This article first appeared in the Fall 2020 issue of GIA Quarterly magazine. SHE COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE THAN FIVE FEET TALL. Shorter, I’m sure, since I can remember that the top of her head was barely visible from the other side of the organ. That poof of red hair...
Musical Leadership
Preparation for Ministry: Remote and Proximate
This article first appeared in the summer 2020 issue of GIA Quarterly magazine. ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF FORMATION OF MUSIC MINISTERS, and particularly cantors and directors of music, is the their preparation for ministry. This preparation can be seen two ways: remote...
Reasons We Sing: To Shape the Future
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Occasionally English people will wonder why there is such a wealth of folk songs from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, yet relatively few from England, despite its having the...
Proclaiming and Leading the Psalms of Lent and Holy Week
The season of Lent calls us to transformation through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. As leaders of prayer, cantors play an important role in helping faith communities enter more...
What stops do I use? Part 1, Getting Started
This post originally appeared on GIA's "Sing, Amen!" blog in September, 2019. This is one of the questions most of us have, whether or not we studied the organ in college, privately, or are just interested in how it all works. I happen to be married to someone who...
50/50…What Makes a Liturgy Bilingual?
This post originally appeared on GIA's "Sing, Amen!" blog in July, 2019. I saw a post awhile back on a pastoral musicians’ forum that caught my eye. Music directors were responding to a question posed by a colleague about how much English versus Spanish there should...
Virtual Choral Rehearsal Webinar with James Jordan
Building Choral Sound, Vocal Technique, and Music Literacy through Virtual Rehearsal Join panelists James Jordan, Sean McCarther, Corey Everly, Jason Vodicka, and more as they share virtual rehearsal techniques used at Westminster Choir College. Learn the process,...
Themes and Variations: A Conversation with Don Saliers and Emily Saliers
Join Don Saliers and Emily Saliers in conversation, hosted by Tony Alonso! Join theologian Don Saliers and his daughter Emily Saliers (of the Grammy Award-winning group Indigo Girls) for a rich conversation about music, imagination, and faith. Hosted by Tony Alonso,...
Choral Diversity: Equity in Sound and Practice
Choral Diversity: Equity in Sound and PracticeWithin the context of the coronavirus pandemic that has converged with social justice activism sparked by police brutality, institutions of higher learning are seeking to more earnestly engage with issues of diversity,...
The Gift of Song: Expressing Our Common Humanity
The Gift of Song: Expressing Our Common Humanity Join Alice Parker and Gabe Huck as they discuss the importance and the gift of song. At this time of limited singing and music-making, Alice beckons us all to return to the natural state of singing. We move beyond the...