From the weekly newsletter of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church: This week’s column is a reproduction of an address Father Lillie preached last Sunday afternoon at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Honolulu. The officers of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists were installed at the 5:30 pm Choral Evensong. The Diocesan Choir offered beautiful music… Read More Ye holy angels bright
We have been back in Hawaii not quite two days and I have been hitting the ground running in the ramp-up to my Bach concerts on August 18 and 25. I have not yet been able to get to the organ yet since I had my monthly eye injection yesterday. But now the real work… Read More Hitting the ground running
I just heard from former organ student Joey Fala, and am super-proud to announce that he took second place in the Region I and II Regional Competition for Young Organists! Although he was a teeny bit disappointed that he didn’t place first, I think it is remarkable that he went up against students from Juilliard,… Read More Update on Joey Fala
I happened to be sitting next to Hyunju Hwang, the virtuoso Korean organist, at the post-convention recital by Dorothy Young Riess, and when I told her Dorothy was 81, she said, “No! She looks like she’s maybe 60!” Dorothy played a most ambitious program at Olive Drive Church, another mega-church complex here in Bakersfield, and… Read More My favorite things
This morning began early with a Dean’s meeting at 7:00 am, and although I’m not the Dean of the Hawaii American Guild of Organists, I was sent by the chapter to represent them since I am the only person from Hawaii at this Region IX Convention. It seems that getting young people interested in the… Read More Introducing the organ to children
Today was the official opening of the Region IX Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Bakersfield, CA. Everyone is telling us that we are extremely lucky that it is not a typical June day in Bakersfield — the weather is much cooler than normal — perhaps in the high 80s. By the end… Read More A handbell choir of one
I am now in Bakersfield, CA where I came a day early to be a judge at the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists (RCYO). I was most impressed with the organization of the competition — each judge was given a three-ring binder with the complete set of rules, note paper, repertoire lists, and evaluation… Read More A day of competition
We are home for just four days before we take off again for California and Indiana on Friday. I will be attending a convention for the American Guild of Organists (AGO) in Bakersfield, CA and the national biennial conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) in Valparaiso, IN. We had just walked in… Read More Sneak preview
A few days ago, we held the annual meeting of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists (AGO) at our condo, and for various reasons, the attendance was about half of what it was a year ago. One of our members, Winfred Hancock, told me that he wasn’t able to come, but at age 93,… Read More Dwindling ranks
It was back in May 2011 that I received a message from Wyatt Smith, a young organist from South Dakota: Hi Katherine, I just wanted to say how much I REALLY enjoy reading your blog. It is one thing I look forward to every day. I really wish that I could just fly out to Honolulu… Read More A visitor from the Internet