Ever since I returned from my mainland trip, I have had to hit the ground running. For the last three nights I have rehearsed with the Early Music Hawaii Chamber Singers for our concert tomorrow night, 7:30 pm at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. It has made for some very long days, each beginning with… Read More Kings and Queens
This morning I’m watching the news about the big snowstorm in the Northeast—I guess I left just in the nick of time! It was the first time I took a nonstop flight directly to Honolulu from Newark—11-1/2 hours, in which I watched five movies! In case you’re wondering, no, I never sleep on flights, even… Read More In the news
Tonight was former student Joey Fala’s final graduate recital at Woolsey Hall, Yale University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree. Being here has been the greatest thrill of my life, as it must have been Joey’s greatest thrill of playing on this magnificent organ. First, about the organ: The… Read More Absolutely magnificent!
Chills ran up and down my spine as I sat in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on the Green, in Norwalk, CT, where former student, Joey Fala, is the Organ Scholar. For me hearing him play a liturgical service, masterfully improvising on the hymn tunes which either came before or after the various parts of the… Read More Sunday at St. Paul’s
When I looked at my phone after I woke up yesterday, I was horrified to read that it said 9:27 am! Thinking back, however, I have to remember that Indiana time is five hours earlier than Hawaii time, so my body thought it was only 4:27 am! “You must go to the Lilly Library,” I… Read More World-class library, museum and opera
L-R: Wendy Gillespie, Paul Elliott, Elisabeth Wright, Stanley Ritchie, Nigel North, Myron Lutzke, Aaron Sheehan and Dana Marsh
Yesterday afternoon, Patsy Fala, Joey’s mom, graciously picked me up from my downtown Honolulu apartment and drove me to the airport. My flight to Chicago left about 4:45 pm and arrived at the ungodly hour of 4:21 am Chicago time where the captain announced it was a frigid 16 degrees F.! A couple hours later… Read More A short night and a whirlwind tour
On Saturday morning I gave three organ lessons, which finished at 12:00 noon, then rushed home—my neighbor was already in the garage waiting to take me to the airport for my flight at 1:45 pm. At the last moment, I decided to fly to Los Angeles where my son and daughter-in-law held a “gender reveal”… Read More Home for one day
One of the pieces that I accompanied last Sunday at the Punahou Chapel 50th Anniversary celebration was Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” from Messiah. The piece was done at the dedication service 50 years ago, and the chaplains wanted to include it in the 50th anniversary service too. Now, you have to understand that when I am… Read More A formidable task
Cheeky. That’s how I would describe my performance of Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor yesterday at the 50th anniversary celebration of Thurston Memorial Chapel. Another way I’d describe it is: Gutsy. I say this because I bet it’s been 20 years since I’ve played this piece in public—and I only practiced it for about 4 days,… Read More Oh, THAT Toccata and Fugue!