For 2020, I decided that a fun personal challenge would be learning 20 new-to-me postludes. Of course, three months and five pieces into the challenge, life got upended by the pandemic, so I think this will end up being a challenge for 2020 and 2021. Regardless, I sure am enjoying learning all this new rep! …
The 20 Postludes I’m Learning This Year (Plus a Few More for Good Measure!) Read More »
Last summer, I spent 10 hours driving from St. Louis to Chicago and back. To pass the time, I skimmed through a stack of CDs from E. C. Schirmer, ECS Publishing Group, and Morningstar. Whenever something caught my ear, I wrote down the track number. And now, a year later, here’s the list! Sixteen choral …
16 Sacred Choral Music Finds (Plus 2 for Violin and Organ) Read More »
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 »
For the past few months I’ve had a new project up my sleeve, and now I get to share it with you! Organ Media Foundation just launched a new Youtube show, Your Sunday Service, and I’m one of the hosts. Each episode features a new piece of easy or intermediate music that’s suitable for church …
An excellent new collection for the organist who has everything. Musician’s earplugs, for safe, unmuffled listening.
We are blessed with a wealth of hymns that are suitable for funerals and memorial services. As you select music for your loved one’s funeral – or as you help a family choose music for a service – it can be helpful to see a list of hymns to select from. This post gathers together …
I’ve been holding out on this post because…it seems obvious? Like making a hymn set should be really straight-forward, and why didn’t I try it sooner? But maybe you’re like me just a few months ago: I thought creating hymn sets – also know as medleys and song sets – would be tricky. And I …
An Easy Way to Create Hymn Sets (plus 10 Sets to Get Started) Read More »
Let’s talk about earplugs. Do you wear them to church? To concerts? To rehearsals? Until recently, I didn’t wear them – and I didn’t know that “musician’s earplugs” existed.
A few weeks ago, Brent Johnson from the Organ Media Foundation came to the First Congregational Church of St. Louis, where I work, to film our Austin pipe organ.
How Much Are Church Musicians Paid? I wish there were a nice easy answer to the perennial question “How much money are church musicians paid?” But even though I can’t give a definite answer, I CAN tell you how to find out what the norms are in your area.