I may have mentioned once or twice (!) that I come from a musical family. My mother won a piano in a music competition when she was in high school and had to make the hard decision to choose between music or going to medical school (she became a pediatrician but went back to playing… Read More Music runs in families
In my last post, “A leap of faith,” I wrote about the beginnings of our Annual Organ Concert series, and how it all started with the concert with Paul Jacobs in 2006. Since then we have hosted twelve more annual organ concerts of “rising stars” — you can see a list of the artists here.… Read More Meet Adam Pajan
The term “bespoke” is not widely known in the U.S. — in fact the first time I heard the word was last summer when I was with my friend, Joan Ishibashi, former Hawaii resident who now lives in London. This week I had to use the word “bespoke” in a Google search, as in “bespoke… Read More Bespoke
The term “Executive Time” has been in the news a lot lately, and I’m afraid I’ve been a victim of the retirement blues—with nothing to do! My “retirement” consisted of a daily 2 mile walk, doing crossword and sudoku puzzles, working on my Spanish, teaching organ lessons, but a lot of binge-watching television. I felt… Read More No more retirement blues!
Last night Central Union Church and the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists honored Nyle Hallman on the occasion of her 90th birthday. Ten organists performed, including the birthday girl herself, who was rewarded with a sustained standing ovation. All three of her children were in attendance, plus Nyle’s sister and other family members who… Read More Nyle’s night
Here are some comments from Facebook about last night’s event: There were many beautiful moments from last night’s concert. But this was truly my favorite of all. We were breathing, listening and in tune with another. (Ha, no pun intended!) I will always remember this special music making experience with these fabulous musicians. My heart is… Read More Organ trio reprise!
For the last week, my focus has been totally unmusical — I was in Burbank, California, attending the 50th anniversary of my high school graduation, the Class of 1968. As I was unwittingly a key member of the Reunion Committee, I was asked to give a short speech at the banquet—on two days’ notice! Fifty… Read More Switching gears
In his introduction to the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra concert, President Michael Titterton told us tonight would be “a life-changing experience!” You bet it was! I counted five standing ovations and five curtain calls! Tonight was American Guild of Organists (AGO) Night at the Symphony, with guest artist Cameron Carpenter. Listed in the program were Francis… Read More Five standing ovations and five curtain calls!
If you had gone to the Early Music Hawaii concert Saturday night, you may have seen this little blurb in the program: Upcoming concert of interest to Early Music lovers: Organists 1-2-3: Music for One, Two and Three Organs. For the first time in Hawaii, concertgoers will have the rare opportunity to experience music for one,… Read More Shameless self-promotion!
So observed Ian Capps at last night’s Early Music Hawaii concert, “Treasures of the French Baroque.” Here is the letter Ian wrote to last night’s performers: Congratulations, you did it again! Our faithful audience… was introduced to a completely new repertory and loved it. Not a soul left at the intermission, as far as I… Read More No one left at intermission!