Organists and Organ Playing

Already a star!

Here’s a live Facebook video of Stanford’s Magnificat. I wasn’t even looking over in the direction of the choir, but as soon as she opened her mouth, I knew that voice. It was Sophia Stark, super-talented daughter of Georgine and Darel Stark, themselves super-talented parents! The piece was Charles Villiers Stanford’s Magnificat, and it was performed at… Read More Already a star!

Organists and Organ Playing

Toe-tapping music

Monday night was Dana Marsh‘s first rehearsal conducting the Early Music Hawaii choir for its upcoming concert, “Spain & The New World,” which will take place on Saturday, September 24th at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, at 7:30 pm. Poor Dana—he had been awake almost 24 hours in flying from New York to Hawaii, yet he still had the… Read More Toe-tapping music

Organists and Organ Playing

Switching gears

Okay, I haven’t yet recovered from jet lag, but it’s now time to switch gears. From French music and organs, now I have to think “Spanish,” for the upcoming Early Music Hawaii concert, Saturday, September 24th. It’s a concert called Spain and the New World, and will feature the Early Music Hawaii choir and orchestra… Read More Switching gears

Organists and Organ Playing

The music gene

I just found a fascinating article called “Is Musical Talent Rooted in Genes?” in which author Jillian Rose Lim challenges the conventional wisdom by writing: Practice doesn’t always make perfect when it comes to becoming the next Mozart, a new study suggests. Researchers compared pairs of identical twins, and found that no matter how hard… Read More The music gene

Organists and Organ Playing

Blue and red

I am a hopeless political junkie and we are once again in one of my favorite news cycles —a presidential campaign. I just love the debates, the polls, and the talk shows. And of course there’s a lot of talk about blue states and red states, liberals and conservatives, progressives and establishment. But this weekend, blue and red will… Read More Blue and red