You wouldn’t ordinarily laugh during a classical concert, but a lot of people couldn’t help themselves last Saturday night at the “Think Outside the Bach” concert. It came during Michal Nowicki‘s reading of PDQ Bach’s biography (in his beautifully accented English), who is described by PDQ’s creator, Peter Schickele as “the son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna… Read More You wouldn’t ordinarily laugh …
Sometime ago I came up with the idea that filling in for another organist was akin to cooking in someone else’s kitchen! You know what to do, you just don’t know where anything is, or how things work — like one of the most important things to figure out is how to turn the organ… Read More In someone else’s kitchen
I may have mentioned once or twice (!) that I come from a musical family. My mother won a piano in a music competition when she was in high school and had to make the hard decision to choose between music or going to medical school (she became a pediatrician but went back to playing… Read More Music runs in families
Last night I attended the studio recital of Darel and Georgine Stark, in which their two children (my organ students) played the third movement of P.D.Q. Bach’s “Toot Suite,” an organ duet. A word of explanation: First of all, P.D.Q. Bach is a fictional character invented by Peter Schickele, which you can read about on… Read More Siblings + Music = Fun!
In spite of only coming back to Hawaii on Tuesday, I’ve had to hit the ground running and will be playing several different organs within the week. Next weekend will especially be busy because of a Friday night rehearsal and Sunday concert at St. John Vianney, playing the prelude for Pastor Fritz Fritschel‘s funeral service… Read More Planning ahead for a busy week
I have to say that this year’s Holy Week has been about as unholy and unlike any other which I spent in church music. Oh yes, I remember the years of spending the entire week at the church, and even yesterday, when I went to give an organ lesson, I saw the church set up… Read More The week after Easter
Several of my organ students have been in the news lately, and I have never been more proud! Oh, they weren’t in the news because of their organ playing—and that’s perfectly okay. But the fact that they also happen to play the organ makes them special in my eyes. Today was the March for our… Read More Never been more proud
I’ve had a houseguest for a week—my good friend Joan Ishibashi, a United Church of Christ pastor, massage therapist, former Hawaii resident for 15 years, and all-around BFF (best friends forever!) Nearly five years ago my husband Carl, son Stephen and I were in Los Angeles, attending Joan’s wedding to Kantila Vaghela, where I wrote… Read More I survived an amazing weekend!
Last Sunday, I was privileged to be a guest in the home of Mark Russell, owner and builder of what my late husband used to call “the finest harpsichord in Honolulu.” It was a chance to show off the instrument to Jieun and Ben Newland, newcomers to Hawaii. You may remember that she was the… Read More Insane harpsichord madness!
Fantastic Early Music Hawaii concert at LCH tonight! Congratulations and thank you to Scott Fikse for leading the charge, Katherine Crosier and the orchestra for great music and the singers, notably Naomi Castro, Keane Ishii, Karol Nowicki, Sarah Lambert Connelly, Mitchell Moriwaki, Bowe Souza, Taylor Rei Ishida, and Georgine Duncan Stark for a wonderful performance!… Read More Standing ovation for Perfect Purcell