My absolute favorite moment of Fritz Fritschel’s memorial service came when we sang the Hymn of the Day, the tune BRYN CALFARIA, sung to Fritz’s text. The hymn is a Welsh tune written by William Owen and was supposedly written by Owen on a piece of slate while on his way to work at the… Read More Bryn Calfaria and Deep River
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
Last night, I attended Compline at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu which was the first time I’ve been to the service since Carl Crosier sang his last Compline service on August 14, 2011. The weekly service was discontinued in 2012, after Carl’s retirement. I went back and reread my post “Bittersweet Compline” about that 2011 service… Read More Familiar, yet different
Last night I was invited to a small “ungraduation dinner” for my organ student, Christopher Lindsay, who has studied with me since the first grade. You see, Christopher will be entering college early, having been selected to participate in the Resident Honors Program at the University of Southern California, skipping his senior year at Iolani… Read More The remarkable “ungraduate”
“I hate this piece!” That’s what one of my organ students told me at her lesson yesterday, not just once, but several times.”I hate this piece! It’s just so hard!” Yes, this is a difficult piece for an organist to play, but one of those “must learn, must do” pieces for organists, since so many… Read More “Hallelujah” Chorus
The Lord be with you And also with you. Let us pray: God of Day and Night, Courage and Timidity, Joy and Sadness, Life and Death: You have brought us safely through another day and another week. As the skies have darkened, let us gather together in contemplation and prayer. Strengthen us as we remember… Read More Evening Prayer for Carl
Yesterday was a triple-header Sunday as I played three big services — two in the morning at St. Andrew’s Cathedral and one last night at St. Alban’s Chapel for Iolani School’s Baccalaureate. Except for the communion and postludes in the morning services, none of the hymns or any of the music was repeated. The 8:00… Read More A triple-header Sunday
Today is Reformation Day and I wanted to share with you the visit of Martin Luther (aka John Bickel) to the Iolani School campus this week. John, a history teacher and long-time LCH member, recreates characters from the past such as Saint Francis of Assisi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Napoleon Bonaparte, etc. and makes them come alive… Read More Speaking of Martin Luther