Bach, Britten and Butler

J. Melvin Butler, Canon Musician of St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, was the featured guest recitalist at a concert held at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. His program included: Prelude and Fugue in D major (J. S. Bach), Concerto del Sign. Torelli (J. G. Walther), In quiet joy (Mark Winges), Hymnus on Veni Creator (deGrigny), Missa Brevis (Britten) and Final from Symphony I (Vierne).

Mel Butler was joined by the trebles of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu in Britten's haunting "Missa Brevis," conducted by AGO member Carl Crosier.

J. Melvin Butler has taught organ improvisation and church music at the University of Washington. Also a professional violist, he performs regularly with the Onyx Chamber Players in Seattle. Prior to arriving in Seattle in 1991, he was for many years Organist/Choirmaster of the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY. During that time he was also Associate Professor of Church Music at the Eastman School of Music, a violist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Music Director and Conductor of the Rochester Bach Festival Chorus. During the Vietnam era, he served his country as violist in the U. S. Navy String Quartet.

Clergy Appreciation Dinner

We met on November 16, 2009 for our annual Clergy Appreciation Dinner, held at Central Union Church. We were treated to a delightful concert by the Honolulu Boy Choir, followed by a catered lasagne and salad dinner. The dinner is an opportunity to say "thank you" between clergy and their organists/choirmasters.

Pipe Organ Encounter -- Positively Outstanding Experience!

Friday, September 25th was the opening Hawaii AGO meeting of the 2009-2010 season. It was held at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, home of a 2-manual Rudolf von Beckerath organ.

The evening began with a time-honored AGO tradition, the potluck supper! We enjoyed fried chicken, meatballs, noodles, sushi, tossed green salad, potato salad, fresh fruit and cookies for dessert.


Then we went into the church where Joey Fala and Jordan McCreary, our POE students, showed slides and videos and talked about their experience in San Diego at Pipe Organ Encounter. By all accounts, it was a fabulous week, filled with music, exploring many types of pipe organs, friendship and fun.
Joey and Jordan each performed one piece on the organ that they had worked on during POE week. Joey played "Recessional" by William Mathias and Jordan played "Poco vivace, op. 9" by Hermann Schroeder. It was a most enjoyable evening for all in attendance.

Hawaii Students at Pipe Organ Encounter

During the week of August 2-8, two Hawaii students, Joey Fala and Jordan McCreary, attended the Pipe Organ Encounter hosted by the San Diego Chapter.

This letter was written to The American Organist magazine, which sums up Joey and Jordan's experience:

I am writing with immense gratitude for the opportunity to attend the Pipe Organ Encounters over the past years. As an aspiring young organist, these weeks have been a source of vigor, camaraderie, and incredible inspiration.

In a sometimes solitary pursuit, the POE draws together organists of varying backgrounds, and ages to share mutual interests and savor one another's talents. My lessons with distinguished instructors have immeasurably guided my techniques and interpretation. My peers have challenged me to greater devotion to our instrument and its divine repertoire. And I am forever thankful for the lasting friendships built from these times together. (Albert W. Tomasso, Farmington, CT)

The week includes group and private lessons, concerts by prominent organists, field trips to a number of different types of organ installations, and lots of fun meeting kids the same age with the same interests.

This group picture was taken on the last day, a concert by the POE students.

There was a field trip to the Blackinton organ factory.

POE students were treated to a theatre organ concert at the Balboa Theatre.

"Open Console" opportunities gave POE students a chance to try out different organs.

They even got a chance to see and hear a pedal harpsichord.

Midsummer Night's Organ Concert, July 19, 2009

(L-R) Margaret Lloyd, John McCreary, Joey Fala, Katherine Crosier, Jordan McCreary,

Yuri McCoy, Nyle Hallman and Gregory Bietz) Click the photo to enlarge it.

