Last night was the opening Welcome Dinner for the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists, and look at the big crowd we had! People literally came out of the woodwork—and for some people, it’s been DECADES since they have attended a meeting of local organists. (By the way, not everyone was in the picture! Some… Read More They came out of the woodwork!
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 of days ago I was surprised to get more than 60 “Likes” when I posted this photo of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists after our Annual Dinner Meeting at the Mandalay Restaurant. I’m guessing that people were surprised to see so many people in the picture! Oh, not everyone pictured here… Read More Taking the organ to the people
Last night our Hawaii chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) had its Pau Hana Posaune, an informal pupu and cocktail party at a local restaurant. Now, a few definitions for you in case I’m using unfamiliar terms to you non-Hawaiians, non-organists. The term pau hana is a familiar one in Hawaii and means “the time… Read More Below the surface
This was the first time I have attended an Organ Historical Society (OHS) convention and I have asked a number of the attendees how they perceived it is different from the conventions of the American Guild of Organists (AGO). Over and over I was told that “at AGO it’s about the personalities, and at OHS… Read More Personalities vs. Organs
Yesterday, one day after the magnificent 40th Anniversary celebration of the Beckerath organ, twenty members of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists came to “The Marble Palace in the Sky,” (my condo) — for the members’ annual meeting and to see the newest pipe organ in Honolulu: the “box organ” built by… Read More Baby’s coming out party
In the last week, this blog has received numerous hits while searching for “McNeil Robinson,” who died on May 9, 2015. Here is what the American Guild of Organists posted on its website: McNeil Robinson 1943-2015 The American Guild of Organists is sad to announce the death of internationally renowned organist and composer McNeil Robinson… Read More In loving memory, McNeil Robinson
You meet all kinds of people at music conventions and you never know where your conversations will lead. In fact it was fifteen years ago that I met organist and Lutheran pastor, Karl Bachman, at a national conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians in Richmond, VA. That was in July 2000. Just a few… Read More A conversation on the bus
The usual scheme of concert programming is to schedule one concerto on a single program. But for the opening of the Boston 2014 American Guild of Organists, we heard FIVE organ concertos in one sitting, and all FIVE played stunningly by James David Christie with the Boston Landmark Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, conductor. The works were:… Read More Five concertos in one night!