It’s December 2012, and I am beginning my last month as organist of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. A number of people have asked me how I am feeling, and quite honestly, I have answered “with mixed emotions.” You may recall that in Carl Crosier’s last month as Cantor, we started ticking off the “lasts”… Read More The last month
A year ago, I wrote a post called “Countercultural Advent,” in which I expressed the idea that we in liturgical churches are really contrary to the mainstream — namely, that we don’t sing Christmas carols until Christmas Eve, and the season before Christmas — Advent —is considered a penitential season. This year we are even… Read More Countercultural Advent, take two
This past summer you may recall that we were in Thousand Oaks, CA for the Region 4 conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. The Winter 2012 newsletter was just released containing my review/blow-by-blow of the conference events. (Had I realized at the time that I was going to have to “review” the conference,… Read More Telling the Story: followup
A couple of days ago, there was a fascinating article published by CatholicPhilly.com that blamed shrinking church budgets and changing tastes for the shortage of organists. You can read the article by Beth Griffin in its entirety by clicking here. According to the article it was the Second Vatican Council in the 70s which changed… Read More Looking for organists?
I’m a morning person and even though the alarm goes off every morning at the ungodly hour of 4:50 am, I’m frequently awake before it sounds. We then head out the door and go for two-mile walk down Ala Moana Boulevard, all the way to Restaurant Row and back. So, it was a little unusual… Read More Driven to practice
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-81-7G4XHE?rel=0] Peter Klatzow’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis sung by the Commotio Choir, Oxford, directed by Matthew Berry It’s the weekend before Thanksgiving and I’m going to be working on Peter Klatzow’s “Magnificat,” which will be performed at the 38th Advent Procession on December 2nd. Carl Crosier is in Seattle to celebrate Peter Hallock’s 88th… Read More Peter Klatzow’s “Magnificat”
Last Sunday, the LCH choir sang “The Beatitudes” by Slovenian composer, Damijan Močnik (b. 1967), a new name to many of us at LCH. The piece loosely based on plainchant and somewhat reminiscent of the works of Estonian Arvo Pärt. Since it’s been a long time since I took geography, I found out that Slovenia… Read More New names, new faces
ser·en·dip·i·ty/ˌserənˈdipitē/ Noun: The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way: “a fortunate stroke of serendipity”. It was pure serendipity that on All Saints Sunday, forty-three continuous years of ministry at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu were represented by the presence of Pastors Donald K. Johnson (1969-2000), Fritz Fritschel (1990s),… Read More All Saints serendipity
Today is Election Day in America, and I know I wrote earlier that I was a political junkie, but even I will be glad to be out from under the barrage of political advertising on television, radio, newspapers, direct and electronic mail, and even social networks. There’s been no letup for months and months of… Read More Vote for me!
Okay, I admit it — I’m a political junkie and am always trying to catch up with the latest polls and the pundits, red states, blue states and battleground states. So yesterday I couldn’t resist taking a picture of several LCH choristers as they joined St. Andrew’s Cathedral choir in an evensong service in memory… Read More Red or blue?