Say, do you know that expression, “an albatross around your neck?” It comes from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” in which a sailor who shoots a friendly albatross is forced to wear its carcass around his neck as punishment I probably would have never thought this expression could be used in… Read More Sheet music albatross
I just discovered a fascinating book, called Sacred Space, Sacred Sound: The acoustic mysteries of holy places by Susan Elizabeth Hale, with a foreward by Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect. It is available on Amazon. She described her experience at Salisbury Cathedral: “When the organ reached its crescendo, it seemed it was going to erupt through… Read More Sound in sacred spaces
It was another adventure coming home from the Organ Historical Society convention 2015, and because my flight was leaving Boston early in the morning, I decided to leave one day before the convention ended. Lucky for me, I was able to watch the OHS live-webcast of the final concert by Nathan Laube on the organs… Read More Home at last!
This was the first time I have attended an Organ Historical Society (OHS) convention and I have asked a number of the attendees how they perceived it is different from the conventions of the American Guild of Organists (AGO). Over and over I was told that “at AGO it’s about the personalities, and at OHS… Read More Personalities vs. Organs
Electrifying! That’s how the over 300+ people of the Organ Historical Society reacted when they leaped to their feet at the end of Joey Fala‘s performance at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Springfield, MA with a spontaneous and exuberant standing ovation. The kid from Hawaii blew everyone away, and even though it was the fifth concert of… Read More Joey Wows the OHS!
*Proof of Heaven was a book written by a neuroscientist, Eben Alexander, on his near-death experience with the after-life. It was a book both Carl and I read before his death on August 28, 2014. I am here in Boston for the Boston Early Music Festival, a “week-long extravaganza of early music,” and I am… Read More A dream or Proof of Heaven?
VIDEO: Iolani School’s Hospice Class teaches about life through death. In this post, I am going to deviate a bit from blogging about music and turn to the subject of hospice and end-of-life care which is the subject of an unusual class at Iolani School. It has now been nine months since my husband of 37… Read More The journey continues
I was thinking I could throw my alarm clock away. That was because Thursday was my last early morning Iolani Chapel, so I in fact turned my alarm off. But wouldn’t you know it, the last two mornings I’ve gotten up at 4:45 am — so I guess my body clock just doesn’t listen! Today,… Read More Just can’t win!
Yesterday, one day after the magnificent 40th Anniversary celebration of the Beckerath organ, twenty members of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists came to “The Marble Palace in the Sky,” (my condo) — for the members’ annual meeting and to see the newest pipe organ in Honolulu: the “box organ” built by… Read More Baby’s coming out party
From all accounts, last night’s 40th anniversary of the Beckerath organ was a grand and glorious occasion and the church should feel extremely proud to have put on a first class act. From Joey Fala’s stunning and magnificent playing, to the energetic congregational singing, to the colorful and elegant 16-page souvenir program, to the delicious… Read More Magnificent Joey!