I remember when Carrie started doing this, especially because she was pregnant. The choir was doing a Howard Hanson piece with chamber ensemble, and she and I did a viola/organ piece together. I don’t know how she stood up to play. When I became Director of Music in 1991, she and I >
While keyboard training is very important at the beginning of any musical career, James found that although the spirit was willing, the body was, at times, uncooperative.
James finally made the stretch. And, with persistence and a couple of years, high notes were no longer an obstacle. Because of that early hard work, he was an >
Even at an early age, James was ambitious and, it’s rumored, he was a bit undersized when he prevailed upon his parents to purchase those first super shiny organ shoes.
Well, today James has no problem fitting into those well-used organ shoes and he certainly knows how to use them too.
You may have asked yourself, “Why >
Even when James was quite young, he manifested a turn to the artistic. His temperament, while not described as difficult, was always, shall we say, discriminating.
One day while attending services without a pacifier, James expressed his feelings in a very vocal fashion. In order to quiet this trumpeting protest, the organ master picked up >
All of those pedals, keys and pistons might look like so much hardware to some people, but to James it was love at first sight. It was Great.
He wasn’t overwhelmed by the prospect of a lifetime of manual labor; he was totally excited by the possibilities.
Unlike sports, James knew that when he was on the >
I was three years out of grad school when the 1986 Ninth Organ-Playing Competition of the Ruth and Clarence Mader Foundation was announced. The required repertoire was intriguing — all music from the 20th century. All competitors were to learn the new Sonata en trio by Jean Guillou, one of the most technically-demanding works I have every learned. And then there were three other groupings of pieces, from which the competitors could choose the rest of their repertoire. I remember learning the pieces for a May 1986 faculty recital at Occidental College. With pieces from that recording, I entered the preliminary round of the competition. That fall, as the final competition drew near, Cherry Rhodes and I talked and came to the prudent conclusion that it would be advantageous for me to have a few coaching sessions with her. The final competition had three finalists perform the repertoire as a formal evening concert at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. It was thrilling to be named First Place Winner.
