What is awe-inspiring and amazing about concert organists is that they can jump from organ to organ, and with seemingly little effort, can register their pieces and play with ease, no matter how different each instrument is, no matter the acoustic, the touch, and the stops. And believe me, all organs are different and not created… Read More Memories of Sparky
Last weekend’s concert at the Mystic Rose Oratory marked the 13th annual Hawaii Masterworks Festival, and completed the 24th season of the Hawaii Vocal Arts Ensemble. You may not know that the HVAE was actually co-founded by three people: David Kayner, Carl Crosier and Tim Carney and the group made its debut with a Big Island… Read More Charter members of HVAE reunite
It worked! Ironing my music for the Fauré Requiem did the trick! (See my previous post “Desperate measures needed” for enlightenment on this comment.) Everything yesterday afternoon at the second performance of the Hawaii Masterworks Festival went extremely well — my music stayed flat, the choir, orchestra and soloists sounded fantastic and I asked Eric… Read More Redeemed!
This is the last weekend before I board the plane for 40 days away from Honolulu, and what a weekend it will be! Nine organ lessons, one piano lesson, two church services, one orchestra rehearsal and two concerts all crammed into the next four days. And today in addition to teaching three other organ lessons, I played a… Read More In the space of one weekend …
I was going through a box of old photos recently, and found these pictures of a performance I did in the year 2000 with Mark Boyle in a piece called, “Rex: The King of Instruments.” Wow, this brings back a bunch of memories! The performance was part of a whole weekend celebrating the 100th anniversary… Read More Rex: The King of Instruments
Last Friday I was supposed to try out the organ in the Mystic Rose Oratory at Chaminade University in advance of a rehearsal there on Saturday. You see I will be accompanying the Hawaii Vocal Arts Ensemble in their annual Masterworks Festival in June. Many of the choristers, in addition to others on the mainland and… Read More Winging it
When I walked into the choir room at St. Andrew’s Cathedral this morning, and someone asked me how I was doing (presumably because I am supposedly “retired,”) I answered, “Scrambling . . . Not scrambled, like eggs, or my brain, but scrambling.” That’s because it was only Thursday afternoon that I received all the choral… Read More Scrambling
Yesterday I received word about the death of David Stuart Kayner, and although his death was not unexpected, it still means the passing of an era. I always thought my husband, Carl Crosier, would outlive him, but it turned out not to be, and in fact, David made a great effort to attend Carl’s funeral,… Read More The passing of a curmudgeon
Like hundreds of other people, last Friday night we were at St. Theresa’s Co-Cathedral attending a performance of the Verdi Requiem by the Hawaii Vocal Arts Ensemble, Masterworks Festival Chorus, and members of the Hawaii Symphony. I couldn’t help but think that it was due to our ground-breaking performances of the Monteverdi Vespers that St. Theresa’s was… Read More The church as a concert venue
It’s Jennifer Lane, the mezzo soprano who sang in the Lutheran Church’s performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion and Pergolesi Stabat Mater! She has also come to Hawaii frequently to perform with the summer festivals of the Hawaii Vocal Arts Ensemble (conducted by Tim Carney). This trip, though, I think is purely for… Read More Guess who’s in town?