Día Spanish class. One of the regular practices of the class is to say where you zooming in from and how’s the weather, so we all… Read More Absolutely fantastic!
I went to the first hour of Thursday night choir rehearsal before I returned home to catch the 11:30 pm flight to Seattle, with a three hour layover in San Francisco. Both of my flights were early, and Scott Fikse, former Director of Music and Liturgy at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, picked me up… Read More A day with Scott
The year 2024 marks 100 years since the birth of organist, composer, liturgist and countertenor Peter R. Hallock (November 19, 1924-April 27, 2014). Even though Peter’s 100th birthday is not until November, the celebrations will take place all year, beginning with a pair of concerts this coming weekend. I will be leaving Thursday night for… Read More Hallock at 100
Yesterday I woke up to a text on my phone that our dear friend, organist and harpist Nyle Hallman, had passed away. That was confirmed in a phone call with her daughter, Kathy Hallman, who was her mother’s constant companion, page turner and harp mover. We send our deepest condolences to the Hallman family at… Read More Rest in peace, Nyle
Even though it’s been an absolute ton of work, I’m really enjoying playing the organ at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Like this past weekend: I played three services there (Friday night Candlemas, Sunday morning Solemn High Mass and Sunday afternoon Vespers and Benediction), in addition to the 9 am service at Nuuanu Congregational Church, making… Read More Sore neck no more!