[Apologies! My original post stated May 4th! That is because I heard so many ‘May the Fourth be with you’ jokes today!] This Sunday, May 7th, is Good Shepherd Sunday and is so named because of the Gospel reading of the day—the story of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, willing to lay down his life… Read More Good Shepherd Sunday
By this time Sunday, May 7th, I will have sat on six different organ benches (and maybe even seven!) in the course of my week. Oh, not all of them are large pipe organs, but it just goes to show you that within the course of a week, I play musical benches! Last Sunday, I was… Read More Musical benches
I just put clean sheets on the bed for a houseguest this week, Patricia Halverson, viola da gamba player, who is coming to Honolulu as part of the trio called Chatham Baroque. The players also include Andrew Fouts, baroque violin; and Scott Pauley, archlute and baroque guitar. Sponsored by Early Music Hawaii, the concert will be Saturday, May… Read More One of Pittsburgh’s greatest treasures
For the next two Sundays, I am playing the organ for Karl Bachman at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) while he is visiting family on the mainland. As I began practicing the music for the liturgy, I got a real sense of déjà vu. That is because the music that is being sung for the Ordinary… Read More Lutheran déjà vu
If you live in Hawaii, maybe you’ve attended concerts at the Doris Duke Theater at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Or perhaps you’ve visited Shangri-La, Doris Duke’s home in Hawaii which is now a museum of Islamic art. Check out Wikipedia to read: “Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American heiress, socialite, horticulturalist,… Read More The Duke connection
This afternoon was my turn at Hawaii Public Radio’s semi-annual fund drive, and I deliberately chose a time at which I would normally be listening: Fred Child’s Performance Today. Seems that in my busy schedule, I always seem to be driving around at that hour, and am able to enjoy the live performances which are featured.… Read More What a coincidence!
I’ve just come home after the “Motets and Cantatas” concert by the Oahu Choral Society Chamber Choir, and I must say that I heard some fantastic singing tonight. Tonight was the Chamber Choir’s debut, consisting of only 22 singers out of the larger OCS ensemble. The tone of the choir was light and agile, the… Read More A weekend of incredible singing
Operation Babylift. If you are as old as I am (ahem!), you probably have heard the term “Operation Babylift.” But if you’re still a spring chicken, and aren’t old enough to know what it was, I can tell you that it was the name of a mass evacuation of children at the end of the Vietnam War in… Read More Operation Babylift
For me, it wasn’t Easter until I was able to play the Easter hymn, “Jesus Christ is risen today,” which didn’t happen until Easter Tuesday when I played the Easter Eucharist for the St. Andrew’s Schools. I sang the hymn when I attended Easter Day mass at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church to hear my organ student,… Read More Easter Tuesday
Quick study Bach. There’s an oxymoron for you. Why, just recently I heard myself saying to a student, “You cannot cram Bach! It just doesn’t work!” That is, when I’ve heard people try to learn a work of Bach on short notice, more often than not, they panic and the performance falls apart. Believe me, unfortunately… Read More Quick study Bach