Christmas Concerts

Now that I'm beginning to find my mind functioning in working capacity again I thought I should get back to the blog I have so easily forsaken.  A few weeks ago our Concert Series had a first in that we performed back to back concerts of the same program.  Overall, it was two fabulous concerts with very good attendance at both.  The weather began to turn cold and snow began falling which might have turned away a few people but definitely added to the ambience.  Our orchestra played with passion and clarity and the choir sang with a beautiful depth and richness that displayed its sweeping strides of upward progression.  

I would like to take a moment and thank a few key people who made the event an overall success. First, our audio team did a fantastic job as usual in that not only were they effective in mixing almost 50 individual channels of live sound but they had their hands full in tackling our first multi-track recording project.  Thanks Brent, Nick, Kerry and Steve for all your valuable input and long hours of preparation and production.  I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do with the recording and our continued process of refining and experimenting!

Our video team was also on top of the ball doing a great job with the lyric projection for both concerts.  Thanks Bryan, Iain, Sarrah and Tim for all your efforts in making a wonderful event!

The evenings featured some wonderful soloists who were given very short notice due to my last minute attention to these major details.  Thank you Talia, Alyson, Stephanie and Amanda for your wonderful vocal solos.  You all hit it out of the ball park!  Also, Chip Schooler played beautifully as usual in a haunting arrangement of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" for piano, cello solo and choir.  

I will find it hard to find someone who puts in more hours and is relied upon as much from week to week as our pianist, Linnea Wines is.  She has been instrumental to the choir for a number of years and I must pay enormous tribute to her faithful participation to our endeavors.  Thank you so much!!!

To the Choir & Orchestra:  What a marvelous performance you gave to this community!  You were faithful in our mission in that you encouraged hearts, inspired minds and provided much needed hope to the souls of so many of our community friends.  I hope you feel a grand sense of accomplishment from these two wonderful concerts.  Thank you for all the hours of rehearsals and outside practice that went into making these such a success!  

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a splendid New Year!  I so thoroughly enjoy this relationship we are in.  Upon reflection it is almost like that of an arranged marriage.  I was chosen by leadership to enter into the artistic marriage with you.  And although we are very young into this relationship I hope that you've enjoyed our time together as much as I have.  Even though we may have a difference of opinion from time to time, these moments pail in comparison to the joy and the wonderful memories we are creating.  I hope you know how much I love each and every one of you as my greatest desire is to continue our mission  as we age ever so graciously together.

Choir Rehearsal 11/3/08

In my hope to be more consistent in blogging I've decided to make it a habit to write some quick thoughts after our weekly choir rehearsal. I'm reading a great book called "The Robert Shaw Reader" which is about a conducting hero of mine, Robert Shaw. He used to write his world famous choirs letters after specific rehearsals when he thought they needed a strong kick in the pants or some extra encouragement on the great job they were doing. I believe this is one of his greatest legacies and in trying to offer what little insight I might have here goes the same.

To My Favorite Choir on Earth,

I begin this letter (blog) by expressing my gratitude to you. It must take a lot to put up with my eccentric behavior and absolute craziness during rehearsals. I hope you know that every ounce of it comes from my absolute and deepest desire to make true music happen. It is my humble opinion that true music happens to infrequently. Sure, notes are sung (some better than others) and lyrics expressed but that isn't making music. Anyone can learn to sing a few notes on a page. Music is made when we passionately pursue what the composer was wrestling with. When we enter into his struggle between text and notes and phrasing and all of the rest of the beauty that makes great music. Granted, some of the music we sing was created with little struggle, but we must pursue all of it with the same passion and fight whether it's penned by Brahms or Clydesdale.
I believe that we are beginning to make this change. We are beginning to take on the fight together. Tonight it seemed as if we all wanted the same thing - to create great music. We must continue to care about correct cut-offs, to pursue dynamics within the dynamics and most importantly to listen to not only the people around you but the entire choir to create that unified sound that we are all striving for. I hope that when you have those "ah-ha" moments of glorious music making they inspire you on to create more. Music isn't born out of repetitive rehearsals and a lack-luster approach. It's created when artists pursue it with reckless abandon. I want to inspire you to believe in your talent and trust your gifting. My goal is to inspire each of you to exhude confidence in yourself so that we can attack notes and phrases together instead of the opposite, which is waiting for the person sitting next to you to lead. This makes for sloppiness and we are not a sloppy choir. We must be a choir that ferociously hunts for each musical entrance and extends each note of length until we unanimously cut it off with the precision of a brain surgeon. Tonight we pursued these things. We might not have captured each one but at least we were hunting. I'm looking forward to continuing our pursuit next week.

