Well, that was an interesting day.
Readers of this blog may not know the extent to which I work
to find and mentor new organists. Many years ago I hung up my concert organ
shoes. I tried to turn my back on playing the organ. Afterall, I didn’t have a
church job, I had no organ in my home, and when I did play, things hurt. Why should
I spend time trying to do something that doesn’t bring me (or other people)
joy? Gues what? At my core I’m an organist. I couldn’t do it! I found joy in
listening to others, explaining the instrument to people who showed (or maybe
didn’t show) interest, and doing my best to support those who play the organ.
Thus, my new role as an organist: find a way to help new organists
find joy in this instrument.
Yesterday, I had an interesting day.
I’m a member of the San Jose chapter of the American Guild
of Organists. The chapter, along with the Palo Alto/Peninsula and the San
Francisco chapters, owns a demonstration organ. It is a working instrument
built in such a way that it can be stored in 2 Pelican Cases, assembled,
played, and repacked for use in a different location.
Yesterday I gave a demonstration and answered questions at
the Carmel Bach Festival office. Judging by the grins I witnessed, they had fun!
Good questions were asked and now we’ll be working together getting this out
into the community.
An interesting day.
But wait! There’s more…..
Just after I settled in to provide information for a proposal,
I received another request from a small school in San Jose. They want to
schedule a time for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders
to work with the Orgelkids instrument.
Today will be busy getting things in line to take advantage
of those opportunities. Probably not much tatting will get done. That’s OK. We’re
in the midst of a heat wave here. I don’t like to tat when my hands are so
sweaty. It’s impossible to clean the thread once I get it dirty with perspiration.
No comments:
Post a Comment