By the way, last night's movie "Unconditional" was VERY good. I am always skeptical about Christian-based movies, as many, sadly, tend to have lower-rate acting, and in other was are so disappointing. Not the case with this one. The acting in Unconditional was superb. The story, which is based on a true story, is gripping, emotional, and filled with moments of hope in humanity. It is emotional, but you don't feel emotionally manipulated, either.
Today was another full day. And in typical Music Week fashion, this is the point of the week where I start to feel my brain is full. Still, lots of new information, tips, and tricks were shared today that I'll take with me. I started the day with another children's class dealing with movement. I had such a good experience with the teacher I had yesterday, I chose to go back to another one of her classes. I discovered a treasure of Silly Songs in a collection called "Crazy Praise 3" that was so good I immediately went and bought it. There are songs on the recording with titles such as "I Think I'm Going to Throw Up" (It's not what you think;) ) and Ketchup on My Apples. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
I toot two tech classes today. The first dealt with Video Editing, and I did get some good tips on some software recommendations, tips, and tricks, that may help us in the future. One thing I did learn that shouldn't have surprised me was about how fast the shift to web-casting and pod-casting worship services is coming upon us. Very few churches are choosing to rebroadcast on television anymore. I still think there is value in that sort of ministry, but it is clear that technology is changing here in a big way. The second class I took was on Copyright Issues (as it relates to music/tech), and I was reminded about how confusing the web of permissions and licenses required to do ministry can be. Some things were cleared up in my mind, but others, not so much. Still, I am glad I took the class, as much has changed in this area just over the past few years. I was also able to get some advice from one of the tech teachers on replacement mic ideas for our hanging choir mics when we remove our middle one for the projector.
This morning's worship music was again very good (although it has been so loud some days I feel my ears have been bleeding :) ) Travis Cottrell led in "Jesus Saves" this morning, which our choir did a few weeks back. It was good to hear that song led live by the person who wrote it.
Nathan's children's choir had its end of week performance this afternoon, and the camp youth choir sang as well. Both groups did very well. We are about to head to supper, and then the final evening feature with Charles Billingsley.
Oh, and maybe one more trip to Nibble Nook. :)
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Ridgecrest Music Week 2012 Day Three
Today I had a little bit of a different focus in my classes. I decided to go more towards the children's track this morning, taking two classes that deal specifically with older children's choir: Let's Play and Calm the Chaos. The first class dealt with creative ways to use instruments with children's choirs. I got some good ideas for boom-whackers specifically, and some neat ideas for making your own stomp instruments. The other session dealt with maintaining order in your class, and it was very helpful too. I picked up some new ideas for recording attendance and incentives.
The music in worship today was extremely good, with a very inspiring choir anthem, and congregational version of "Your Great Name." The message today dealt with our mandate to train and inspire younger leaders through mentoring. It also dealt with how to keep a positive attitude through the hurdles of the aging process of life, and still be usable by God, especially in passing on wisdom to future generations.
The afternoon brought another reading session, and sadly this one did not offer really anything that I thought would be useful. There were many anthems by Word Music in this session, who usually bring a lot to the table, but not this year. It was sad, really.
I usually try to head up to the prayer garden for some time with God, but a pop-up rainstorm culled my plans. Instead, I hung out in one of the cozy lodges in Mt. Laurel and enjoyed looking at the beautiful views of the campus and a good conversation with one of the volunteer ladies who I have seen here in years past. I also spent some time re-reading the book of Ruth, and really enjoyed these moments. One of the things that I think God reminded me of in this passage were about how valuable loyalty is. Ruth stayed loyal to both God and her mother-in-law Naomi, and was rewarded by God through a relationship with Boaz. This passage from Chapter 2 was really touching:
It also reminded me about how during times in our lives where the Lord plants us in a new place, that we should strive to be faithful, loyal, loving, and servant-hearted toward those that surround us, despite our differences.
Tonight, as has been the tradition of the past few music weeks, they have been premiering a new Christian movie. This year it is one called "Unconditional," and it looks pretty intense by the trailer. After supper, we'll be heading that way. http://unconditionalthemovie.com/
After tonight, just one more full day of classes!
The music in worship today was extremely good, with a very inspiring choir anthem, and congregational version of "Your Great Name." The message today dealt with our mandate to train and inspire younger leaders through mentoring. It also dealt with how to keep a positive attitude through the hurdles of the aging process of life, and still be usable by God, especially in passing on wisdom to future generations.
