Just a week or so ago, “upended” was the answer to a crossword puzzle clue. I didnʻt know it at the time, but my life was going to evolve into chaos, and be completely upended. I have been dealing with the problem of termites in my apartment for the last ten years. (Yes, I have… Read More U-p-e-n-d-e-d !
Yesterday’s homework assignment to create a family tree for my Cada Dia Spanish class led me to investigate the people in my family. As I’ve written before, I come from a very large family — I am the oldest of five children, my mother was also the oldest of five children in her family, and… Read More Music in my family
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
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
This past summer you may recall that we were in Thousand Oaks, CA for the Region 4 conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. The Winter 2012 newsletter was just released containing my review/blow-by-blow of the conference events. (Had I realized at the time that I was going to have to “review” the conference,… Read More Telling the Story: followup
Earlier in the week, we have been at the Region 4 conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) held at California Lutheran University in cool Thousand Oaks, CA. The theme of the conference was “Behold I Tell You a Mystery: Telling God’s Story in the 21st Century.” In case you don’t know, going… Read More Day One: ALCM Thousand Oaks
We’ve scarcely been home for a couple of days, and trying to adjust to the 12-hour time difference between Hawaii and Europe, and we’ll soon have to think about traveling again. As Vice President of Region 4 of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, I have been on the committee to plan the regional conference,… Read More A family affair