The year 2024 marks 100 years since the birth of organist, composer, liturgist and countertenor Peter R. Hallock (November 19, 1924-April 27, 2014). Even though Peter’s 100th birthday is not until November, the celebrations will take place all year, beginning with a pair of concerts this coming weekend. I will be leaving Thursday night for… Read More Hallock at 100
Today is September 11th, and the airwaves are filled with memories of the horrific events of September 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked airplanes and used them as weapons. Everyone has a story of remembering where you were when you found out about the attacks, the fall of the World Trade Center towers, the attack on… Read More Seventy-eight years ago today …
The international as well as the local news is consumed with information about the Maui wildfires where the death toll has risen to 80 and the number of structures destroyed estimated at about 3,000. It’s all a nightmare for the residents of Maui as well as to the entire state of Hawaii. The historic town… Read More Comfort among the ashes
[UPDATE] By now, the whole world has heard about the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, here in Hawaii, and the horrific fires which have completely flattened the historic town of Lahaina, with 93 persons confirmed dead and nearly 3,000 buildings destroyed. Among those buildings lost was Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, a parish of… Read More RIP Beckerath organ in Maui
Yesterday’s homework assignment to create a family tree for my Cada Dia Spanish class led me to investigate the people in my family. As I’ve written before, I come from a very large family — I am the oldest of five children, my mother was also the oldest of five children in her family, and… Read More Music in my family
In two weeks, I’ll be playing the organ at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Kapahulu, near Waikiki. I’m already nervous about getting to the church on time, because I’ll first have to finish playing the 9:00 am service at Nuuanu Congregational Church. The last few weeks I haven’t been able to return to my car… Read More Double duty
Seventy four years ago, on June 2, 1953, a 27-year-old Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was crowned Queen Elizabeth II in an almost 3-hour ceremony, which was preceded by a 5-mile long procession. 8,251 people attended the service at Westminster Abbey, and the coronation was the first to be televised. Elizabeth’s coronation was also the second… Read More Music for a Coronation
It seems hard to believe that it’s been exactly 23 years to the day since my husband Carl Crosier conducted Johann Sebastian Bach’s monumental Matthäuspassion (St. Matthew Passion) in two ground-breaking performances, March 31-April 1, 2000. Carl’s passion for the work started when I was pregnant with my son, Stephen, and I experienced problems with… Read More A Passion for BWV 244
At last night’s concert by Thomas Yee and Tyler Ramos my ears perked up when I overheard two women, strangers to me, talking to each other before the concert. “I remember Carl Crosier was the organist here for many years then he retired. He died from cancer but his wife Kathy plays the organ.” I… Read More Overheard
“The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement early Sunday. When I read the news about Desmond Tutu, anti-apartheid leader and voice of justice, dead at… Read More Desmond Tutu memories