Nov 1, 2024
TW: Gore
A little practice
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TW: Gore
A little practice
How will you structure your practice?
How will you structure your practice?
Will you explore new repertoire? Have you explored music of different eras? The Organist’s Manual by Roger E. Davis has short pieces from nearly all eras of organ composition. Take time to play through pieces to get a flavor of the music then ask for guidance finding music of a specific era. Did you hear music you liked on our past recitals? Go back to the programs and get the name of specific…
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SOPP549: John Higgins About Practicing Slowly, Visualization And Counting Out Loud by Secrets of Organ Playing
Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast 549! Vidas: I'm so excited to be able to talk with John Higgins now from Australia, my old friend, and he's been on our show for maybe 3 times before so I'm really delighted we can connect because John has some news to share. Last time we talked it was a while ago and he's very busy with raising a family - he has 3 sons. And also he's been working in a church, playing church music and also doing all kinds of church music related things which we will talk about today. So thank you so much, John and welcome to the show! John: Thank you so much, Vidas and it's such an honor to be on this podcast and I'm so proud to be one of your students for over 8 years now. V: I remember you were in Vilnius and recently I was looking through all the photos from the past and found the one with you playing our church organ and you together with me and Ausra and we all spent some time together. Your flight was delayed, it was a big adventure. And after practicing for 7 years, you finally got to play a recital on the largest pipe organ in Lithuania. That was quite an adventure! J: Yes, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and such a wonderful opportunity. I can't thank you enough for this. I'll never forget it. I feel like the organ is part of me, and you and Ausra are such a huge part of my life as well. V: What happened afterwards, John, after you came back to Australia? I know you have very dangerous bushfires in your area and I hope firefighters will stop them and that you will get some rain soon. That's my hope for New Year. We're hoping for much milder climate. So could you share, John about your life after you came back to Australia? What have you been up to? Related link: Hidden Treasures, John Higgins' YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrikng_XqeuuLbV2mo3zfig
Why We Need to Practice
Why We Need to Practice
Interesting fact: In a liturgical worship service with communion, how many notes, on average, do you think are played by the organist? A. 999 B. 7, 045 C.. 11,023 If you guessed, 11,023 — you are the winner! WOW! Some organist actually counted all those notes! Those are a lot of notes to play at the right time, in the right tempo, on a pleasing registration to lead our congregations in worship.
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Got in some good practicing today; starting out strong!
SOP128: John Higgins on Discovering His True Potential After 365 Days by Secrets of Organ Playing
Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #128! Today's special guest is John Higgins, who is the organist at St Andrew's Presbyterian church in Morwell, Victoria, Australia. John has been a guest a while ago on our podcast. We talked when he was living in another state of Southern Australia, in a small town called Whyalla. He has a tradition of playing Christmas concerts for his former congregation at Victor Harbor. John has been our loyal subscriber since the very beginning of this blog in the early 2012 and has since resurrected his passion for music and specifically for organ. He's an engineer by profession but through these years of organ practice, he's grown so much that now he has the skill to play for liturgy as well as recitals. Currently John is living in Traralgon, Victoria where he has moved with his family and I'm very excited to be able to talk to him about his recent Christmas concert that he played at Victor Harbor. Make sure you listen to the very end because you will get a lot of inspiration from John for the New Year. By the way, John will be coming to Lithuania! Yes, it's NOT a typo. He's scheduled to play a recital at Vilnius University St John's church this April. Ausra and I are very excited about being able to welcome him in Vilnius. Listen to the conversation And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.
SOP Podcast 126: James Spanner On The Importance Of Revealing The Meaning Of The Text by Secrets of Organ Playing
Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #126! Today is Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas, Blessed Season Greetings to our every listener and subscriber! I'm so happy that we've been doing for a while these podcasts and we're continuing our Secrets of Organ Playing journey for 6 years now and Ausra and I hope to help you grow as an organist for many years to come. And today a special guest is visiting Vilnius University St John's church. This is an English organist James Spanner. James recently contacted me ahead of time that he and his wife will be visiting our country and enjoying pre-Christmas season and I let him play the largest pipe organ in Lithuania. Our conversation was recorded just minutes after Jame's practice on this organ. He played a few pieces and finished with BWV 566. This is Bach's E major Toccata transposed down to C major and it sounds very sweet on this organ because of Kirnberger III temperament. In this conversation James is sharing his organ playing experiences. At the end he emphasized the need for the organist to reveal the meaning of the text to the listener, among many other things. I hope you'll be inspired by James thoughts. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.