Bravi, tutti! This was the title of an email we performers received from Scott Fikse, director of Saturday’s “Baroque France” concert, and newly-appointed President for Early Music Hawaii. We were especially encouraged by the large and enthusiastic crowd that filled the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. Scott wrote: Congratulations to all of you on a splendid… Read More Bravi, tutti!
This weekend, within the space of 24 hours, I will have performed such a mixed bag of music, that my head is spinning! On Saturday morning, I’ll be practicing Gabriel Fauré’s Messe Basse (1881, rev. 1906) for treble voices, which will be sung at the ordinary for Sunday morning’s High Mass for “The Seven Sorrows… Read More A mixed bag … all within 24 hours!
I may as well titled this post, “Changing Hats.” Or how about “Juggling Balls.” Or try this one, “The Ultimate Multitasker!” It’s been quite a week! Last Saturday I was cheering on my former student, Sophia Stark, as she starred in a Disney-themed concert with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra concert at the Waikiki Shell. Sophia… Read More Switching gears
This weekend, Sophia Stark will be singing with the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra (HSO) in a concert featuring the music from Disney musicals. I believe the last post I wrote about Sophia was when she did a fundraiser for the HSO back in 2022 (“Sophia’s Night”) on her way to study at the Manhattan School of… Read More Amazing Sophia!
Tonight was Early Music Hawaii’s dress rehearsal for tomorrow night’s concert: Rome 1600! The Glories of the Italian Baroque. The concert features the Early Music Hawaii Ensemble of Singers and Players, conducted by Scott Fikse. The great dramas of early Baroque Rome were the Oratorios—operatic illustrations of biblical stories, the lives of martyrs or principles… Read More Rome 1600—A grand spectacle!
As you may recall from my last post, last week I played for 5 church services. This week I have 5 evening rehearsals (4 for Early Music Hawaii and 1 for St. Mark’s). Tonight was the instrumental rehearsal for Early Music Hawaii. I am scheduled to teach 5 organ lessons this week. I will play… Read More Magic number 5!
“An embarrassment of riches” — that’s how Father Paul Lillie described the special Mass services at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church this month. No sooner had I returned to Hawaii from Greece last Friday, I was faced with a FIVE-service week: My usual three Sunday services: 9:00 am Nu‘uanu Congregational Church 11:00 am St. Mark’s Episcopal… Read More “An embarrassment of riches”
On our last night in Athens, our EF GoAhead tour group took one final group picture before walking across the street for our farewell dinner. I must say that this was really a nice bunch of people and we seemed to get along well. Someone asked how we liked the food, and I responded that… Read More 28 hours to Honolulu
Just as it was unusual to visit a pipe organ factory in Barcelona, I think what was out of the ordinary today was a visit to an icon workshop in the Meteora region. The owner, a Greek Orthodox priest, was occupied with church duties today, so his son gave us the tour (yes, Greek Orthodox… Read More An icon workshop
Thursday, the day we left Honolulu, was an incredibly busy day, and as usual, I crammed as much in as possible, starting in the early morning with an eye injection for my macular degeneration (which requires me to put drops in my eyes every 30 minutes for most of the day), having my housekeeper coming… Read More 22 hours to Barcelona