Church Music

The Choir Year in Review: 16 Questions to Help You Evaluate Your Year

The Choir Year in Review: 16 Questions to Help You Evaluate Your Year

Have you ever done a year-in-review for your choir year? Have you taken time recently to evaluate yourself and your teaching? Do you set goals for your choir at the beginning of the year, or make a mental list of things you'd like to accomplish?

Taking time for reflection and evaluation is a healthy and productive way to check in and stay engaged in your work.

33 Choral Anthems with Organ Accompaniment

33 Choral Anthems with Organ Accompaniment

It’s that time of the year: Easter Sunday is past, and the choir year is beginning to wind down - time to start thinking about music for next year! Too soon?

Perhaps you have plans to attend a local reading session this summer or attend a music- or worship-related conference. Maybe you have some time carved out to sit down with a tall glass of sweet tea (or beverage of choice) and listen through those listening CDs that have been filling up your mailbox recently.

Top 25 Favorite Anthems for Intergenerational Choirs

Top 25 Favorite Anthems for Intergenerational Choirs

There’s something special about an intergenerational choir: the coming together of people of all ages and walks of life to share music and lift their voices in song. It sends a message of unity and inclusivity and I think it gives us a little glimpse of what heaven might be like, singing in the angel choir.

Intergenerational choirs are a great way to celebrate something special in the life of the church - an anniversary or special service. The easiest way to create this experience is to combine groups you already have. There are a number of ways to do this.

"Immortal Love, Forever Full" and 15 More Anthems for Holy Week

"Immortal Love, Forever Full" and 15 More Anthems for Holy Week

Holy Week is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. It’s the time in the church year when we remember the Last Supper, Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal, the denial, the crucifixion.

Some churches have several Holy Week services: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil. Others alternate between having a Maundy Thursday service one year and a Good Friday service the next. Still others have one combined Holy Week service that touches on all the events of the week: the Last Supper, Jesus praying in the Garden, and the Crucifixion.

Last year, I shared my service outline for a combined Holy Week service that incorporated music, art, and poetry. I used symbols to guide us through the events of the week: Light, Water, Table, Garden, Courtyard, Cross, Darkness. Download a copy for free here.

Star of Wonder, Star of Light: Worship Planning for Epiphany

Star of Wonder, Star of Light: Worship Planning for Epiphany

Epiphany, celebrated on January 6, marks the end of the Christmas season (commonly referred to as the 12 days of Christmas).

It’s a time in the liturgical year when we remember the magi’s journey and Jesus being revealed as the Savior of the world. In fact, the word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek epiphaneia, meaning “manifestation” or "striking appearance.” (source)

In some churches, Epiphany is considered the start of a new season that runs through the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. In other churches, Epiphany is celebrated as a single day, and the period that follows is considered Ordinary Time. (source)

The Church Musician's Guide to Copyright and Licenses

The Church Musician's Guide to Copyright and Licenses

Copyright - everyone’s favorite topic, right?

It’s a tricky and complicated subject and it can be hard to make sense of all the information that’s out there.

What are the rules? 
What do I need to know? 
How does it impact me and my work? 
What kind of licenses do I need to cover my week-to-week activity?

If you’re in a quandary over copyright laws, you’re not alone. Read on, my friend.

Creating Unique Musical Underscores for Worship: My Step-By-Step Approach

Creating Unique Musical Underscores for Worship: My Step-By-Step Approach

You know when you go see a movie and you get a feeling for what’s about to happen before it happens? It’s not the dialogue that does that, it’s the musical underscoring.

A musical underscore is music played underneath dialogue or acting of some kind, often to help set the scene or create a mood. (source)

In movies, it heightens our emotions and helps us connect to the story and the characters in a more personal way.

The same is true for worship.

"Come, Christians, Join to Play!" and 12 Other Piano Duet Books for Worship

"Come, Christians, Join to Play!" and 12 Other Piano Duet Books for Worship

Piano duets are a fun way to include other pianists from your congregation and add something special to your worship services. Plus, they’re just fun in general, am I right?

In my experience, even small churches have at least one person in the congregation who has some playing experience. Often, they just need to be asked and invited to participate.

Reach out to a few people in your choir or congregation who you know play the piano and ask if they’d be interested in playing a duet with you in worship sometime. If so, choose a collection (I recommend purchasing two copies so you can each have one to practice with). 

Find a time when you can get together to practice.

If the person you’re playing with is fairly accomplished and feels comfortable sight-reading, spend some time reading through some of the pieces to get a feel for what they sound like with both parts. If that’s not realistic, choose a few pieces to begin working on, decide who will play what part, and set up a few rehearsals in the coming weeks.

Six Things I Wish I'd Known When I Started in Ministry

Six Things I Wish I'd Known When I Started in Ministry

Hindsight is 20/20, right?

If we knew then what we know now, we probably would have done things differently, handled that situation another way, said “yes” instead of “no” (or vice versa).

But the thing about life is we can only live going forward. We can’t go back and edit our choices later on, though hopefully, we take the time to reflect and learn from our experiences as we go along.

I’ve been doing that lately with ministry. What have I learned over the years? How have I grown and changed? What would I tell my younger self? We all have different answers to those questions, but they’re important to think about and perhaps even voice from time to time. This is how we learn. This is how we grow.

In the spirit of all that, here are six things I wish I’d known when I first started in music ministry:

11 Modern Choral Hymn Settings for Christmas

11 Modern Choral Hymn Settings for Christmas

Fall is in the air (literally, here in Rochester). The nights are cool, the pumpkins and mums are out, and Fall cups are back at Starbucks.

This can mean only one thing: it’s time to start listening to Christmas music. Naturally.

Every year around this time, I spend some time browsing online music catalogs and listening to a variety of Advent and Christmas anthems: seeing what’s new, discovering old favorites, and looking for inspiration (you, too?). Not necessarily because I need to buy something; perhaps more out of curiosity. 

In my recent perusing, I was struck by the number of traditional hymns and carols I found that have been reimagined and creatively set in fresh, modern ways. So, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you. I tried to include a variety of anthems in this list - most are SATB (some with divisi, others without), but there’s one SAB and one 2-part anthem in the mix, as well. Hope you find something you can use with your choir this year!

Whether you’re in the not-quite-done-with-my-Christmas-planning-yet camp or the I-could-use-a-little-seasonal-inspiration, I hope you enjoy listening to and browsing these modern hymn arrangements.