Last weekend was the 50th anniversary of the dedicatory concerts by McNeil Robinson at the Beckerath organ of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, which in itself is an auspicious occasion — but whatʻs REALLY SCARY is that I was there in person, fifty years ago! Yikes! There were two dedication concerts, but since so much… Read More Fifty years later
[UPDATE] By now, the whole world has heard about the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, here in Hawaii, and the horrific fires which have completely flattened the historic town of Lahaina, with 93 persons confirmed dead and nearly 3,000 buildings destroyed. Among those buildings lost was Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, a parish of… Read More RIP Beckerath organ in Maui
Not long ago I posted this picture in connection with my 50th high school reunion in Burbank, California: The photo, along with a short article, appeared in the Burbank Daily Review newspaper, and I saved both in a scrapbook. I believe it was in January of 2013 that I finally sat down to open our Christmas cards,… Read More Fifty years later …
When the late Carl Crosier programmed Bach’s monumental St. Matthew Passion in the year 2000, he wanted to present the work as it was originally conceived for the Thomaskirche in Leipzig: for two separate orchestras, two choirs, and two sets of soloists. It meant we also needed two pipe organs, which meant purchasing a continuo… Read More Organ duets
This morning we visited five historic churches in Philadelphia, some dating as early as 1761. The first three took place in Roman Catholic parishes, although in the first church, services are only held a few times a year. Organist Matthew Glandorf did an outstanding job on the 1892 Hook & Hastings organ at Holy Trinity… Read More Beautiful historic churches in Philadelphia
Today Jason Anderson, second Director of the Compline Choir (Seattle), posted the above picture on Facebook, reminiscing about Peter Hallock’s 85th birthday party celebration on November 21, 2009. Jason wrote: Six years ago, the stars aligned and I was privileged to dine with Peter Hallock and Richard Proulx at Chez Hallock. Carl & Kathy Crosier produced… Read More To those we love but see no longer
Maybe you’ve seen this picture shared around the internet lately, with the question, “Have you ever just stopped and realized that if you hadn’t met a certain person, your entire life would be completely different?” For sure, when I met Carl Crosier, my musical repertoire became much more focused on the works of Bach, as… Read More Continuing the tradition
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!
In this week leading up to the anniversary of the Beckerath organ, I can’t help but think that there were three important people forty years ago who are no longer with us: Rudolf von Beckerath, Carl Crosier and McNeil Robinson who were so instrumental in putting this organ on the map: Rudolf von Beckerath, for building… Read More Remembering Neil
In the last week, this blog has received numerous hits while searching for “McNeil Robinson,” who died on May 9, 2015. Here is what the American Guild of Organists posted on its website: McNeil Robinson 1943-2015 The American Guild of Organists is sad to announce the death of internationally renowned organist and composer McNeil Robinson… Read More In loving memory, McNeil Robinson