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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
When The Story About A Song Changes How We Sing The Song, Emily R. Brink, Swee Hong Lim, Anna Nekola, Lester Ruth, Eric Washington
When The Story About A Song Changes How We Sing The Song, Emily R. Brink, Swee Hong Lim, Anna Nekola, Lester Ruth, Eric Washington
Symposium on Worship Archive
If a worship song is a self-contained item with text and tune, able to stand and be used independently of its origins, why do worshipers like to know the background stories behind the hymns and choruses they love? Does it make a difference when we know something about songwriters, their context, and the situation out of which specific songs come? Does the desire to know a song’s history tell us more about the song or about ourselves? This seminar on songwriting stories will explore these questions and more.
A Lion And A Donkey Are Standing On The Road, Jeff Barker
A Lion And A Donkey Are Standing On The Road, Jeff Barker
Symposium on Worship Archive
This vesper worship service includes an enactment of one of the most mysterious ancient Hebrew dramas. We focus initially on this biblical text, newly translated by Tom Boogaart. We embrace the text and then respond to it with music, prayer, testimony, and more scriptures.
Singing Poetry, Jan Kraybill
Singing Poetry, Jan Kraybill
Symposium on Worship Archive
Hymn and song authors across generations and cultures have given us rich expressions with which to shape faith, heal brokenness, transform lives, and renew peace. In this workshop we’ll look at and sing some great examples, and we’ll discuss how best to help our worshiping communities sing poetry with appreciation, enthusiasm, and artistry.
Developing A Canon Of Song For Your Church, Constance Cherry
Developing A Canon Of Song For Your Church, Constance Cherry
Symposium on Worship Archive
How much intentionality comes to bear on the collection of congregational songs your church sings over time? As worship leaders, we are responsible not only for choosing excellent songs, but also for providing for the overall balance and appropriateness of the church’s body of song.
Leading Effective Praise Team Rehearsals, Paul Ryan
Leading Effective Praise Team Rehearsals, Paul Ryan
Symposium on Worship Archive
Our best praise team rehearsals prepare our hearts, hands, and voices to lead the community in song. In this workshop, we’ll explore the goals and techniques of effective and life-giving rehearsals by considering personal preparation, repertoire, team dynamics, and the pastoral needs of our teams.
Leading Congregational Song From The Organ Bench, John Ferguson
Leading Congregational Song From The Organ Bench, John Ferguson
Symposium on Worship Archive
John Ferguson will explore concepts from registrations to basic improvisational techniques to help organists nurture congregational song during worship and encourage singing with greater understanding and spirit. Organists interested in being coached during the seminar are encouraged to prepare a hymn from Lift Up Your Hearts, including an introduction, as if it were for a worship service.
Gained In Translation, Martin Tel
Gained In Translation, Martin Tel
Symposium on Worship Archive
More and more of the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs of the church are crossing language and cultural barriers. At times these translations have resulted in awkward lyrics. This may contribute to many communities’ aversion to global hymns. Indeed, often the essence of a song can be “lost in translation.” But this need not be the case. In fact, there are many examples where much has been gained in translation, inviting us into deeper and richer expressions of faith and prayer. Together we will consider the process of translation and its promise for yielding beautiful new texts that produce fresh …
Creative Leadership Of Congregational Song: Tips For Organists, Jan Kraybill
Creative Leadership Of Congregational Song: Tips For Organists, Jan Kraybill
Symposium on Worship Archive
The ever-expanding areas of expertise needed from organists to help congregations form into singing communities provide rich opportunity for new and creative approaches. Jan Kraybill will bring tips and techniques for organists in a variety of worship contexts. We’ll explore ways in which our instrument—a community of individual voices—can best invite and enhance vibrant congregational singing of hymns and songs across cultures and generations.
Singing Spirituals, Singing Gospel, Raymond Wise Phd
Singing Spirituals, Singing Gospel, Raymond Wise Phd
Symposium on Worship Archive
Come ready to sing spirituals, traditional and contemporary gospel songs, praise and worship songs, inspirational songs and children’s music. Participants will explore a range of choral works, including many compositions by Raymond Wise. This is an ideal seminar for choir directors and choir members and will provide ideas for smaller choirs with a can-do spirit.
