I’ve been home now for three days and am having a miserable time with jet lag. My first night, I didn’t arrive into Honolulu until 10:30 pm, and by the time I retrieved my luggage, it was after 11:00 pm when I tried to sleep. Mind you, I had been awake since 6:30 am London… Read More Duty calls …
Last Sunday night I attended the “Cantate” concert by the Lutheran Church of Honolulu Choir and Men’s Schola; Wednesday I went to hear the St. Andrew’s Priory girls’ concert; tomorrow night I’ll be playing in the Iolani School Chorus concert; and Saturday night I’ll be at the Hawai’i Symphony concert! ‘Tis the season! Scott Fikse… Read More Spring concert season
[Apologies! My original post stated May 4th! That is because I heard so many ‘May the Fourth be with you’ jokes today!] This Sunday, May 7th, is Good Shepherd Sunday and is so named because of the Gospel reading of the day—the story of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, willing to lay down his life… Read More Good Shepherd Sunday
It’s not as easy as it looks. From day one, you are taught to always sit in the middle of the organ bench so you can develop a sense of where the pedals are without looking. So if I were to play a duet with someone else on the organ, I would be discombobulated. This… Read More Four hands, four feet
How many times have I stepped off the organ platform at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu? A zillion times, to be sure. But tonight after the Early Music Hawaii concert (which went very well, by the way), I misjudged the distance to the floor. The next thing I knew, my eyes were face to face… Read More Swan dive!
Ever since I returned from my mainland trip, I have had to hit the ground running. For the last three nights I have rehearsed with the Early Music Hawaii Chamber Singers for our concert tomorrow night, 7:30 pm at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. It has made for some very long days, each beginning with… Read More Kings and Queens
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 …
Heart wrenching . . . if I had to describe yesterday’s funeral for Denise Dusenberry Ortal-Ballaibe, that’s what I’d say. I would also call it tragic—Denise died on December 15, 2016 at the age of 54 from ovarian cancer—too young and too soon. She was a long-time member of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu—from 1987… Read More Heart wrenching
How many organists does it take to change a lightbulb? This was no joke, but an actual quip when I hosted the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists at my condo last night and we decided to take a group picture. I suggested that we turn up the lights, and told the group the switch… Read More How many organists…?
I’ve just returned home from attending the 42nd Annual Advent Procession at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, and a number of people came up to me to say that they had remembrances of Carl Crosier tonight. It was not only in the choice of music—I believe there was only one piece which director Scott Fikse… Read More Shades of Carl