For twenty summers, there has been a Midsummer Night's Organ Concert at Central Union Church. The tradition was begun by organist Nyle Hallman and has been continued by her successor, Margaret Lloyd. This year's concert featured nine organists:

Central Union Church

JOEY FALA: Processional for Organ (William Mathias)

MARGARET LLOYD: Andante for Organ in B major (Albert Alain)

NYLE HALLMAN: Chorale in A minor (César Franck)

St. Andrew's Cathedral

JOHN McCREARY: Legend of the Mountain (Sigfrid Karg-Elert)

JOHN RENKE: Organ Fantasy on ‘O Paradise’ (Malcolm Williamson)

YURI McCOY: Suite, op. 5: Toccata (Maurice Duruflé)

Lutheran Church of Honolulu

JORDAN McCREARY: Lost in the Night / Alleluia! Let Praises Ring (Michael Burkhardt)

KATHERINE CROSIER: Toccata in D minor (Max Reger)

Grace Episcopal, St. Helena, CA

GREGORY BIETZ: L’Ascension: Outbursts of joy (Olivier Messiaen)

This concert is the annual fundraiser for the Hawaii Chapter’s scholarship programs. Although the crowd was a little smaller this year, the offering was very generous and will allow us to fund our scholarship program for another year. Traditionally the scholarship winners are also announced for the coming year.

The scholarship winners for 2009-2010 are:

Christy Cho

Abednigo Guevarra

Amy Johnson

Karen Leatherman

Michelle Manuel

Stephen Peters (Aloha Music Scholar)

Joshua Rosales

Megumi Taketa

Miki Yamamoto

Naomi Yuen-Schat

Aaron David Miller in concert, June 12, 2009

Aaron David Miller, director of music and organist of House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, MN was the featured recitalist at the Hawaii Chapter's Fourth Annual Organ Concert, held on June 12, 2009 at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Honolulu. The program was:

Fantasie, op. 43 (William Crawford)

Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor (Johann Sebastian Bach)

Papillons (Jacques Ibert)

Sonatina, Op. 136b (Felix Mendelssohn)

Carillon (Dom Paul Benoit)

interval

Hymn: Praise to the Lord, the almighty (Lobe den Herren)

Improvisation (Aaron David Miller)

I. Capriccio

II. Andante

III. Scherzo

IV. Finale

Ruth Pfeiffer congratulates Aaron on his stunning recital.

Aaron meets a young admirer and his mother.

Aaron (second from right) is shown with the Hawaii Chapter AGO Board.

Robert T. Anderson, requiescat in pace

Dr. Robert T. Anderson, retired Chairman of the Organ Department of Southern Methodist University, and honorary member of the Hawaii Chapter AGO, passed away on May 29, 2009 in Honolulu. A memorial service was held at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu on June 3rd . Organist Katherine Crosier played Bob's favorite piece, J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E-flat, BWV 552. The Bach Chamber Choir and Orchestra was conducted by Carl Crosier and performed Heinrich Schütz' Psalm 150 (arranged by Martin Jean), and Bach's Cantata 150 Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich. Nyle Hallman, harpist and organist, member of the Hawaii AGO, performed Bach's Jesu joy of man's desiring on the harp. For a PDF version of the complete program, please email Katherine Crosier.

A scholarship fund has been established in his name, the Robert T. Anderson Memorial Scholarship. Additional memorial gifts may be sent to the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists, P. O. Box 161046, Honolulu, HI 96816-0923.

After the service, the congregation was invited to peruse Bob's large collection of photos, CDs, magazines, and other paraphernalia related to the pipe organ. They were welcome to take any or all of it for their own enjoyment. And they did!

A table full of organ CDs before the congregation helped themselves!

Bob was a gourmet cook and loved entertaining. He was known for hosting lavish parties and the reception following the service was no exception! It featured upscale hors d'oeuvres and varietal wines, chilled lemon water and fruit punch. The menu included fresh fruits and berries (grapes, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew and strawberries served with a cinnamon yogurt dip; Hawaiian summer rolls (medley of julienne vegetables wrapped in rice paper, seasoned with fresh mint and served with a pineapple salsa); tiny tomato bites stuffed with mozzarella cheese and topped with sliced basil and sea salt; vegetable crudite garnished with fresh herbs and served with a creamy spinach dip; cheese and crackers; jumbo shrimp cocktail and cajun-seared ahi on cucumber rounds with sesame wasabi aioli sauce, garnished with green onions.

Bob would have loved it all!

Jumbo shrimp tray.

Fresh fruit & berry and cheese trays.

Hawaiian Spring Rolls

Cajun seared ahi on cucumber rounds