The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) is an organization that Carl and I have been members of for more than twenty years. According to their website, “ALCM is a service and professional organization dedicated to strengthening the ministry of worship and music in the Lutheran church. ALCM serves through a wide range of publications,… Read More Association of Lutheran Church Musicians
Yesterday (Sunday, July 25) was a first for Carl and myself because it was the first Sunday service ever in which we were merely members of the congregation and were able to sit together. It was the 8:00 am music format, and although Carl has been participating as a singer ever since John Alexander was… Read More Aloha to the Gorman Family
It never fails . . . especially when you live in a small town (!) such as Honolulu. You simply cannot go anywhere, the grocery store, the gas station, Ala Moana, etc. without running into someone you know. It has happened to us all over the world. In 1992 when we were standing “in the… Read More It’s a small world after all!
Since it was our last day in France, we decided to go for one more adventure — to see the cathedral in Orléans, about 64 miles from our hotel in Tours. We checked out of the hotel, ate a quick breakfast and were on our way by 8:40 am. Then the fun began. Always when… Read More Orléans Cathedral and Tarte Tatin
I learned a very hard lesson today: Never trust Google Maps to find something important, like one’s hotel! We had reservations at the Ibis Hotel in the center of town, in Tours, France, and I punched in our destination into the maps app on the iPad. When we finally got to the vicinity of the… Read More Chateaux Tours from Tours
Today was a transition day, never any fun because we have to leave Paris, schlep all our luggage up and down the stairwells of the metro, get on the RER train to the Charles de Gaulle airport, then find Hertz to pick up our rental car. Getting the luggage to the Hertz rental counter was… Read More Beaugency
The weather was absolutely gorgeous when we woke up this morning with clear blue skies and a light breeze — just perfect. We had quite a long metro ride into town, including two transfers, but emerged from the subway to see the vaulted back of St Eustache straight ahead. It, like many of the churches… Read More Spectacular St Eustache and Cité de la Musique
We packed our bags and checked out of the hotel before spending the morning at McDonald’s. Our final concert was two more Graupner and Bach cantatas, again sung with stellar soloists, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon and Peter Kooij. The chorus was just 12 singers, as before, and Carl says this is the ideal number for… Read More Bach to Paris — a comedy of errors!
We started out our day at the local McDonald’s (!) only for coffee and internet access. We were unwilling to pay the $10/hr the hotel was charging, so our access to the internet has been very catch-as-catch-can in cafes. I must say, though, the McDonald’s here in Saintes is very upscale, and nicer than any… Read More Our last full day in Saintes
Up to now, we have enjoyed having our days free with the major concerts happening at night. That has left us time to do some exploring of some of the cities around Saintes. I’ve already written about our day trips to Cognac, La Rochelle and Bordeaux. I’ve been very drawn to the beautiful countryside here,… Read More Great artists, great people