For the first time ever in my professional career (that’s almost six decades!), I am working in a parish which will formally recognize the efforts of its choir. In this week’s parish newsletter at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, The Rev. Paul Lillie wrote: … at the High Mass Aloha Hour there will be a reception… Read More Choir Recognition
Lately I have to admit that I’ve been a little discouraged about the few number of organists in this town. I’ve been getting calls from churches looking for both temporary and permanent organists where in reality, none can be had. You may remember that the priest at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church contacted me early in… Read More The future … the organ ?
It was a text conversation last week with concert organist Nathan Laube that has caused a diversion in my daily activities. You see, in booking our air reservations for our European trip, I mistakenly had us arrive one day earlier in Toulouse than the start of our GoAhead tour to France, Spain and Portugal. In… Read More Changing the channel
The mission of the American Guild of Organists is to foster a thriving community of musicians who share their knowledge and inspire passion for the organ. The vision of the American Guild of Organists is to engage, support, and uplift every organist. As of July 1, I have a new responsibility—I’m the Membership Chair of… Read More My AGO peeps
A few years ago, Karl Bachman of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists took visiting organist Nathan Laube to dinner in a local Honolulu restaurant. When the waiter asked why he was here, Nathan answered that he was here to play a concert on the pipe organ. You got it, the waiter had no clue what… Read More Orgelkids coming to Hawaii!
What is awe-inspiring and amazing about concert organists is that they can jump from organ to organ, and with seemingly little effort, can register their pieces and play with ease, no matter how different each instrument is, no matter the acoustic, the touch, and the stops. And believe me, all organs are different and not created… Read More Memories of Sparky
I did not return from Bourges to my Paris hotel until nearly midnight, so I had a leisurely morning trying to repack my suitcase. We leave for Barcelona at 5:30 am tomorrow! This afternoon I met Andrew Dewar, organist, at the American Cathedral of Paris, also known as The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity.… Read More The American Cathedral
Nathan Laube: “Would you like to go up to the bell tower?” Kathy: “Sure, why not!” Little did I know that after Nathan led me up all the steps to the organ loft at the Cathedral of St. Étienne in Bourges, that was only HALFWAY up to the bell tower. It was not until I… Read More The height of insanity
If there was one thing I wanted to do while in Paris, it was to go to the Sunday mass and organ concert at St Sulpice, the church made famous by the book, The Da Vinci Code, and the church where I had heard my former teacher, Marcel Dupré, improvise all the Sunday services while… Read More Late night change of plans
This morning, I got a text message out of the blue while I was walking into St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia: “Did I see you this morning from a distance? Will look for you at Girard tonight. Bruce” Surprise, surprise! It was from organist friend Bruce Bengtson who is visiting the Organ Historical Society… Read More You never know who you’ll run into …