Singing Psalms Together, Martin Tel, Carlos Colón, Michael Joncas, Jan Kraybill, Sandra Mccracken, Ed Willminton, Raymond Wise Phd
Singing Psalms Together, Martin Tel, Carlos Colón, Michael Joncas, Jan Kraybill, Sandra Mccracken, Ed Willminton, Raymond Wise Phd
Symposium on Worship Archive
In the past ten years, arguably more musical settings of the psalms for congregational use have been written in more musical styles than at any other time in the history of the church (though perhaps the Internet just makes us vividly aware of all this good work!). When we sing psalms, we are letting the word of God dwell in our hearts in a remarkable way, uniting us with believers from every century and continent. In this session, we will hear the story of one of the most-sung psalm settings: “On Eagle’s Wings.” We will sing black gospel and bilingual …
Short Songs: Deepening Our Participation In Worship, Alison Adam
Short Songs: Deepening Our Participation In Worship, Alison Adam
Symposium on Worship Archive
Short songs do something different: they deepen, with music, the responses a congregation makes in an act of worship. Often tied to liturgical moments in a service, short songs enable us to gather, to pray, to prepare to hear God’s Word, to affirm, to go forth, to move, to rejoice. They tap into the emotion of worship songs, and they draw on the ancient tradition of chant, but they are neither contemporary nor traditional. We’ll sing about 10 of these songs, gathered by the Iona Community from their own writers and from the world church. They are easily led, enable …
Latin American Psalms, Hymns, And Spiritual Songs, Alfredo Colman
Latin American Psalms, Hymns, And Spiritual Songs, Alfredo Colman
Symposium on Worship Archive
Aimed at keyboardists as well as other instrumentalists, this workshop emphasizes basic and intermediate accompanying techniques such as re-harmonization and rhythmic variations, and applies them to specific examples that illustrate a variety of styles within the Latin American sacred music tradition.
The Sun Rises In The East: New Congregational Songs From Asian Composers, Joel Navarro
The Sun Rises In The East: New Congregational Songs From Asian Composers, Joel Navarro
Symposium on Worship Archive
This session features new congregational songs and music for church choir from young composers in Southeast Asia whose works are currently making waves in many parts of the world. This session is recommended for choir directors and singers who are looking for fresh ideas for regular worship, intercultural worship, or church choir repertoire.
Singing The Psalms In A Modern Worship Setting, Wendell Kimbrough
Singing The Psalms In A Modern Worship Setting, Wendell Kimbrough
Symposium on Worship Archive
The Psalms were written to be sung. But if your church favors guitar-led modern worship, how do you sing the Psalms? Songwriter Wendell Kimbrough’s pastor answered this question by asking him to write short Psalms refrains that are singable and memorable for his congregation. For the past two years, their church has engaged the Psalm through music each week, following the Revised Common Lectionary. In this workshop, Wendell will share some of the best-loved of these refrains and talk about his church’s journey learning to sing and love the Psalms.
Singing Psalms: An Outpouring Of Contemporary Song For Congregational Use, Alison Adam, Alfredo Colman, Wendell Kimbrough, Greg Scheer, Isaac Wardell
Singing Psalms: An Outpouring Of Contemporary Song For Congregational Use, Alison Adam, Alfredo Colman, Wendell Kimbrough, Greg Scheer, Isaac Wardell
Symposium on Worship Archive
Remarkably, even since the publication of Psalms for All Seasons just a few years ago, over 30 new Psalm-based songwriting and recording projects have emerged from a variety of contemporary worship leaders across North America and beyond. While some of these settings are designed for solo voices, many are well-suited to congregational use, and are worthy heirs to the legacy of congregation-based Psalms re-established by Luther and Calvin. Come to explore a variety of examples of this music, as well as the stories behind the songs. In addition, to consider new songs you might use in your context, come ready …
Unlocking The Mysteries Of Church Sound Systems, Greg Scheer
Unlocking The Mysteries Of Church Sound Systems, Greg Scheer
Symposium on Worship Archive
Of the many hats worship musicians and pastors wear, “sound system purchaser and troubleshooter” may be the most uncomfortable. Nonetheless, your understanding of how a sound system works could have a huge impact on your congregation’s ability to hear the preaching and take part in singing. This session will teach you about microphones, channel strips, speaker placement, and a myriad of other subjects that likely weren’t included in your seminary or music education.
