On Saturday, June 28^th, our parish celebrated the life of Johnny Wayne Bradburn, the organist/choirmaster of our parish from 1996-2010.  The service can be viewed online at:

https://www.youtube.com/live/IPeT_yAr8ng?si=3ZRHhijxkioI-C10

On Thursday, June 19th, at a little after 10 P.M., my friend and colleague Johnny Bradburn passed beyond the veil. He was a marvel of a man, an amazing musician, and quite simply, a spectacular person. It was because of Johnny that I am here at Emmanuel.

As an organist and having written my doctoral dissertation on a famous American organbuilder, I am interested in all things pipe organ. 

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2, Hamlet says to Horatio, “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will.” Hamlet’s statement reflects the notion that our lives are shaped by both a divine influence and by human agency. 

When I taught undergraduate music, I always found the end of the academic year to be laced with just a tinge of sadness.