Music with the Angels: Dr. Jenny Kim Piano Recital
PROGRAM
Toccata in C major (ca. 1712?), BWV 564 J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Transcribed (1900) by F. Busoni (1866-1924)
Prelude
Intermezzo: Adagio
Fugue
Sonata No. 32 in A major, Op. 35, No. 2 (1791) L. Kozeluch (1747-1818)
Allegro
Adagio
Rondo: Allegro
INTERMISSION
Sonata in B minor (1853) F. Liszt (1811-1886)
Dr. Jenny Soonjin Kim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance from Seoul National University, where she studied with Prof. Nakho Paik. She then earned a piano diploma at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, performing solo at the Wiener Saal. Upon returning to South Korea she was hired as a full-time piano instructor at Pyeong Taek University. She has given numerous piano performances in South Korea, some in its most prestigious venues, including the Art Cultural Center and the National Theater.
Dr. Kim continued her piano studies with Dennis Thurmond at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she received a Master of Music degree and a graduate certificate in piano performance. She then earned a Music Management and Merchandising diploma at the University of California/Los Angeles.
Dr. Kim was a member of the piano faculty at Shepherd University (Los Angeles) from 2008 until 2011. Three recordings of hers (“Master Composers”, Vol. I-III) that include performances of major works ranging from Bach to Schoenberg are now carried by Arabesque Records. In 2012 she completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Historical Performance Practices (Keyboard Studies) at Claremont Graduate University, where she studied piano with Dr. Serge Martinchuk and harpsichord with Prof. Robert Zappulla. A recipient of CGU's Grace Hobson Smith music fellowship, Dr. Kim has appeared at CGU not only as a solo pianist and fortepianist but also on harpsichord, in both solo and chamber settings.
Dr. Kim currently has contracts with Brilliant Classics to record the fifty keyboard sonatas of Leopold Kozeluch and the six keyboard sonatas of Johann Friedrich Doles, Jr., on fortepiano— the latter recording to be a world premiere. She is a Studio (Piano) and Early Music/Historical Performance Practices (Fortepiano) faculty member at CGU, and recently was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Emmaus Road Monday, March 20, 7:00 p.m.
Emmaus Road continues its reading of Teilhard de Chardin and the Mystery of Christ. This is a book that explores the thought, theology, and spirituality of Fr. Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest of the 20th Century who was also a paleontologist who made major discoveries of early humans who sought to sought to integrate the discoveries of science with the deepest things of the Christian faith.
Fr. Bob has made copies of the Chapter 3, to tide us over until the books arrive. Copies will be available on Sunday
Reading for Monday: Chapter 3, Part 1
Thinking Ahead: Holy Week and Easter: March 9-16
We begin to prepare for Holy Week and Easter and all the activities that will take place during that time. Over the next weeks there will be articles about each of the days and activities. Today we begin with the Reflective Dinners in Holy Week
Reflective Dinners in Holy Week:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 6:00 p.m. Parish Hall
The Reflective Dinners in Holy Week are a tradition unique to Church of the Angels. They had their beginning as an outcome of one of my annual 8 day retreats many years ago. In that time I made my annual retreats at the Camaldolese Hermitage south of Big Sur, and my favorite part of the day was at the end of the Evening Prayer Liturgy. We would go from the monastic choir into the Rotunda where they celebrated the Eucharist. We would stand along the outside wall, and then one of the monks would bring out the Sacrament from the Tabernacle and place it on the Altar with a single candle. Then we would all sit or kneel in silence for a half hour. Inside the Rotunda it was absolutely silent. We stayed that way until one of the monks range a Tibetan Singing Bowl, and then we would prostrate ourselves. The bowl would be rung again and we’d stand and a monk would take the Sacrament back to the Tabernacle in an adjoining Chapel.
As I said, this was my favorite part of the day. During the silence various things would emerge in my mind. At one point many years ago an idea emerged, “What if we combined The Song of Solomon with the Gospel of John during Holy Week? Later the idea of three evenings took shape. I came home and asked Phil Holmes if he would take on the meditations and he did, and so the Reflective Dinners were born.