Bringing Hymns To Life On Guitar, Wendell Kimbrough
Bringing Hymns To Life On Guitar, Wendell Kimbrough
Symposium on Worship Archive
We’ve heard many of the great old hymns played beautifully with organs, pianos, and choirs, but their journey into the world of guitar-led worship can be awkward. Old tunes are often abandoned or significantly altered in the name of modernization, but such revision is not always necessary. This workshop will focus on demonstrating and discussing how to translate traditional hymns into a guitar-led band format while keeping the hymn’s soul intact.
Do You Know Where You're Going To? A Glimpse Of The Next Generation Of Congregational Song, Swee Hong Lim
Do You Know Where You're Going To? A Glimpse Of The Next Generation Of Congregational Song, Swee Hong Lim
Symposium on Worship Archive
This workshop will explore the next generation of congregational song. This emerging genre occupies a soundscape of music-making where its character is postmodern in the West and postcolonial in the Global South. It seeks to revitalize local, cultural traditions in a myriad of communities’ efforts of meaning-making in the 21st century. This is a guided conversation time where participants are encouraged to share their perspectives and observations. Musical examples will be shared.
Singing With Martin Luther And The Lutherans, Worship Symposium 2016, Mark Noll
Singing With Martin Luther And The Lutherans, Worship Symposium 2016, Mark Noll
Symposium on Worship Archive
This workshop is designed to explore the riches of Lutheran hymnody for those, like Professor Noll, who are not themselves Lutherans. We will take a quick historical journey to note important landmarks. The rest of the session will take advantage of one of the recently published American Lutheran hymnals to explore the contours of contemporary Lutheran song. The hope is to help those outside the Lutheran tradition appreciate its historical richness and think about exploiting those riches to enliven worship in all traditions.
Sing The Peaceful Kingdom, Adam M. L. Tice
Sing The Peaceful Kingdom, Adam M. L. Tice
Symposium on Worship Archive
No abstract provided.
21 Spirituals For The 21st Century, Raymond Wise Phd
21 Spirituals For The 21st Century, Raymond Wise Phd
Symposium on Worship Archive
The Negro Spiritual has been hailed as American’s first authentic folk music. Spirituals have served as a primary musical source from which many sacred and secular musical genres have stemmed. The “Spiritual” itself has evolved into many forms. There are oral, concert, art song, congregational, and gospel spirituals, and each has its own unique musical characteristics that have helped to preserve the Spiritual as a musical form. Come learn more about Spirituals, hear and sing some traditional spirituals and experience contemporary spiritual arrangements from Raymond Wise’s collection of 21 Spirituals for the 21st Century.
A New Song. A Skillful Song., Sandra Mccracken, Greg Scheer, Adam M. L. Tice
A New Song. A Skillful Song., Sandra Mccracken, Greg Scheer, Adam M. L. Tice
Symposium on Worship Archive
Those of us who feel Psalm 33’s call to write new songs must remember that the Psalm also tells us to play skillfully. In this seminar we will focus on the skills of songwriting for congregations, digging into what it means to balance inspiration and perspiration. Join critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Sandra McCracken and widely-published hymn writer Adam Tice as they speak with Greg Scheer about their approaches to creating new texts, new tunes, and the combining of texts and tunes. The afternoon will be spent discussing participants’ song submissions. Attendees of all levels and musical styles will benefit from this seminar.
