At 12:15 am this morning, I was at my computer typing, “How to get rid of a musical earworm,” and I found the following answers: 1. Chewing gum could be good way to get rid of earworms. 2. Engage with the song: Many people report that actually listening to the earworm song all the way… Read More Imaginary chewing gum
One week ago I was back at the Iolani School Chorus Room in rehearsal with the school choir under the direction of John Alexander. The instrument I was to play was an ancient 2-manual, Allen organ, with no pistons or other registration aids so that all the stops had to be pulled by hand. I… Read More Five minutes to Victory Te Deum
It was another of those crazy weekends requiring me to shift gears quickly for the music at hand: A rehearsal with the Early Music Hawaii ladies for their dress rehearsal for “Triumph Against the Odds;” a concert with the Iolani School Chorus and Hokuloa Singers (John Alexander, director) in which I played a Mozart orchestral… Read More Three choirs in three days … and more!
In spite of only coming back to Hawaii on Tuesday, I’ve had to hit the ground running and will be playing several different organs within the week. Next weekend will especially be busy because of a Friday night rehearsal and Sunday concert at St. John Vianney, playing the prelude for Pastor Fritz Fritschel‘s funeral service… Read More Planning ahead for a busy week
I have to say that this year’s Holy Week has been about as unholy and unlike any other which I spent in church music. Oh yes, I remember the years of spending the entire week at the church, and even yesterday, when I went to give an organ lesson, I saw the church set up… Read More The week after Easter
In the last four days, I have attended three concerts and gotten my chance to be an audience member. I used to remember Carl Crosier saying that as performers it was our job to make it Christmas for everyone else—now I’ve had my chance to hear someone else’s hard work. On Sunday, I was at the… Read More ‘Tis the season, part 2
By this time Sunday, May 7th, I will have sat on six different organ benches (and maybe even seven!) in the course of my week. Oh, not all of them are large pipe organs, but it just goes to show you that within the course of a week, I play musical benches! Last Sunday, I was… Read More Musical benches
Tonight was the Iolani School’s Winter Concert for the Hokuloa Singers and Chorus, and we had a closed circuit television set up on the organ console so I could see the conductor, John Alexander. It consists of a video camera connected to a television monitor and it has worked extremely well in the past—there is no delay in… Read More Technology – BAH, HUMBUG!
As you may remember from my recent post, “An early Christmas miracle,” I served as the co-chair for my building’s holiday party which happened on Monday. In the morning, in spite of getting lost and spending a half hour needlessly driving in circles, I picked up 28 tablecloths from a party rental business. I had the… Read More Loaves and fishes
I had heard people on the mainland talk about it on Facebook, but it was not until today that I received my November issue of The Diapason, (An international monthly magazine devoted to the organ, the harpsichord, carillon and church music), and this month’s issue focused on the Woolsey Hall organ at Yale University. And… Read More Winter clothes at the organ!