There was an extensive interview with my former student, Joey Fala, in the current issue of the Iolani Bulletin, the publication of Iolani School where I was the Chapel Organist for twenty years and where I met Joey when he was in fifth grade. Take a look at the Tag Cloud—either in the column to… Read More Still making news!
Yesterday I was pleased to read this announcement on Facebook: ICYMI: We had some good news hiding in this month’s issue of the Chimes – Joey Fala has been named our new Director of Music Ministry! While Joey has been with us since last summer, we are thrilled that he is now a permanent part… Read More It’s official!
A couple of weeks ago I joined in a Zoom meeting of Deans in the American Guild of Organists. The Dean of the AGO Chapter is like the local president, and I am completing my second year. I think this is at least my third, and maybe even my fourth (!) stint as Dean of… Read More Just called to say ‘Hello’
Throughout this coronavirus pandemic, the true heroes have turned out to be the unlikely: grocery clerks, gas station attendants, delivery drivers and others who you wouldn’t normally consider as people saving the world. But an organist? More specifically, an organist turned carillonneur, in the person of Joey Fala, my former student? In the March 24th,… Read More Unlikely hero
It’s entirely typical for me to get lost when I am in another part of the world—in this case I am presently in Durham, North Carolina where I am here for the wedding of my former student, Joey Fala to Sarah Jones in Goodson Chapel at Duke University. Earlier in the day Joey had picked… Read More One hour to drive 3.2 miles!
This afternoon I reconnected with Diane Amidon, who lives in nearby Raleigh, NC. She and I first became acquainted when we were both freshmen at USC School of Music—she was a soprano voice major, and I knew her then as Diane Rose. I lost track of her after sophomore year and didn’t find out that… Read More Reminiscing and reconnecting
After Friday’s carillon recital, Joey Fala booked time on the four major pipe organs so that I could have a chance to play. We went on an “organ crawl,” which is what organists call it when they visit organs in other churches. According to one source, “It’s called a crawl, because participants literally can get… Read More Duke organ crawl
As I was listening to my former student Joey Fala play Choral Vespers at Duke University tonight, I thought he must surely be in hog heaven! I thought back to a day sixteen years ago when I first met Joey at Iolani School, who used to always come to chapel to hear me practice. His… Read More Hog heaven
And I haven’t even gotten to Amsterdam yet! I left Honolulu on Tuesday afternoon and stopped briefly in Los Angeles and Houston before arriving at Raleigh-Durham airport about noon on Wednesday. Of course I didn’t sleep a wink—what was running through my head was Olivier Messiaen’s L’Ascension suite from Steven Severin’s recital on Sunday! Even… Read More Tulip-crazy
Karen Sender shared this article from the Oakland Tribune about our colleague and friend, John Renke, bringing Blue Christmas to Oakland. We surely do miss John! Blue Christmas aims to soothe those hurting during the holidays John Renke, Pastoral Associate for Divine Workshop & Operations for the Oakland Diocese, stands inside Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the… Read More People send me news …