I’ve been subbing for organist John Renke for Wednesday Evensong services which are held at 5:30 pm every week, and after last night’s service I must have looked like a drowned rat, because it is so incredibly hot in St. Andrew’s Cathedral at that time of day. Those of you who have experienced summer in Hawaii… Read More Sweaty musicians
Okay, I can just hear my late husband, Carl, saying: Kathy, why don’t you check these things instead of being in such a hurry?! You’re in too much of a rush and aren’t careful!” What I’m referring to was my last post about the All Saints Day memorial concert, November 1, 2015 at the Lutheran Church… Read More I can hear him now!
So while the weekend has not quite arrived yet, it is the beginning of two crazy, busy weekends where I will play NINE services in just TWO weekends! As I write this, I’m in fact on the way to Honolulu International Airport to pick up Maui organist Clayton Logue who will be my houseguest and… Read More Nine services in two weekends!
Even though the use of the organ in some churches is passé, there still seems to be a need for organists in others. And it seems that organists are on their way of going the way of the dodo bird, or the dinosaur. So when an organist goes on vacation, or needs to have surgery,… Read More Desperately. Seeking. Organists!
Either that, or I have a hole in my head! This morning I was happily reading my email messages, and I opened up the one from the Cathedral of St. Andrew. There I read about the concerts that are happening there this weekend, including this note about myself: This Sunday we are blessed to have… Read More When it rains, it pours
This week I have been spending lots of time practicing on the Aeolian-Skinner organ in anticipation of being the organ substitute for four services at St. Andrew’s Cathedral this Sunday. In so doing, I have coordinated my practice schedule with Karol Nowicki, the Music Program Manager, who according to the St. Andrew’s website: “Working directly with… Read More Karol Nowicki and the EMH Choir
Yesterday was All Saints Sunday and I spent nearly the entire day at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. It all started with a 7:15 am rehearsal with the Hawaiian choir, and ended with a reception after the 5:30 pm Evensong — all for the purpose of “learning the ropes” for November 16, when I will be playing four services to substitute for John… Read More All Saints Sunday / Day of the Dead
Have you ever heard the term “circuit rider?” It referred to clergy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the United States who traveled from church to church to organize congregations. It was especially prevalent in places where there was a dearth of ministers, and so it was common to have ministers serve more than… Read More Have shoes, will travel!
It was nine years ago that I recommended to the local American Guild of Organists Executive Board that we bring Paul Jacobs, the youngest head of the Juilliard School Organ Department, to Hawaii to give a recital. I had heard him play several times, but it was his performance in New York at the Association of Lutheran… Read More Michael Hey, Concert Organist
Ordinarily what I’m going to write about today I wouldn’t consider within the confines of this blog. That is to say, in this particular blog I mostly restrict myself to writing about music, my travels as they relate to music, and musical events. But when I ended my nearly 35-year tenure as Organist of the… Read More Guilty pleasure