This week the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists is presenting Joy-Leilani Garbutt, concert organist, in two concerts: On Thursday, March 5th at 6:00 pm she has a concert on the Rosales organ at All Saints Episcopal Church in Kapa’a, Kaua’i. On Friday, March 6th, I’ll pick her up from the Honolulu airport and take… Read More Woman Power on Women Composer Sunday!
AI has so permeated our lives that even before I start to read an email, AI gives me a summary of its contents. And look what I got when I typed, “excuses for being too busy!” Effective, professional, and believable excuses for being super busy include stating you are “swamped,” “tied up in meetings,” or… Read More Help! I’m buried in work!
If you’ve been reading my last few posts, you must know that I’m still struggling to see out of my right eye because of an infection (See “Cyclops” for a complete explanation). I had a short but fun week with my family after Christmas, then flew home on New Year’s Eve, only to have to… Read More Muscle memory!
This was the text message I received last night from Shane Morris Wise after Caroline Robinson‘s organ concert at All Saints Episcopal Church in Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i. Caroline is here in Hawaii as the recitalist for the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists Annual Organ Concerts, a series which was started in 2006 with the concert… Read More Caroline. WOW!
Tonight the people of Honolulu celebrated the 10th anniversary of the passing of John McCreary with a special memorial Evensong. A publicity flyer described him like this: John McCreary was a musical force of nature. During his five decades in Hawai‘i, he served as Organist/Choirmaster and Canon Emeritus at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, taught music at ‘Iolani School… Read More Rubber Ducky Evensong?
Yesterday was my 11th trip to the island of Kaua’i to teach an organ lesson. We had eight lessons before the pandemic then had to stop for more than a year because of the quarantine restrictions for inter-island travel. However, since June, you no longer need to take a Covid test or prove your vaccination… Read More “Yes, I speak organ”
While the numbers of people were few, the enthusiasm was unmistakable of those who were brave enough to come out to a concert in these frightening times of the coronavirus pandemic. There was no problem keeping a “social distance” from other audience members in the large sanctuary. I’m speaking about yesterday’s absolutely phenomenal organ recital… Read More WOW! Absolutely phenomenal!
Whether it’s picking the Grammy or the Oscar award winners, or even guessing how many jelly beans are in a bowl, some people have all the luck in knowing which movie is going to get Best Picture, or guessing the correct number on “The Price is Right” in order to win a dream vacation. You… Read More Picking the winners
Last night was the opening Welcome Dinner for the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists, and look at the big crowd we had! People literally came out of the woodwork—and for some people, it’s been DECADES since they have attended a meeting of local organists. (By the way, not everyone was in the picture! Some… Read More They came out of the woodwork!
Last week I was copied on an email message from a woman who is a former graduate student at the University of Oklahoma. It so happens that she is a former student of Adam Pajan, who stayed with me as my houseguest while he is on a 3-island Hawaii concert tour. She was trying to… Read More I knew I had it somewhere!