thechorister RESOURCES FOR MUSIC MINISTRY RESOURCES FOR MUSIC MINISTRY august | september 2013 volume 65 | issue 2 December 2017/January 2018 Volume 69 | Issue 4 MusicalsSide By Side – Multigenerational with a mission! Music and Arts Envisioning Your Choir Program PLUS + PLUS: Speaking the Words Top 10 Children’s Anthems Shape Up HELEN KEMP LECTURE FOCUS ON HYMNS SHINE A LIGHT by Alice Parker based on Hymns and Folk Tunes Your Rehearsal! by Terry Taylor by Betsy Henderson by Katie Houts In the IMage A New Children’s Musical From Mark Burrows In the Beginning (of this fun and CREATIVE new musical)... we meet a group of children who have just experienced the story of The Creation. And now they’re starting to wonder what it really means to be created in the image of God. Through humorous, earnest exploration, the children discover that being created in the image of God isn’t about physical appearance. It’s about creativity, faithfulness, responsibility, community, and the ability to find the good in things. In the Image is perfect for any time of the year and especially shines as a Worship Arts Camp or summer production! For unison/two-part voices with piano and optional oboe (or C instrument) and percussion. CGC63 In the Image Score – $8.95 CGRP41 In the Image Reproducible Instrumental Parts – $19.95 CGK32 In the Image Preview Kit – $14.95 CGCD63 In the Image Demonstration CD – $12.95 CGCDP60 In the Image Demonstration CD 10-Pack – $69.95 CGCD62 In the Image Accompaniment/Performance CD – $49.95 Place your order at www.choristersguild.org or 1-800-CHORISTER (246-7478) celebrate those special PReschool days! Thanksgiving Day * Valentine’s Day * Mother’s Day Graduation Day * A Day at the Zoo Look no further, preschool teachers : this new collection is perfect for your holiday celebrations! Sue Hawkins Duckett’s delightful resource book includes five programs for special days throughout the preschool year. Each themed program includes 4-5 very short songs, the perfect length to perform for family and friends. No costumes or sets are needed for these musicals, which only require the precious voices of your littlest singers. Any floor can become the stage and any combination of instruments can lead the song – use piano or guitar, or both, or none! Includes Demo/Accompaniment tracks and suggested actions for each song. Appropriate for use in sacred or non-sacred preschool settings. CGC62 Mini Musicals: Five Short Preschool Programs for Special Days $29.95 Place your order at www.choristersguild.org or 1-800-CHORISTER (246-7478) Contents CHORISTERS GUILD 12404 Park Central Dr. Ste. 100 December 2017/January 2018 Dallas, TX 75251-1802 800.246.7478 or 469.398.3606 469.398.3611 (fax) choristersguild.org The Chorister is published bimonthly. Choristers Guild is a 501 (c ) (3) 2 From the Editor nonprofit, religious and educational corporation chartered under the 3 Shine a Light – Make a Difference laws of the State of Tennessee. by Katie Houts Choristers Guild Staff 4 Joy In Our Journey: DAWN JANTSCH Helen Kemp Lecture Executive Director by Terry D. Taylor [email protected] MARY ANNA SALO 9 Choral Notes: Executive Assistant [email protected] What's New From Choristers Guild ELLEN YOST 13 Focus on Hymns: Director of Marketing and Engagement What Child is This? [email protected] by Betsy Henderson KATHY LOWRIE Handbell Editor 16 Musicals With a Mission [email protected] by Lori Borger KATIE HOUTS Sacred Choral Editor 19 Calendar of Events [email protected] MARY LYNN LIGHTFOOT 20 Children’s Choir Devotions School Choral Editor by Members of Advent Lutheran Church [email protected] KAROL KIMMELL AND 24 From the National Board Past-President CHRIS NEMEC by Teri Larson Choristers Guild Institute Directors SUSAN EERNISSE The Chorister Editor [email protected] MEMBER AREA LOG IN choristersguild.org Advertising [email protected] or Looking for your Member Area Log in? Click Member (469) 398-3606, ext. 227 Log-in and Forgot Your Logon Information? Click Here. Type in the requested information and click submit. The Chorister Design You will receive an email with everything you need. Mara Dawn Dockery GET CONNECTED There’s a lot to like about Choristers Guild on the web. Our Facebook page is a place to connect with other Cover photo credit: members, share ideas and get info on special offers and Cover photo provided new music. Like us at facebook.com/ChoristersGuild by Lori Borger. December 2017/January 2018 | thechorister | 1 From the Editor Board of Directors What is the soundtrack that is playing in your life these days? TERRY GOOLSBY I have just gone through several months of Khachaturian’s “Sabre President Dallas, TX Dance”. You know – frantically running to catch up, staying one day