Forty years ago, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu sought to revitalize its music program, beginning with the purchase of a mechanical action organ — a tracker organ — altogether unique and unprecedented in Hawaii, in a classic design made by one of the leading master organbuilders, Rudolf von Beckerath of Hamburg, Germany. It turned out to… Read More What is a tracker organ?
Nearly two weeks ago, Carol Langner sent out a press release announcing the appointment of Mark Wong as the next organist of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. She sent me a courtesy copy which included Mark’s biographical details, but also mentioned that Mark was the successor to my 35-year tenure. Well, this is how reporter… Read More Overshadowed
When I came to the church yesterday to teach organ lessons, you can imagine my surprise and delight when I saw this: As you may recall from a previous post, “Cantate Domino,” the Lutheran Church of Honolulu is blessed with an amazing array of talented artists and musicians, and one of those is Carol Langner, whom… Read More A labor of love
Thirty-five years ago today Carl Crosier and I stood before the altar at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and pledged our love and commitment to each other. Today is our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary and it seems hardly possible that so many years have gone by, so many musical productions, so many notes! Yesterday I played… Read More 35 years of blessings
On Wednesday night, I and a few other folks from LCH attended the Spring Concert of St. Andrew’s Priory choirs conducted by our own Naomi Castro, with Carl Crosier, accompanist. Randy Castello (one of the LCH tenors) turned to me and said, “Did you see the obituary for Pat Chamberlain this week?” In the picture above,… Read More Aloha, Patricia Chamberlain (1926-2012)
Last night was the Vivace! fundraiser for the Oahu Choral Society, a night in which the musical accomplishments of Carl Crosier were honored and celebrated. Held at the Honolulu International Club, the theme was Monte Carlo — and it was fun to see everyone dress up! My biggest concerns for the night were: 1) Finding a… Read More Carl Crosier’s Night
Today at both 8:00 and 10:30 am services, Dr. Felipe Miguel will be installed as the Director of Music and Liturgy at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. In honor of his installation, a reception will be held after both services. As people enter the courtyard, they won’t help but notice Carol Langner’s bulletin board devoted… Read More Miguel is official
This afternoon we had the final dress rehearsal with orchestra for the Haydn ‘Lord Nelson Mass,” the last major work Carl will conduct as Cantor of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. We started off by rehearsing the three hymns for tomorrow: Christ is made the sure foundation (sung to the tune EDEN CHURCH in a… Read More Just one more day to go!
We have just now received word that our May 13-14 performances of Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor were a success in every way — we knew that they were an artistic triumph, but now we have just learned that we not only broke even — we ended up about $4908 over the top! What… Read More A miracle by any measure
It was on a Friday night, July 15, 1977, that Carl and I were married at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, so that means tomorrow is our 34th wedding anniversary. Last year at this time, we celebrated our anniversary in Saintes, France, and I was away from my computer. This year we’re home, so I… Read More Our 34th Wedding Anniversary