The mission of the American Guild of Organists is to foster a thriving community of musicians who share their knowledge and inspire passion for the organ. The vision of the American Guild of Organists is to engage, support, and uplift every organist. As of July 1, I have a new responsibility—I’m the Membership Chair of… Read More My AGO peeps
A couple things have prompted me to write this post. One is that I just got my August issue of The American Organist, the official journal of the American Guild of Organists. One article in particular caught my eye: “Organists: a Dying Breed” by Rhonda Sider Edgington. She says that at first glance, things look… Read More On my soapbox
Did you see this announcement in yesterday’s Star-Advertiser? (I highlighted it, just so you could find it easier!) Yes, it’s that time again—applications for studying the organ will be coming due soon. If ever you had a hankering to play the organ, that magnificent King of Instruments, now’s your chance! I can’t imagine there is no… Read More It’s that time again
I’ve been home now for three days and am having a miserable time with jet lag. My first night, I didn’t arrive into Honolulu until 10:30 pm, and by the time I retrieved my luggage, it was after 11:00 pm when I tried to sleep. Mind you, I had been awake since 6:30 am London… Read More Duty calls …
“Undimmed grief” is what composer Herbert Howells suffered when he and his wife suffered the loss of their son, Michael, aged nine, from polio. He wrote: I am completely frozen and all the sympathy and kindness in the world couldn’t help. Friends tried, but I knew I had to get something out of me that… Read More An English Farewell
This afternoon’s concert at the Three Choirs Festival was by the world-famous Kings College Choir conducted by Stephen Cleobury. It was sponsored by the American Friends of the Three Choirs Festival to which I contributed. For decades my late husband Carl Crosier and I listened to the Kings College recordings and out of their concert… Read More The Gold Standard
It was only today, the next to last day of the Three Choirs Festival 2017, that the construction fencing came down around Cathedral Square and we were able to see the statue of Sir Edward Elgar! The plaque reads: Sir Edward Elgar, who rose from obscurity to become England’s greatest composer for 200 years, was… Read More On the next to last day…
Tonight’s two major works at The Three Choirs Festival could not have been paired more perfectly: Jonathan Dove’s There was a child and Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. You see, the Dove piece was commissioned by Rosemary Pickering to celebrate the young life of her son, Robert, who drowned at age 19 while snorkeling in Thailand. “Jonathan has… Read More A perfect pair: Dove and Fauré
A couple of nights ago, I sat next next to a man who said that he has been coming to the Three Choirs Festival every year since 1965. That’s over 50 years! Another woman told me she has been regular attendee for the last 40 years. Many of these people sit in the front section… Read More ‘More an orgy than a mass’
This afternoon Evensong was held at 3:30 pm instead of the usual 5:30 pm because it was being broadcast live on the BBC. They actually have a regular program called Choral Evensong and every week it is broadcast from a different location. This week they are broadcasting from the Three Choirs Festival at Worcester Cathedral.… Read More Evensong on the BBC