As we enter a new reality around COVID-19, there are several low-tech strategies we can use to prepare and to take some stress off of our music programs. Remember: important as our collective worship is, we can “worship God in spirit and in truth” wherever we are, and whether or not our choir learns a …
5 Low-Tech COVID-19 Strategies for Church Musicians (Plus 2 Techy Ones) Read More »
Want to program more music by women composers? Selah Publishing has just released a fantastic new choral series edited by Sarah MacDonald, and all the composers are women: Sarah Cattley, Elizabeth Coxhead, Eleanor Daley, Elizabeth Kimble, Stephanie Martin, Ceclie McDowall, Annabell Rooney, and Sarah MacDonald. In this conversation with Sarah MacDonald and Selah’s founder and …
Does your choir sing a Benediction every week? Mine does during the program year, although it’s called a “Benediction Response,” since it comes immediately after the pastoral Benediction. It’s been surprisingly challenging to find pieces that work for my choir, since the pieces must be a cappella, as well as relatively short and easy. For …
Does your choir sing introits? My choir sings one almost every week during the program year, and I love how they can highlight a service theme and set the mood. Plus, they’re a great way to teach new congregational hymns. What is an introit? In the broader sense, it’s a short choral piece sung at …
You’ve got your choir’s sheet music organized and filed away (hopefully by accession number). You’ve even got a database so you can easily find what you’re looking for. But how do you know what to look for in the first place, especially if you aren’t familiar with every single piece in your library? Enter: a …
You Need a Choral Reference Library. Here’s How to Make One. Read More »
Here’s how to organize your choir’s anthems, folders, and robes. It’s a simple, even obvious system. But it took nearly 20 years of church music ministry for me to encounter it.
Daniel Kallman’s setting of “Lord of All Hopefulness” is the perfect easy anthem. It’s great for a small choir, for a summer choir,” for an “yikes! half my choir got snowed in!” choir. It’s the piece you want in your back-pocket just in case you have to cancel an anthem last minute, like I did …
Choir rehearsals started last week (yay!) and two of our fall anthems are total earworms. You know it’s a catchy melody when your toddler keeps asking you to sing to to him! First up: “Awake, My Heart” by Jane M. Marshall One of the delights of a new job is going through the anthems your …
Choir rooms need a lot more than chairs and a piano to function well for musicians—they need storage for anthems, places for information (like a white board), and most important of all: a flat surface for cookies. Listen for 11 choir rehearsal space essentials, plus two bonus ideas.
During my doctoral research, I interviewed many composers of church music. This week, I’m delighted to feature music by several of the people I interviewed: Faye Lopez, Molly Ijames, and Brian Büda!