You may recall that my husband, Carl, was the recipient of a Philip Belt fortepiano upon the death of his college piano teacher, Else Geissmar. Then when Carl died, he bequeathed the fortepiano to our friend, Mark Russell, and I bought a small pipe organ. Now Mark is moving and will have no space for… Read More The fortepiano returns!
Last night at Orvis Auditorium, the start of internationally-acclaimed baritone Matthias Goerne‘s recital was delayed for forty minutes! We were given the explanation that the accompanist, Alexander Schmalcz, wanted to have a few notes on the piano “fixed,” and that the technician was at dinner in Restaurant Row. Of course this led us to question… Read More People cheered …!
Composer Peter Hallock’s earthly life came to an end, and it was fitting that I participated in a quarterly meeting of the Peter R. Hallock Institute today by videoconference. Facebook reminded me of this anniversary by posting this photo to my news feed. The photo of Peter Hallock and Carl Crosier was actually taken nine… Read More Five years ago today
It was another of those crazy weekends requiring me to shift gears quickly for the music at hand: A rehearsal with the Early Music Hawaii ladies for their dress rehearsal for “Triumph Against the Odds;” a concert with the Iolani School Chorus and Hokuloa Singers (John Alexander, director) in which I played a Mozart orchestral… Read More Three choirs in three days … and more!
https://youtu.be/0YW-uv3Ibm8 Since I grew up without television, I had never watched the show, “Queen for a Day,” which began as a radio show in 1945 then ran on NBC Television from 1956-1960 and on ABC from 1960-1964. Every show began with the question, “Would YOU like to be Queen for a day?” A number of… Read More Queen for a Day
Last Sunday, I was privileged to be a guest in the home of Mark Russell, owner and builder of what my late husband used to call “the finest harpsichord in Honolulu.” It was a chance to show off the instrument to Jieun and Ben Newland, newcomers to Hawaii. You may remember that she was the… Read More Insane harpsichord madness!
If Martin Luther King were alive and had come to the concert at Lutheran Church of Honolulu last night, he would loved the scene, suggested soprano Georgine Stark. [First of all, did you know that King’s given birth name was not Martin but Michael? His name was changed at age five after his father, a pastor, traveled to… Read More If Martin Luther King were alive …
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
Today was a first — my first piano lesson in over five decades! You see, in the upcoming Early Music Hawaii concert (only two days away!) I’m having to play the piano for the accompaniment to three pieces on the program. They include In vidi in terra by Franz Liszt, Nigra sum by Pablo Casals and… Read More A piano lesson
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