The afternoon brought another reading session, and sadly this one did not offer really anything that I thought would be useful. There were many anthems by Word Music in this session, who usually bring a lot to the table, but not this year. It was sad, really.
I usually try to head up to the prayer garden for some time with God, but a pop-up rainstorm culled my plans. Instead, I hung out in one of the cozy lodges in Mt. Laurel and enjoyed looking at the beautiful views of the campus and a good conversation with one of the volunteer ladies who I have seen here in years past. I also spent some time re-reading the book of Ruth, and really enjoyed these moments. One of the things that I think God reminded me of in this passage were about how valuable loyalty is. Ruth stayed loyal to both God and her mother-in-law Naomi, and was rewarded by God through a relationship with Boaz. This passage from Chapter 2 was really touching:
11 Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. 12 May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
It also reminded me about how during times in our lives where the Lord plants us in a new place, that we should strive to be faithful, loyal, loving, and servant-hearted toward those that surround us, despite our differences.
Tonight, as has been the tradition of the past few music weeks, they have been premiering a new Christian movie. This year it is one called "Unconditional," and it looks pretty intense by the trailer. After supper, we'll be heading that way. http://unconditionalthemovie.com/
After tonight, just one more full day of classes!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Ridgecrest Music Week 2012 Day Two
Today was a very packed day of classes and activities. We began with a great breakfast and then after dropping Nathan off for his first year in the Ridgecrest Children's Choir, we attended a devotional time with Randy Vader and Jay Rouse. After that, Vader and Rouse, who are the head guys at Praise Gathering Music, did a reading session of some of the new music from their publishing house, which since last year has been partnered with LifeWay. (Incidentally, we learned also that Lillenas will now be partnering with LifeWay from this point forward as well, which I think it great news). From this session, I found one candidate for our Christmas Cantata that is worth a second look.
Travis Cottrell led us in musical worship for our morning service. He is a fantastic worship leader, and led in a couple of his favorites our own choir has worked on and/or sang at Southside (To the King, and Just As I Am). Our guest Pastor, Ben Mandrell, presented a message from Timothy dealing with fear, and how we have to make a conscious decision to trust in the Lord's strength and choose not to be afraid. After lunch, I chose to be a part of two different classes that dealt with worship leadership, one from Kirk Kirkland, and the other from Travis Cottrell. Both were very good and reminded me of some very important principles. However, Travis' class was extremely good, and I have a new-found respect for his authenticity and humility.
The afternoon brought another reading session, this one from LifeWay. Another stand-out cantata possibility was discovered in this session. Here were some of my choral anthem stand-outs:
Born on Christmas Day, a stirring Christmas ballad: http://lfwy.co/LWRFJR
Christ Has Come, a very majestic choral Christmas piece: http://lfwy.co/LWRxdk
When the Stars Burn Down, an anthem brought to us by Jennie Lee Riddle, author of "Revelation Song": http://lfwy.co/Nz9Jqq
The evening feature began with pre-service music by the Illinois State Youth Choir, who had a great sound. After that, Keron Jackson took the stage, and he was fantastic. With a huge baritone operatic voice, he performed several spirituals and inspirational pieces. Here is a link to a youtube video that shows a bit of the blessing we heard tonight: http://youtu.be/QQvMCXS3gGA Closing the program was worship leader and singer/song-writer Shelly E. Johnson, who is also now in LifeWay's "stable" of writers. I thought she has a "Katy Perry" sound to her voice (Sharon disagreed). She performed many heart-felt ballads, some coming out of the loss of her father to cancer while she was a teen. Nathan commented after the concert that he REALLY liked her music. Her website is here: http://www.shellyejohnson.com/
Travis Cottrell led us in musical worship for our morning service. He is a fantastic worship leader, and led in a couple of his favorites our own choir has worked on and/or sang at Southside (To the King, and Just As I Am). Our guest Pastor, Ben Mandrell, presented a message from Timothy dealing with fear, and how we have to make a conscious decision to trust in the Lord's strength and choose not to be afraid. After lunch, I chose to be a part of two different classes that dealt with worship leadership, one from Kirk Kirkland, and the other from Travis Cottrell. Both were very good and reminded me of some very important principles. However, Travis' class was extremely good, and I have a new-found respect for his authenticity and humility.
