An organ transplant is a surgical procedure that replaces a damaged or failing organ with a healthy organ from a donor. The goal of an organ transplant is to save the life of the recipient. In this case, it was to save the organ music at Nuuanu Congregational Church when the Rodgers organ began the process of… Read More Organ transplant!
Saturday’s concert by organ students has come and gone and it was a learning experience for both students and teacher alike! What I mean is that there were unexpected bumps in the road, and at other times, some exquisite moments. What was so great was hearing the wide range of experience in organ playing, from… Read More Another learning experience!
I am continually telling my organ students that when we play hymns, we are the ones taking charge … we are the leader. So it’s important to have a forward motion, like “pretending you are the Crucifer,” I sometimes say. We are the ones who lead the parade. That was absolutely impossible for me this… Read More Just above a whisper
As soon as the Christmas Day High Mass was over at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (about 12:35 pm), I raced home where I already had my suitcase packed and ready to go. My friend, Cindy Scheinert, picked me up and we headed for the airport, where I had a flight scheduled with a 2:20 boarding… Read More Out with the old!
At this time of year, you’ll hear a lot of chatter among organists and other church musicians about waiting with baited breath for “The Chord,” and everyone knows what you’re talking about! I wait for this chord all year, and even though I know it’s coming, when I sing my note and hear the chord underneath,… Read More “The Chord”
When I picked up the mail and my packages this afternoon, my heart skipped a beat when I saw that I had received a parcel from my dear friend, Joan Ishibashi, about whom I’ve written several posts on this blog. Joan was my son’s Confirmation teacher back in the day, and served as the Executive… Read More Early Christmas present!
This is the time of year where you summarize the year in terms of numbers. For example, I received these notifications from Duolingo, the foreign language app, about my progress in learning Spanish. As you can see by the above, I have an unbroken streak of 1955 days — as of November 30, 2024 when… Read More The year in numbers
I love Thanksgiving — my favorite holiday of the year. Partly it’s because I usually don’t have any services to play, and I can concentrate on decorating, cooking and enjoying food and the company of my friends. Every year I try to do something a little different, and this year I bought several new items… Read More A day of feasting
I ask my students to bring a notebook so I can write down their assignments and make suggestions for playing more accurately. I always have to smile when a particular student hands me her notebook. Here’s advice from Marilyn Monroe, and others on this subject! Insofar as playing the organ, you must know how important… Read More With the right shoes …!
It was at St. Mark’s All Saints Day service on Friday night when I heard the news. Oh, I expected and heard the name of Jeff Lilley, the long-time pastor of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, who died suddenly on October 13th just before the service. But what was a total shock was hearing the… Read More RIP Mother Jodene