Quick study Bach. There’s an oxymoron for you. Why, just recently I heard myself saying to a student, “You cannot cram Bach! It just doesn’t work!” That is, when I’ve heard people try to learn a work of Bach on short notice, more often than not, they panic and the performance falls apart. Believe me, unfortunately… Read More Quick study Bach
In spite of the fact that the Oahu Choral Society scheduled its performance of the Verdi Requiem on a Thursday night, (and the Thursday before Palm Sunday at that!), there was certainly a decent audience. (Don’t they know that God made Thursdays for choir practice!) I invited my organist colleague, Elizabeth Wong, to share a… Read More Verdi Requiem
Last night was the Honolulu Chorale’s “Jubilate! A Celebration of Choral Music and Musicianship,” and I was reminded of the Hawaiian phrase, Ke Akua Ho’omaika’i Oe (God bless you). The dinner for John Renke was as much of a celebration of John’s ten years in Hawaii as well as a chance to say ‘goodbye.’ I was one… Read More Jubilate! Ke Akua Ho’omaika’i Oe, John!
It was about a month ago that I attended the Oahu Choral Society fundraiser, “Vivace,” which celebrated that organization’s 20th anniversary. Originally it was formed as the Honolulu Symphony Chorus under the direction of Sydney Rothstein, who was the Assistant Conductor of the Honolulu Symphony. In 1995 it reorganized as an independent non-profit entity called the… Read More Ethereal Masterworks
Last Saturday night, I attended the Oahu Choral Society’s 20th Annual “Vivace” fundraiser and was I ever surprised to find myself seated at the head table! To my immediate right was Karen Kennedy, a choral directing legend in this town, and next to her was Wanda Gereben, and next to her was Nola Nahulu of… Read More In with the bigwigs
All over town, events were being cancelled because of the threat of Hurricane Ana to the Hawaiian Islands. But the planners of the BIG SING event for the local chapter of the American Choral Directors Association decided to go ahead as scheduled. A gentle rain was falling as many entered historic Kawaiaha’o Church, and what a… Read More BIG SING is Big Success!
Apparently the graphic designer for the Oahu Choral Society Bach program and postcards, doesn’t know what BWV stands for when used after the title of a Bach work. It was consistently listed as BMV 232 throughout, so I was trying to figure out that instead of “Bach Werk-Verzeichnis (BWV), maybe he/she thought the concert was… Read More Ear worm Bach II
The Oahu Choral Society, with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, is presenting Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor tomorrow night only, May 16, 2014 at 7:30 pm at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Under the direction of Esther Yoo, soloists include Youngmi Kim, Georgine Stark, Jennifer Lane, Randall Umstead, and David Dong-Geun Kim. Guess who has been contracted to play the… Read More The greatest work of all ages and all peoples
Are organists the only musicians who never know what to expect when they have to perform on their instruments? I can’t tell you the number of times I have come to the church and found something not working on the organ. There was the time I was scheduled to play Jeremiah Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary in… Read More Handicapped!
“Bach is not for amateurs!” This was one of the first statements Carl made at his lecture yesterday for the Oahu Choral Society, held at the Kokokahi YWCA. The choir will be preparing Bach’s Mass in B Minor for a performance on May 16th, under the direction of Esther Yoo, and she invited Carl to… Read More Bach is not for amateurs!