Well, I saved the best for last—my visit to St. Nicholas Basilica all came about because of Joe Pettit, former Honolulu resident, organist and choirmaster. When he found out that I was going to Amsterdam, he fixed me up with Michael Hedley, who with his wife, Colleen, moved to Amsterdam in the 80s. Joe called it “hands… Read More St. Nicolas Basilica, Amsterdam
You’ll never believe it, but our tradition of inviting all of our 35th floor neighbors to a holiday party began with the St. John Passion in 2004. Carl Crosier always liked to give a party after a big performance, and even though we had just moved into our building and didn’t have any area carpets… Read More It started with the St. John Passion
On the 7+ hour flight on Lufthanza from Frankfurt to Boston, I flipped through the available entertainment channels and was pleasantly surprised to find a video of Bach’s St. John Passion performance by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle. What caught my eye in the opening credits was “staging by Peter Sellars,” and I… Read More Dramatic St. John Passion
Last week’s soloists for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion were not only the same soloists for Saturday’s St. John Passion, they were the chorus too! That meant there were only two singers per part, and the orchestra outnumbered the chorus. Pacific Music Works’ presentation of the St. John Passion was held in the smaller Nordstrom Recital… Read More St. John Passion