Standing behind all this is St. John’s account of the Last Supper. It begins with Jesus washing the disciples feet in Chapter 13. Then in Chapter’s 14, 15, and 16, Jesus talks with his disciples about what their life in the world will be on the other side of his Resurrection. The Last Supper concludes with Jesus High Priestly Prayer in Chapter 17 where he prays for his disciples. The key to understanding all this is to realize that Jesus is not speaking to those original disciples only, but that he is talking to disciples in all times and all places until the Parousia. His description of Post Resurrection life to them, has resonance with our lives as disciples now. He gives the clue when he says “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” In other words the truth of Christ and what he means will unfold and deepen over the whole course of our lives and in fact the whole course of human history. So, the Reflective Dinners in Holy Week bring us into this same place where Jesus speaks with us about our lives in him now and always.
To make this happen, we set it up in a special way. We set up the Parish Hall with tables and chairs forming a U and we sit around the outside. The tables have many, many of the IKEA Tea Lights that we use at Pentecost as well as other candles. As we gather, depending on the time of year, the light in the Parish Hall dims with the setting of the sun and the candles glow brighter. A team prepares a simple meal, usually soup or casserole, salad, bread, wine, and a desert. Once the meal has been served, a parishioner reads to us as we eat in silence. Over the years many parishioners have presented Christian authors from across the centuries all talking about the Christian life, what it means, and how it is lived. When finished, usually when we’re about done with the meal, I read one of the Chapters from St. John’s account of the Last Supper, one chapter each evening. At the conclusion of that, I read 1/3 of the High Priestly Prayer. Then we do Eucharist together around the table using bread and wine from the meal. We share the Sacrament among each other. We finish with the Blessing.
After this there is desert and conversation. Then we clean up and prepare for the next evening.
The Reflective Dinners are a wonderful event. Some people come to all three, some make one or two. It doesn’t matter, there is much to be gained either way. Once again this year we look forward to a rich experience during the first three nights in Holy Week. If you’ve never been to a Reflective Dinner, you might want to try it, and see for yourself.
Easter Sign Ups
Sundays for the remainder of Lent, the sign up sheets for the various Easter Activities will be on the table outside Church. These will be sign ups for:
Church Decorations for Easter
Reflective Dinners in Holy Week
Holy Saturday Preparations
Easter Day, Easter Breakfast
Das Boot: Working on the Boat that is Church of the Angels
From Eric Jones
Hey Father Bob,
Here is a little update with pictures of what was done last session and Monday.
The kneeler in the transept had cracked leatherette upholstery. It was removed and some new batting was added along with new fabric upholstery.
The pew kneeler that broke because the leg cracked had the leg glued and clamped back together and new longer screws were used to attach the mounting hardware. Hopefully, the longer screws will bind both leg pieces together so the problem won't reoccur.
The Victorian podium had one of the legs falling off and misc. base trim needed to be reattached. The leg was removed and all the old glue scraped off (actually, this was the hardest part of the job!) The leg and base trim were then glued and clamped back in place. The next step will be to rehabilitate the finish. This is less urgent and can be done a bit later. The base trim still has missing pieces which may be rattling around the church somewhere. If it's found, I can reattach them.
I worked on another of the olive wood choir pew caps to match the one that was redone previously. I'll probably work on these slowly as I get the time. When they're all complete, we can wax all the choir benches.
A few other subjects that I thought I'd keep you informed about:
We seem to have a leak in the tower. Water appears to be coming in from a crack in the lead in the corner of the trough that runs around the perimeter of the tower at the level of the bell. Since I recently cleaned the floor in the clock room, I can tell that a large-ish puddle has recently formed and evaporated. This is probably only a small amount of the water that is being allowed to enter the building through this crack. The majority is likely being absorbed into the wall and floor of the bell tower level and clock room floor. The best long term, professional solution would be to solder a patch of lead over the area. A second best solution would be to use a high grade joint sealant. If you'd like, I am able to do the second option.
Regarding the bell wheel, previously I was going to paint it to match the exterior paint, but upon closer examination, I noticed that the wheel is not painted but stained. I'm going to look into a durable exterior grade stain instead of paint for the rehabilitation. And since I'm working up there, I thought I'd give the wooden base timbers a coat of stain and the painted metal elements a new coat of oil paint.