It’s time to tell the truth: the name of this website is a mistake. When I first undertook to start composing a few years ago I agonized over the name of this website. I thought of all sorts of different names, but eventually settled on The Organ In Praise. It was going to be a… Read More The Value of a Good Mistake
Let’s talk about a sensitive subject – failure. Failure is a part of life. All of us have experienced it and, most likely, none of us enjoy it. Failure can hurt at a deep emotional level and, depending on how badly we think we failed, the hurt can take a long time to heal. Failure… Read More Failure Is a Good Thing!
Recently we went adventuring. Here’s quick report of our recent travels. Vacation 1: The Stuart family recently went on a vacation. We chose to do a cruise. We sailed out of a dirty, nasty city and had to walk around the trash and the people passed out on the streets. Just getting to our room… Read More A Tale of Two Vacations
On March 3rd and 4th of this year, the San Jose South Stake hosted a BYU organ workshop. I wrote this free accompaniment for the workshop, which was sung at the concert held on March 3rd. Unfortunately, no recording of the concert was made, so you will need to listen to this one on your own.… Read More Let Us All Press On
I have a question for you: Have you received his image in your playing? With this question, paraphrased from the prophet Alma, lies the greatest challenge that faces a Latter-day Saint organist. While we have to be good at what we do, the greater challenge is to do good. As church musicians and especially as… Read More Have We Received His Image In Our Playing?
I have observed throughout my life that some people are not happy unless they are miserable. The general population has many cases of this condition and organists are not immune. If you are one of these people, I’d like to offer some suggestions to assist you further in your pursuit of musical gloom. First, forego… Read More How to Be Miserable as an Organist
