Josh is a young Jamaican-Canadian and this blog is about his music & travel adventures and anything that takes his interest. He sings bass, and studies organ, piano, violin & viola.
(This blog was last updated in April 2019, and will no longer updated in the future.)
Last Tuesday, I did the "Music at Midday" recital at St. James' Cathedral. I was asked to fill in just a week before, and I was really excited to help out.
I repeated the program for my last recital (in February) as I am still working on new pieces. My new pieces are really close to being ready, but I want to work on them some more with my teacher first.
My past performances have been arranged weeks or months in advance, so this was a new experience for me.
I am so sorry for neglecting my blog for so long!
I have been super busy!
I became the Junior Organ Scholar at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. I have especially been involved with the Tone Chimes. I still sing with the choir, and I also played the piano for a couple pieces.
I have also been involved with Orchestra and I started substitute teaching piano at a Music School.
I did a few RCM exams too.... Organ Grade 8, History Grade 10, and Viola Grade 7.
On October 30, 2018, I did an Organ Recital at The Cathedral Church of St. James.
(My Dad had to be the videographer as my Mom started back classes at University of Toronto and couldn't make it.)
I did my second ever solo recital earlier this month. It was on May 8th at the Cathedral Church of St. James.
It wasn't as nerve-racking as the first time.
Normally when I do concerts or rehearsals, my parents record some of it, but this time, they sat and enjoyed it.
We arranged with Philip Elliot to do an audio recording of the concert for us.
I'm so happy that we could get such a wonderful recording!
My program included:
Rigaudon by Andre Campra (166 - 1744)
Trio in C Minor, BWV 585 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 533 by J. S. Bach
Fantasia in C Minor, BWV 562 by J. S. Bach
Sonata de 1o Tono by Jose Lidon (1748 - 1827)
Folk Tune by Percy Whitlock (1903 - 1946)
Choral Song by Samuel Wesley (1810 - 1876)
Berceuse by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937)
Gaelic Fantasy by Hans-Andre Stamm (b. 1958)
I finally had time to sit down and listen to the performance.
It is very different listening to the concert and comparing it to how I experienced it while playing. The Rigaudon and the Bach pieces all went really well. I stumbled in the Sonata; the stumble was only about a split second, but it seemed so much longer while playing. I approached the Gaelic Fantasy a little too fast..It would have sounded better if I had just gone a little slower. Everything else was good. :-)
Lots of homeschoolers came out to listen. Thank you so much for coming, it was great having so much support from other homeschoolers! I really hope you all enjoyed it!
me with Robert Busiakiewicz (left) and Ian Sadler (right)
A special thank you to my teacher - Ian Sadler, Robert Busiakiewicz - the Director of Music at St. James, and to Philip for recording the concert. :-)
Today, I did my first organ recital.
It was at St. James' Cathedral.
The programme included:
Prelude and Fugue in C Major by J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750)
Largo e spiccato by A. Vivali (1678 - 1741) arr. J. S. Bach
Prelude and Fugue in G Minor by J. S. Bach
Voluntary in A Minor by William Boyce (1711 - 1779)
Berceuse by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937)
Trumpet Air by Bert van der Hoek (b. 1932)
Siciliano by Max Reger (1873 - 1916)
Gaelic Fantasy for Organ by Hans-Andre Stamm (b. 1958)
The prelude in C Major went smoothly, but I stumbled a little in the fugue. I had a 'fat finger' in a couple pieces but the good news is I think that any future recitals will be easier than this one. I learnt how to recover from my mistakes while performing in public.
Here is a video of Largo e spiccato from my recital:
A huge "Thank you" to Ian Sadler, my teacher and Robert Busiakiewicz, the Director of Music at St. James' Cathedral for allowing me to do lessons at the Cathedral, plus practice time and for letting me perform.
It is hard to believe, Robert introduced me to Ian, last year on October 18th and I had my first organ lesson on October 30th.
Here is a picture from the day I met Ian.
A special thank you to everyone who came out to hear me play, including Julia, Elaine, Kelly, Ken, Christine, Lisa, Mervin, Lucy, Barbara, Sage, and all the homeschoolers.
And thank you to Mom and Dad, I couldn't have done this without you!
People ask me what it is that I love about St. James Cathedral.... It is hard to put it into words.
I love organ music and I go to the Tuesday Music at Midday organ concerts whenever I can.
Above all, I like the people at St. James and I love that we share the same love of the organ.
I have met some really wonderful people at the concerts and it was at one of these concerts that I met my organ teacher. It makes me so happy that I am able to have lessons in such a beautiful, historic place and be a part of such a great community.
St. James has been going strong since 1807!
Of course, there have been many changes since then.
In February, there was a display up in the church for Black History Month..
This picture shows Thornton Blackburn's taxi stand outside of St. James Cathedral around 1874.
Thornton Blackburn was a former slave from the United States and John Strachan, who was rector of St. James objected to returning the Blackburns to the U.S.
I love that there is a long history of treating people with respect.
The Church building itself is beautiful. It has stained glass windows all around.
Each of them shows a different scene.
If you look closely, you might be able to spot a small picture of the Cathedral in this window.
There is just something about the church that makes you want to take care of it.
Of course, I love the organ itself....
It has 5101 pipes and it has such a wide range of sounds.
Here is an excerpt from Voluntary in A Minor by William Boyce.
(Mom taped me when I was having class one week.)
This one is Little Prelude and Fugue in G Minor by J.S. Bach
I am still very new at playing organ... My repertoire isn't yet varied enough to show off the full capabilities of the organ.
Here is a link to the website for the Cathedral Church of St. James:
