Organists these days are undergoing an identity crisis. If the slashing of church music budgets wasn’t enough to cause consternation among the ranks, the worldwide shortage of organists, the fact that fewer and fewer people study the organ, and the American Guild of Organists’ membership is dropping, it’s the old adage that whenever two or three… Read More Identity crisis
Last night I hosted (with the help of the Executive Board) the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists on the eighth floor party facility of my building. It was a welcome home reception for our homeboy, Joey Fala, whose passion for the pipe organ began when he was in preschool at Holy Nativity in Aina Haina, and… Read More Our homeboy, Joey
Founded in 1966, the Honolulu Chorale, one of the longest-performing community choruses in the state of Hawaii, will hold its Annual Musical Event and Joe McAlister Award Dinner at the Honolulu Country Club tomorrow night. This year’s honoree is our colleague, John Renke, and you’ll never guess who was asked to be the speaker! Egad, little ‘ol… Read More Jubilate! honors John Renke
How many organists does it take to change a lightbulb? This was no joke, but an actual quip when I hosted the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists at my condo last night and we decided to take a group picture. I suggested that we turn up the lights, and told the group the switch… Read More How many organists…?
You probably remember that phrase from your childhood days, likely from your mother who didn’t want you going out on either Sunday through Thursday nights, because there was school the next day. Perhaps you also said it yourself to your children. Here’s how the Cambridge dictionary defines it. In this case, though, my friend John Renke… Read More It’s a school night!
Please read this letter from Karl Bachman, dean of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists: Ordinarily the leaving of a church organist or the ending of a choir program in a congregation is a non-event for all except the members of that particular church, but we in Hawaii are now experiencing a change that… Read More Three little words
This blog supposedly has the underlying theme of music but sometimes I deviate to include travel, art, and today, food. For seventeen years, Chef George Mavrosalassitis, a James Beard winner whose Honolulu restaurant, Chef Mavro, has been awarded a five-diamond star rating for six years in a row, presented a dinner for supporters of Hawaii Public… Read More Springtime in Provence
On my Hawaii Public Radio interview today, somehow the name of Joey Fala came up, my former organ student, as I explained how public radio supports and endorses non-profit groups such as the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and Early Music Hawaii (EMH) by publicizing their events. You see, we sponsor one organ concert per year and every time, we… Read More Keeping up with Joey
This has certainly been a week of parties — social events three days in a row with organists! Wednesday was the luncheon with my former organ students, then last night I had dinner with organist Bruce Bengtson from Madison, WI, then tonight was our Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists Dean’s Reception at the Pacific Club —… Read More My peeps!
Today Jason Anderson, second Director of the Compline Choir (Seattle), posted the above picture on Facebook, reminiscing about Peter Hallock’s 85th birthday party celebration on November 21, 2009. Jason wrote: Six years ago, the stars aligned and I was privileged to dine with Peter Hallock and Richard Proulx at Chez Hallock. Carl & Kathy Crosier produced… Read More To those we love but see no longer