It all started on Friday, with my alarm set for 5:00 am so I could get to the airport on time for an early morning flight to Kaua‘i — this after an intense rehearsal with the St. Mark’s Episcopal choir the night before. It’s now been four years since I have been flying monthly to… Read More Another crazy weekend!
Just about eleven years ago, I wrote this post on March 26, 2011: … it was in 1971 that the church decided to commit itself to a music program that would make LCH a center for sacred music and a venue for classical music concerts. It was then that the decision to purchase the Beckerath… Read More A turning point
At Thursday’s Zoom session, frequent mention was made about St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City and we were led to believe that Hauptwerk (the digital organ sampling program) was used as their primary instrument. However, as you will read below, it was only used as a temporary instrument in the nave and now… Read More Just the facts, ma‘am
Last weekend was the 79th birthday of Joseph Hansen, whom you may remember was the Music Director of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu before Carl Crosier. Joe sent me a long email last August about the Beckerath organ selection process—much of which I never heard before. I knew that Carl was sent to the mainland to… Read More Another piece of the puzzle
Okay, raise your hands here. How many of you have heard the music of Dame Ethel Smyth? Last night the Three Choirs Festival programmed her Mass in D on the opening concert and I must confess that I had not heard of nor heard the music of this woman composer. As you can tell, they… Read More Dame Ethel Smyth 1858-1944
I took the train into Worcester yesterday, the site of the Three Choirs Festival this year. I booked my hotel, The Cardinal’s Hat Inn, a year ago at the end of last year’s Festival in Gloucester, because I so enjoyed the high caliber of the musical performances. The hotel is above a pub of the… Read More Back at the Three Choirs Festival
The last few days I have been preparing for my month-long sojourn in Europe which begins on Saturday, and in fact, I started packing and re-packing my suitcase about a week ago. I’m trying to take as little as possible, bearing in mind that I’ll be away from home and a washing machine for 30 days.… Read More Five countries, five currencies!
a needle in a haystack something that is almost impossible to find because it is hidden among so many other things For weeks now, I have been looking for something — something I was pretty sure I had, but I simply can’t find it among the stacks of stuff we have. (I daresay we have… Read More A needle in a haystack
Okay, I admit that when I was listening to Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” last night at the Evening Prayer service to honor Carl, I was missing something — and that was hearing Carl’s voice sing the top part as he always did. (However, I must say that last night’s performance by the choir was very much… Read More Carl’s unique voice
Today we laid Canon Organist Emeritus John McCreary to rest. The other day when I brought dinner to Betsy, his widow, she invited our houseguest, John Graham, and Carl and myself to the viewing and burial. (John was buried with a martini glass and an organ pipe!) John Graham, who is here to attend McCreary’s… Read More Pie Jesu