10 Books to Read: Theology

For those of you who might not know me well, I'm an avid reader.  I loved to read as a child, counting down the hours until my grandmother would take me down to our little town to visit the roaming Bookmobile, and even more so now as I find it imperative to absorb all of the knowledge I possibly can.  

That said, I often receive questions referring to my ever growing library and what books I've actually benefitted from and which I should only use as a fire starter.  And so, because of a few dear friends, I've finally found time to list my top 10 (in no particular order) to read as you begin your journey into Theology.  Without further ado:

1) "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals" - John Piper

Although written to an audience of pastors, this book is a minefield of short gems on a variety of issues.  In it you hear the voice of a man who speaks from experience, clearly fighting the fight and not just cheering from the sideline.

2) "Desiring God" - John Piper

When you begin to study the vast topic of Theology it's imperative to ground yourself with God's role and your own and their relationship to each other.

3) "Unceasing Worship" - Harold Best

For me, it all begins with worship, and not just because I'm a musician.  Worship encompasses everything we do.  The real question in regard to worship is not about how or when but really "to whom".

4) "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God" - J.I. Packer

Calvinist?  Armeniest?  Somewhere in-between?  This book explains clearly that no matter what you call yourself God is completely sovereign and we have a job to do.

5) "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God" - Piper, Taylor, et. al.

The more I serve as a spiritual leader the more I am faced with one constant, reoccurring question over and over somehow dealing with God being loving and human suffering.  Piper and company do a wonderful job explaining how suffering exists within humanity and how God is all-loving through his unique sovereignty.  

6) "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth" - Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart

I believe that, unfortunately, there are a great number of people in this world who read the scriptures half-hearted out of spiritual discipline instead of soul nourishment.  The point of this book is to prepare your eyes and mind to truly glean from your time spent in the Word and to not just put in your clock work.

7) "Religious Affections" - Jonathon Edwards

It is important to remember that as we absorb this knowledge and allow it to begin to shape us that much of your reading should be done by those who have actually walked the walk and fought the good fight.  It is my opinion that their are too many authors who spout their clever ideas and "pearls" of wisdom who have no concept of the field of labor and never plan on spilling an ounce of blood for the work of the harvest.

8) As I look through my book list I am having a hard time with 8-10.  Because it will take you some time to get through these first seven I shall leave you with a few authors and maybe a few books that you should take the time to read:

a) The number one book really on this list is a good Bible.  I recommend the ESV translation and out in the middle of October is the new ESV Study Bible which is a must have.

b) Mark Driscoll is a very good young author and his short book series "A book you'll actually read" is a wonderful collection of 4 books that you should own.  His other books are very good as well and are a worthwhile purchase.  (Radical Reformission, Vintage Jesus, etc.)

c) Books by these authors:

1) C.S. Lewis

2) F.F. Bruce

3) Jonathon Edwards

4) Gordon Fee

5) John M. Frame

6) Wayne Grudem ("Systematic Theology" is a must)

7) John Owen

8) J.I. Packer

9) John Piper

10) R.C. Sproul

11) Charles H. Spurgeon

12) Etc., Etc., Etc...

I would also love to hear the books you have on your top 10 list of theology books.  Comment away.

The End of It All

I thought it would be a good idea to add one more thing to my ever growing "to-do list" so I've finally created my own blog.  I have blogged before but ever so inconsistently.  Hopefully I'll stay active with this one.  The purpose is to share thoughts, rant a little and maybe stir up some discussion so that we all might continue to flex our mind muscles.  Feel free to comment a lot.  I'm giving a public disclaimer: my mind makes very little sense and the order of its outflow is challenging to say the least.  Hope you enjoy the spill.