Singing The Great Fifty Days, Zebulon M. Highben
Singing The Great Fifty Days, Zebulon M. Highben
Symposium on Worship Archive
Easter Sunday is the beginning of the church’s longest festival: the Great Fifty Days of Easter. Yet it can be a musical challenge to connect the exuberance of Easter Sunday with the season’s culmination at Pentecost. This workshop presents ideas for musically and liturgically unifying the Easter season while highlighting each Sunday’s individual lessons and themes. Hymns, canticles, and choral repertoire from several publishers will be featured.
Psalmody For Holy Week, Martin Tel
Psalmody For Holy Week, Martin Tel
Symposium on Worship Archive
The gospel writers relied heavily on the Psalms to tell the story of Christ’s suffering and crucifixion. Using the Psalter resource Psalms for All Seasons, we will explore different ways that the congregation can engage the Psalms in Holy Week services.
Moving Worship: What Is Liturgical Dance?, Julia Start Fletcher
Moving Worship: What Is Liturgical Dance?, Julia Start Fletcher
Symposium on Worship Archive
Christian liturgy consists of a holy conversation between God and the gathered community. Dance, movement, and gesture may seem silent—but they powerfully shape our experience of this conversation. Come ready to explore how dance, movement, and gesture can be used in many different elements of the worship dialogue, both through leadership of trained dancers and in people in the pews.
Seven Streams: Negotiating The Widening River Of Congregational Song, Emily R. Brink
Seven Streams: Negotiating The Widening River Of Congregational Song, Emily R. Brink
Symposium on Worship Archive
We’ll explore both Glory to God (Presbyterian) and Lift Up Your Hearts (Christian Reformed Church in North America and Reformed Church in America), both published in 2013, for how they included many newer streams of congregational song that have joined the traditional hymn. Have you noticed that few contemporary "hymnals" today even use the word "hymn" or "hymnal" in their titles? "Hymns" don’t acknowledge the many different streams that have joined the main river of congregational song, including choruses, responses, spirituals, contemporary songs of all types, and global songs. How do congregations, let alone hymnals, respond to all that diversity? …
Psalms For All Seasons As A Resource For Choirs, Martin Tel
Psalms For All Seasons As A Resource For Choirs, Martin Tel
Symposium on Worship Archive
The choir is an excellent conduit for bringing psalmody back into the heart of worshiping communities. Members of the Princeton Seminary Choir will demonstrate how musical settings from the psalter Psalms for All Seasons can be augmented by the choir or presented as choral anthems. Particular attention will be given to resourcing the smaller church ensemble or intergenerational choirs.
Becoming Instruments Of God: Singing And Worship, Awet Andemicael
Becoming Instruments Of God: Singing And Worship, Awet Andemicael
Symposium on Worship Archive
How can we, as musicians and lay and ordained ministers, cultivate our bodies as active instruments of God? In this workshop, participants will engage in guided spiritual-musical exercises to explore how the imagination, breath, vocal tone, and words—offered to God—can facilitate embodied individual and communal experiences of prayer, praise, and worship. Participants will also discuss how spiritual-musical formation such as this can enhance their effectiveness in music leadership roles in congregational settings.
Accompanying In The Gospel Style With Organ And Piano, Michael Gittens
Accompanying In The Gospel Style With Organ And Piano, Michael Gittens
Symposium on Worship Archive
When organists and pianists accompany hymns together they often limit themselves to the notes they find on the page. The effect can be that everything sounds the same. In this session, church musician Michael Gittens will demonstrate techniques for creating clear, rhythmic and inspiring accompaniments in the gospel style, playing to the strengths of each instrument.
Singing The Story: Hymns For Holy Week, David Cherwien, Awet Andemicael
Singing The Story: Hymns For Holy Week, David Cherwien, Awet Andemicael
Symposium on Worship Archive
Congregational singing invites us to not just think about the events of Holy Week, but to become participants in unfolding drama of Christ’s passion and resurrection. Through song we explore what it means to be united with Christ in his dying and rising (Rom. 6:4). Come ready to sing the story of the events that unfold from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, with songs from Lift Up Your Hearts (Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2013), and to prepare your hearts for your own shaping of Holy Week services this coming spring.