When I saw that the first two organs we were going to visit today had French pedalboards (“Pedalier à la française), I said aloud, “Uh oh, I’d better play something for manuals only!” and the person next to me said, “You are just going to have to bite the bullet and give it a try. You… Read More Bite the bullet!
Today, more than four months before my concert date of October 30, 2016, I played through my program before an audience of two: Scott Fikse, who will conduct a small chamber choir to sing the four-part chorales, and Todd Beckham, organist. Amazingly enough, I heard myself say many of the things my students tell me: But… Read More Sneak preview
The relationship between teacher and student can be a delicate dance, a balance of pushing, pulling, coaxing, and definitely a two-way street. No one probably knows this better than Jennifer Lane, who with her husband, Jim Carr, is in Hawaii to teach her annual vocal workshop. You may remember that Jennifer was first invited to perform… Read More The teacher and the student
The May issue of The Diapason finally arrived, and I eagerly scanned through the pages to find the write-ups about the Class of 2016: 20 leaders under the age of 30. I found what I was looking for starting on page 26. The Diapason’s second annual “20 under 30” selections came from a field that… Read More So unbelievably proud
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
On my Hawaii Public Radio interview today, somehow the name of Joey Fala came up, my former organ student, as I explained how public radio supports and endorses non-profit groups such as the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and Early Music Hawaii (EMH) by publicizing their events. You see, we sponsor one organ concert per year and every time, we… Read More Keeping up with Joey
In the movie business, it’s the Academy Awards. In the recording industry, it’s the Grammy Awards, and for Broadway shows, it’s the Tony Awards. Yes, this is award season, and it seems like there are awards for all kinds of businesses and industries. Yesterday when I opened up my Facebook page, I gasped when I saw this video… Read More The Big Reveal: 20 under 30
“More terrifying than performing naked” — this was the caption that former student Joey Fala posted today on Facebook about his February 6th concert performance of Bach’s Trio Sonata No. 5 which I attended in New Haven, CT. It was the first time Joey had performed a Bach trio sonata in public — and I’ve always maintained that… Read More “More terrifying than performing naked”
On my last day in New Haven, Joey Fala let me into the Woolsey Hall organ practice rooms and I was able to practice before leaving for Honolulu. I did make some progress although my left hand still is not back to normal and I’m thinking I’ll have to consult my doctor about it when I… Read More The richness of the Yale experience
With the threat of a snowstorm, my flight back to Honolulu was cancelled this morning, and the earliest I could leave would be Wednesday morning. So it was with some gladness that I received a text message from Joey Fala: Some snowstorm . . . if you want to practice, meet me at Woolsey at… Read More My office today