You wouldn’t ordinarily laugh during a classical concert, but a lot of people couldn’t help themselves last Saturday night at the “Think Outside the Bach” concert. It came during Michal Nowicki‘s reading of PDQ Bach’s biography (in his beautifully accented English), who is described by PDQ’s creator, Peter Schickele as “the son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna… Read More You wouldn’t ordinarily laugh …
On my way to the Cathedral of the Christ of Light, I got a text from John Renke: The cathedral Rector had a massive heart attack after the Saturday evening mass and died last night. You’re coming to a very interesting Sunday here! I heard more of the story at the announcement to the parish… Read More A day at the Cathedral
Fourteen years ago, our Hawai’i Chapter of the American Guild of Organists took a leap of faith when it decided to present organist Paul Jacobs for a concert. I had been absolutely wowed by Paul’s performance at St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City and vowed to have him come to Hawaii for a concert.… Read More A leap of faith
Today I was scheduled to play the Walker organ and conduct the choir at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Kailua, on the windward side of the island. My music bag was packed with my organ music and shoes and I put on a long-sleeved blouse, a full-length jacket and dress slacks. As I got dressed,… Read More Armed for battle
I am so fortunate to be able to see my friends wherever they may be—in the calendar year 2018, I saw my friend Joan Ishibashi, formerly Executive Assistant of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, on three different occasions and in three locations! She has lived in London since 2013, when she married Kantila Vaghela, Last… Read More Reunion in Camarillo
Last night I attended the 44th Advent Procession at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, and afterwards, a few people mentioned to me that they had been thinking of Carl Crosier. Actually, I was thinking of both Carl (who died in 2014), as well as the late Peter Hallock (1924-2014) and their influence upon the… Read More Advent Procession, The “O” Antiphons
61 people “liked” my post when I asked this question on my Facebook page with some photos. Only one person, Susan Haas, seemed to know what I was up to when I showed off my dining table. If you count the number of plates, you will come up with the number nine—which is how many… Read More Guess who’s coming to dinner?
After playing for two services each Sunday for the last three weeks at Holy Nativity, this coming Sunday I’m going to be back at Waiokeola Congregational Church filling in for Gloria Faltstrom. You remember that the last time I was scheduled to play there, I couldn’t get the organ to turn on and ended up… Read More Lazy organist? or one music fits all!
Joan Ishibashi and I made the two-hour train trip to the city of Gloucester from London’s Paddington Station. I can’t believe it has been three years since I came to Gloucester for my first Three Choirs Festival! This time, though, we were here because of the residency of the Duke University Choir at Gloucester, where… Read More Joyful reunion and Evensong in Gloucester
Even though we faced another hot, muggy day, Joan Ishibashi and I toured Kew Gardens today, one of the largest botanical gardens in the world. As we had seen in Green Park near Buckingham Palace, the large grassy areas, normally lush green and verdant, were shockingly dry and brown. News of the heat wave and… Read More Kew Gardens