There is nothing like a new coat of paint to jumpstart the new choir season! Today when I met with Miguel Felipe to help him type his first LCH bulletin, I couldn’t help but notice that the Music Director’s office had been completely repainted and the furniture rearranged over the weekend. Wow, everything looks so… Read More Nothing like a new coat of paint
Yesterday Carl said to me, “Are you going to stop blogging now that I’m retired? Things won’t be so insane anymore!” Hmmm . . . I revisited the very first post I wrote, which was last year, June 22nd, 2010 called “Why are we starting this blog?” and the reason I listed was to document Carl… Read More To blog or not to blog
Today is August 21st, 2011 — a day we knew about fifteen months ago when Carl wrote a letter to the congregation “Journeys come to an end.” Today was Carl’s last service at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu as its Cantor. Rather than being a day of sadness, it was a time of celebration and… Read More A day of rejoicing
We finally arrived in Seattle, arriving about 5 hours late due to United Airlines cancelling our flight from San Francisco (and breaking two of our suitcases to boot). The afternoon was spent at Pike Place Market shopping for our dinner for Peter Hallock where we stayed the night. So when the alarm rang at 6am… Read More The Seattle marathon has begun!
This was the title of the email message we sent out to the choir last night. Yes, the choir vacation is over, and we will resume this Sunday at 8:15 am for a rehearsal before the 9:15 am service. “Six weeks off is just about right,” Carl says about summer vacations. Some churches give their… Read More Welcome back!
We didn’t get home last night until 11 pm from transforming the church into a concert hall, so it was pretty hard getting up this morning at our usual 5 am. We had to make one more airport run to pick up bass David Newman, who flew in from Washington, DC. Carl has contracted David… Read More David Newman and the first orchestra rehearsal
Today is Easter Sunday 2011 and the morning services are over, with Easter Compline yet to go. Allen Bauchle and I arrived at 7 am this morning to rehearse the trumpet and organ music for the 8 am service. In addition to the Trumpet Concerto in D (for the prelude) and Sinfonia in D (for… Read More Easter Day at LCH
I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the last Sunday in Lent and next week is already Palm Sunday! During the Sundays in Lent, instead of an opening hymn accompanied by the organ, we have been using processional introits based on Gregorian melodies, interspersed with handbell peals written by Carl Crosier. LCH’s five octaves of… Read More Petit and Fritsen handbells
Sooner or later, nearly everyone gets to Hawaii. We’ve said that for family, friends, relatives, and organists. We at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu are especially fortunate to have hosted some of the great organists of the world, and I’m positive that what put us on the map is the presence of the Beckerath organ.… Read More Famous organists visit LCH
Our next “biggie” is not for two weeks, so we have a little downtime to reflect on the past weekend’s performances. Last Thursday, of course, was our regular choir night when we rehearsed Peter Hallock’s “The Last Judgment” with the percussion instruments. [Hallock says, “On the fifth day, God made Thursday nights for choir practice!]… Read More Post-Rutter and Post-Hallock