Fifteen years ago, I was absolutely blown away by a ten-year-old boy who had taught himself how to play the organ—he had downloaded Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” from the Internet, and played the pedals with both feet. All that before he had had any formal organ lessons! I discovered he had an… Read More Raw musical talent
I had already purchased my ticket to the Hawaii Opera Theatre’s production of “Three Decembers,” starring the great Frederica Von Stade, and was looking forward to being able to walk to the Hawaii Theatre (which is only two blocks from my condo), when I read Steven Mark’s review in today’s newspaper. It was an exceptional… Read More Three Decembers
It’s been three days since Joey Fala’s triumphant concert last Sunday, and people are still commenting and raving about his performance to me. Last Friday, Karl Bachman, the Dean of the local Hawaii Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, arranged for Joey to be interviewed by Gene Schiller of Hawaii Public Radio. Joey certainly… Read More Organist on the radio!
That’s what Iolani School teacher Lisa Preston posted about Joey Fala’s concert last night. “It was positively glorious! What a treat to hear this; if you’re not a fan of organ music, he’d convert you for sure. I was his class adviser for six years, and now he’s all grown up and the rock star… Read More The rock star of the organ world!
My heart is full of joy after tonight’s concert which was the culmination of a fifteen year journey that the community of Honolulu has taken with Joey Fala, a kid whose passion for the pipe organ led his fifth grade homeroom teacher to speak to me about it that many years ago. “Kathy, you have… Read More Beautiful program, beautifully played
Last night I hosted (with the help of the Executive Board) the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists on the eighth floor party facility of my building. It was a welcome home reception for our homeboy, Joey Fala, whose passion for the pipe organ began when he was in preschool at Holy Nativity in Aina Haina, and… Read More Our homeboy, Joey
Tonight I went to the Church of the Crossroads where I attended a memorial service for Frances Viglielmo, a former soprano in the Lutheran Church of Honolulu choir. I mentioned her name once before in my blog post called “Blue and red“, when I wrote about the “defectors”— singers who sang at St. Andrew’s Cathedral for… Read More Aloha, Frances
From time to time, I have written posts about organists being a dying breed—we are few and far between, and going the way of the dodo bird. Fewer students learn how to play the organ, and it’s just not possible to pick up the instrument “in ten easy lessons”—it takes years of commitment and practice.… Read More The real unsung heroes
Shhhh! Don’t tell Joey! This was a title of an email I sent to Bob Alder and Rick Mazurowski, two members of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists who live on the Big Island and in charge of Joey Fala’s recital at the Higashi Hongwanji Mission, March 12th. You see, I really wasn’t… Read More Secret mission
Today the Hawaii Tribune-Herald newspaper on the Big Island published a story by Katie Young Yamanaka about our homeboy, Joey Fala, and his upcoming recital at the Higashi Hongwanji Mission, Sunday, March 12th at 3:00 pm. I was surprised that Joey came up with the same analogy as I have previously written about, particularly in regards… Read More Like going into someone else’s kitchen