Thirty-five years ago today Carl Crosier and I stood before the altar at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and pledged our love and commitment to each other. Today is our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary and it seems hardly possible that so many years have gone by, so many musical productions, so many notes! Yesterday I played… Read More 35 years of blessings
Way back in April, I wrote a post called “An embarrassment of riches” and described the musical treasures at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu— its two Beckerath organs, two harpsichords, two sets of handbells, Grotrien grand piano, etc. — but that its greatest resource was its people. Over the years we have been blessed to… Read More A joyful reunion
We’ve scarcely been home for a couple of days, and trying to adjust to the 12-hour time difference between Hawaii and Europe, and we’ll soon have to think about traveling again. As Vice President of Region 4 of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, I have been on the committee to plan the regional conference,… Read More A family affair
Absolutely the highlight of our Milan tour was the viewing of Leonard da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” We have all seen countless reproductions of the image but to see the painting in person is truly breathtaking. Up close the colors look quite faded and subtle, but the further back you stand, the colors become more and… Read More Da Vinci’s Last Supper
Early this morning we checked out of the hotel and took the train to Milan. Even though we have Eurail passes, we were smart to book a reservation online because the high speed train was completely full. The ride was very nice and at one point our speed reached 300 km/hour. We checked into the… Read More On to Milan
Carl had wanted to revisit San Marco and was willing to stand in the long lines to get in, but after waiting for over an hour to take a bus from where we were staying in Mestre on the mainland, we gave up and went on to our next destination. We found out later that… Read More Fabulous Florence
We are now in Venice, Italy and it has been unbearably hot and humid (37 deg. C and 80% humidity) Thank goodness our hotel is comfortably air conditioned, but even five minutes outdoors leaves you dripping wet. Yesterday afternoon we had a three hour combination boat and walking tour so you can imagine how glad… Read More Basilica San Marco, Venice
Today Hans and Christiane took us sightseeing, and the day was gorgeous, following a thunder and lightning storm during the night. After a delicious German breakfast, we took off for the German Alps and after a gondola ride to the top of the mountain Herzogstand, we had a most spectacular view of the panorama below.… Read More The highest beauty
All along our 500 km journey, our host, Hans-Ulrich Erbslöh, kept phoning the office at St. Ludwig’s in Munich to see if we could see the organ there. Apparently it being Monday, it was both the pastor’s and the organist’s day off, but the secretary kept trying to reach them. By the time we reached… Read More St. Ludwig’s, Munich
We left Leipzig about 9 am with our friends, Hans-Ulrich Erslöh and his wife, Christiane, with whom we will spend the next two days. You may remember that Hans was the apprentice to Rudolf von Beckerath when the LCH organ was installed in 1975, and Hans has come back to Hawaii many times ever since.… Read More Bamberger Dom