The Peabody Consort from Baltimore is in town and stopped by Hawaii Public Radio to chat with Gene Schiller before their “Music of Three Faiths” concerts for Early Music Hawaii this weekend: Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 pm at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu; and Sunday, Nov. 12 at 3:30 on the Big Island at… Read More Musica exotica
I thought that when I stopped playing Japanese weddings I would get my holidays back. (Japanese weddings are scheduled 7 days a week, and holidays such as Thanksgiving are not observed.) I thought that when I retired from church music, I would get my weekends and holidays back. I thought when I retired from Iolani… Read More The life of Riley
I only spent one year in Princeton, NJ, attending graduate school at Westminster Choir College where I obtained my Master of Music degree in Organ Performance, but I daresay it had more influence on me as a musician than did five years of organ lessons in high school, a summer studying with French virtuoso Marcel… Read More A sad day
I just finished laying out the next Early Music Hawaii program called “Music of Three Faiths: Medieval Christian, Jewish and Muslim Spain,” by the Peabody Consort from Baltimore, MD. In a way it was a chance meeting that I had at the 2013 Boston Early Music Festival which led to the Hawaii concert tour for this… Read More A chance meeting …
I’m preparing my young organ students for a recital just two weeks away now, and as part of the printed program, I’m including short bios. One question I’m asking all of them is: “Out of all the musical instruments, why did you pick the organ?” The answers may surprise you! [My comments are in brackets,… Read More Why the organ?
A year ago, there was a fundraising concert at All Saints Episcopal Church in Kapa’a, Kaua’i, Hawai’i, to benefit the reconstruction of its pipe organ. Please notice that the concert was advertised as FREE, but that donations were welcomed. You may ask: But how are they going to raise money if the concert is free?… Read More Free means more?
This video from my sister, Doris, is what greeted me when I opened up Facebook this morning. (Yes, it’s my birthday, and I’m going out to dinner three different nights this week!) Of course, I recognized the organ right away from the preview picture—I didn’t need to play the video in order to confirm my… Read More Pipe organ birthday greetings
This Sunday I’ll be filling in for organist Gloria Faltstrom at Waiokeola Congregational Church (UCC), across the street from Kahala Mall. Waiokeola is a Hawaiian phrase meaning “Water of Life.” The name reflects both the Hawaiian tradition of name giving as well as the positive characteristics of the Christian faith. The name is a fitting acknowledgement of the past… Read More Another Sunday, another organ
Last night, I went to the first of the two-concert series, Echoes and Refrains, and of course, I recognized a lot of people from my life before—when I was the organist at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu for 35 years. Of course, I go to the church four days a week to teach organ lessons… Read More Ear candy
This Sunday, two of my young organists will be playing during the 8:00 am service at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. Both of them are younger than when I started the organ—I started at age thirteen, so these kids and a bunch more of my students really have a leg up on me. But just… Read More Young organists ROCK!