In last night’s memorial service for Pastor Jeff Lilley, following his sudden death, he was described by his son, Seth as: a pastor, a chef, a handyman, a woodworker, a sailor, a therapist, a painter, a musician, a protector, a bouncer when necessary, a driver, an EMT, a mechanic, an electrician, a plumber, a photographer,… Read More Larger than life
While my colleagues at the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) were meeting this week for their biennual conference in Philadelphia, look what popped up in my Facebook feed! It was a picture of my husband, Carl, and me with my sister, Doris Au MacDonald and her duet partner, Sharon Dennis (aka The Braeded Chord)… Read More Across the pond(s)
Wh-a-a-t? I’m not on an organ tour anymore, where we typically visit three churches a day, but I’ve been chauffeuring my sister’s duo (The Braeded Chord) to various church venues for their gigs. On Thursday, they joined the jazz ensemble at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in a Jazz Vespers where The Rev. Diane Martinson, my… Read More Six churches in four days!
Last Thursday, my sister, Doris Au MacDonald and her musical partner, Sharon Dennis, (aka The Braeded Chord) arrived for a 12-day concert tour in Hawaii. I can hardly believe that it has been ten years since their last tour here—it was at that time they introduced the Alleluia Mass setting of the communion service to the congregation… Read More The Braeded Chord in Hawaii week
While I am home for sixteen days between European trips, I have a long “to do” list besides the obvious—doing laundry and repacking my suitcase! I did tell you of my desktop computer debacle (“A glutton for punishment”) and at this moment, the restore process has taken four whole days! While the files were being… Read More A new role
This morning I went to the 8:00 am service at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu where two of my young students played the prelude and postlude. It was Faith and Arts Sunday, the day that members of the congregation showcase their writing, art work and musical talents. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the congregation… Read More The next generation of organists
I was watching the PBS Newshour tonight, as I do every night, and there was an interview with Jeffrey Brown and Hope Jahren, a geobiologist who has won three Fulbrights and wrote a New York Times bestseller called Lab Girl, She has been all over the news this past spring, including a New York Times review, a Time… Read More Lab Girl . . . everywhere I turn!
People have asked me about my “vacation,” and I feel like saying, “I need a vacation from my vacation!” or “I need to come back to work to relax!” In a nutshell, during my 30 nights away from Hawaii: At the Boston Early Music Festival, I attended two Monteverdi operas, the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610,… Read More Digging out from under
Deep in the heart of Mennonite and Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania is the Sight & Sound theatre where we saw an impressive production of “Joseph” — and the contrasts between the two cultures could not be more stark. There were three of us: I and my sister, Doris, and her singing partner, Sharon… Read More Christian Broadway
One of the unique and most enjoyable activities of Association of Lutheran Church Musician (ALCM) conferences are the meaningful worship services, and this morning’s service was certainly on a par with other conference services. That meant hearing the thrilling sound of a whole congregation of organists and choirmasters singing to creative hymn playing, an inspired homily… Read More ALCM Opening Eucharist