This morning we schlepped our luggage down to the Zattere dock where we took a ferry to Fusino. I have neglected so far to tell you that the weather has been absolutely gorgeous, blue skies, clear, cool (about 78 deg. F) with a light wind. Picture postcard perfect! What a difference from the last time… Read More Appearances are deceiving
Our appointment to see the Chiesa dell’Ospedaletto fell through which gave us on the Historic Organ Study Tour an opportunity to do something else beside see organs. Several of us walked about a block to the Accademia, where one of the most famous art collections is housed right on the Grand Canal. I think… Read More A change of plan
If you are an organist in Venice, you can’t be afraid of climbing ladders or have a fear of heights. Otherwise you’d never be able get to the organ console. We walked to the first church we visited today, within a block of our hotel—the Chiesa di San Trovaso where the Gaetano Callisto organ dates… Read More Climbing ladders
I have just awakened at my hotel in Venice, Italy, and it’s 4:30 am, my usual time for starting the day—except that Italy is exactly twelve hours “off” from Honolulu, which means that I am completely upside-down! I left Hawaii on Friday afternoon and had a nice visit with Joey Fala’s mom, Patsy, who took… Read More Already on Italy time! (What jet lag?!)
In my last post, I told you that I was the new Membership Chair of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists, and that I was working on the membership directory. I am happy to report that our chapter will have gained several new members as a result of the post. One of our new… Read More A new organist in town!
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