TERI LARSON ahead of the To Do list, checking Google Calendar multiple times daily Past-President to make sure I am in the right place, on the right day, at the right time? Maple Grove, MN As I turn the page to December, I am ready to change tracks. How ANDREW MASETTI about some “Still, Still, Still” or “In the Bleak Midwinter” or even a bit of Secretary-Treasurer Westfield, NJ “Silent Night”? Give me some Pentatonix, The Carpenters, or even “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” STEPHANIE MCILWAIN MILLER Bellevue, WA Many years ago, at the Freeman Family Thanksgiving lunch, my dad TODD ARANT stood to give a speech. Dad was always a model of gratitude and Apex, NC thankfulness. He asked that none of us purchase Christmas gifts for JOHN SUTTON Altadena, CA he and mother that year, and in the years to come. He said he wanted us to take the money and give it to a needy family, or to a charitable RUTH SZUCS Richmond, VA cause of our choosing. My husband and I, my 2 brothers and their SANDRA ROSALES wives, and most of the grandchildren did as Dad requested. Through Santa Ana, CA the ensuing years, numerous families and organizations benefitted from the generosity of my father. The thing was that though we spent Covenant Society the same amount of money, Dad helped us to simplify Christmas, and Please consider joining in the process, discover even greater joy in giving. Dad is no longer our Covenant Society–those who with us, but I still like to buy his gift each Christmas. “’Tis a gift to be have included Choristers Guild in their will or other estate plans: simple!” Thanks, Dad. LARRY K. BALL If you are looking for a mid-year, after Christmas reboot, why not BETTY BEDSOLE register for a conference to get back on track. The Atlanta and Dallas JUDY AND LARRY BRITTS REV. RICHARD F. COLLMAN CG Chapters host great workshops each January. Both workshops are JUDITH E. DARDAGANIAN January 12-13, 2018, and feature excellent clinicians. Thanks to all the JANET M. DAVIDSON CG chapters for providing great support to church musicians around NORMAN AND ETHEL GEIST the country throughout the year! TERRY AND PAM GOOLSBY C. MICHAEL HAWN JOANNA E. PRETZ-ANDERSON JIM AND STEPHANIE RINDELAUB MARY LOUISE AND DON VANDYKE PRISCILLA B. ZIMMERMANN Keep singing Material in this publication may the song! notbe reproduced in any form without permission, unless otherwise indicated. The publisher assumes -Susan no responsibility for return and safety of artwork, photographs, or materials. Acceptance of advertising or rental of mailing list does not imply endorsement. 2 | thechorister | December 2017/January 2018 Shine a Light – Make a Difference When I learned our school district had cut elementary general music programs for 2017-2018 and the foreseeable future, my heart sank. Music was my favorite class in elementary (and middle school, high school, college…), and it was my children’s favorite, too. As I wrapped my head around what this meant for my children – and the lasting impact of removing music from elementary classrooms – I felt deep sadness, disappointment, frustration, and disbelief. Those four feelings prevailed for a solid few weeks and I could sense them snowballing to a darker place: anger. It was October, and I would brood at my desk, reminded of the school board’s decision every time the school bell rang a block away. But every now and then, I’d feel tiny glimmers of something. Excitement, maybe? Hope. Determination. Motivation. One afternoon, I mustered up the chutzpah to email my kids’ teachers. “Is there any possibility that I could volunteer in the classroom a few times a month, doing a music enrichment activity with the kids?” I really had no plan. I just felt like I needed to ask the question. Both teachers answered with a resounding, supportive YES and immediately started talking about calendars and scheduling. Oh boy, I realized. What have I gotten myself into? (I said with a smile.) Those tiny glimmers of excitement and motivation are larger now. They grow each time I arrive at my son’s 5th grade classroom with buckets and chopsticks (which are a great, cheap alternative to rhythm sticks, FYI) and channel my inner Mark Burrows for some drumming fun. They grow the second I peek my head into my daughter’s second grade classroom and get mobbed with requests to play Circle ‘Round the Zero and Obwasimisa. It’s not perfect. I’ve never taught in public schools, so I’m learning as I go. But we’re making music together, and that’s what matters. I wouldn’t have had the courage to send those initial emails if it weren’t for my friend, Terry Taylor. Terry was the Helen Kemp Guest Lecturer last summer for CGI, where he shared a very similar story (featured on page 4).