The afternoon brought another reading session, this one from LifeWay. Another stand-out cantata possibility was discovered in this session. Here were some of my choral anthem stand-outs:
Born on Christmas Day, a stirring Christmas ballad: http://lfwy.co/LWRFJR
Christ Has Come, a very majestic choral Christmas piece: http://lfwy.co/LWRxdk
When the Stars Burn Down, an anthem brought to us by Jennie Lee Riddle, author of "Revelation Song": http://lfwy.co/Nz9Jqq
The evening feature began with pre-service music by the Illinois State Youth Choir, who had a great sound. After that, Keron Jackson took the stage, and he was fantastic. With a huge baritone operatic voice, he performed several spirituals and inspirational pieces. Here is a link to a youtube video that shows a bit of the blessing we heard tonight: http://youtu.be/QQvMCXS3gGA Closing the program was worship leader and singer/song-writer Shelly E. Johnson, who is also now in LifeWay's "stable" of writers. I thought she has a "Katy Perry" sound to her voice (Sharon disagreed). She performed many heart-felt ballads, some coming out of the loss of her father to cancer while she was a teen. Nathan commented after the concert that he REALLY liked her music. Her website is here: http://www.shellyejohnson.com/
Monday, July 16, 2012
Ridgecrest Music Week 2012 Day One
What a great feeling it is to come back to Ridgecrest Music Week again this year! I am blessed to have a church that supports my participation in this each year. We arrived on the campus this afternoon, and after settling in in Maple, where we haven't stayed for several years, I begin my time here by attending a music reading sessions that featured non-seasonal anthems from publishers OTHER than LifeWay. Usually, this session is a mixed bag of anthems either too contemporary for our church, or too high church. However, this time, there were several really good songs, most being "attainable" for us. Here are links to some of my favorites for the day:
A Camp Kirkland arrangement of "O the Blood" http://bit.ly/MC4W5l
A Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan praise song "Stronger" http://bit.ly/MC58S2
Our evening feature included normal introductions, and Travis Cottrell, our worship leader for the week, led us in a few opening songs. We heard an introductory mini-message from Ken Mandrell, who outlined his messages for the week and gave a word of testimony. The feature performance for the evening was from Tommy Walker, who I probably was looking forward to the most of anyone coming into the week - and he didn't disappoint. I had never seen him live. He came onto the stage, just he and his guitar, and other than a few songs that featured track, the concert was mostly that - he and his guitar. I can say that he is one of the best acoustic guitar players I have ever seen. He even played the Hallelujah Chorus on guitar! Lots of picking and very intricate fingerwork.
It looks like a very full day tomorrow, beginning very early, so its off to bed for us.
A Camp Kirkland arrangement of "O the Blood" http://bit.ly/MC4W5l
A Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan praise song "Stronger" http://bit.ly/MC58S2
Our evening feature included normal introductions, and Travis Cottrell, our worship leader for the week, led us in a few opening songs. We heard an introductory mini-message from Ken Mandrell, who outlined his messages for the week and gave a word of testimony. The feature performance for the evening was from Tommy Walker, who I probably was looking forward to the most of anyone coming into the week - and he didn't disappoint. I had never seen him live. He came onto the stage, just he and his guitar, and other than a few songs that featured track, the concert was mostly that - he and his guitar. I can say that he is one of the best acoustic guitar players I have ever seen. He even played the Hallelujah Chorus on guitar! Lots of picking and very intricate fingerwork.
It looks like a very full day tomorrow, beginning very early, so its off to bed for us.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Senior Adult Choir Tour 2012 - Asheville, NC
This year's Senior Choir Tour was a bit more of a "local" affair. Staying in our home state, we ventured to somehwat "familiar" territory in Asheville, NC. Many times over the past few years we have visited the Baptist Retirement Home here, and this year was no exception. We began the tour with another wonderful concert here. Following this, we had a tour at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Home, the writer's childhood home and setting for the novel "Look Homeward, Angel." From there, we headed to Ridgecrest where we would stay for the next two nights as a part of "Senior Adult Choir Springfest" which featured performances by the Isaacs, Gold City, Karen Peck, and Dennis Swanberg. During our time there we also sang at a Black Mountain area nursing home - the Mountain Ridge Wellness Center, and had a great time visiting with the residents there. On our last day, we toured the famous Biltmore House & Gardens. It was a great few days of minsitry, fellowship, & fun. Here are a few photo highlights.
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