Thursday, August 30, 2018
Rehearsals Begin
Rehearsals for the Chancel Choir will begin at 7:30 PM on Thursday, August 30th. Rehearsals for the Liberty Bells will begin at 12:15 PM on Sunday, September 16th. New members are welcome in both groups! Contact Kevin Dill for more information.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Jail-Break, part three
Demolition of the county jail continues. After all these years, being able to see the back of the courthouse may take some time to get used to!
Monday, July 2, 2018
Jail-Break, part two
Today we got to see the heavy machinery in action.
A closer view of the cells. Not exactly luxury accommodations!
A closer view of the cells. Not exactly luxury accommodations!
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Jail-Break
Not related to music, but interesting nonetheless: the old County Jail, which has stood unused for years right across the alley from the church, is being demolished. From the second floor we have a good vantage point to view the work in progress (click to enlarge).
A pile of scrap metal and wood is accumlating in the alley below.
More images to come as the work continues!
A pile of scrap metal and wood is accumlating in the alley below.
More images to come as the work continues!
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Just Right!
(This article originally appeared in the June 2018 edition of the church newsletter.)
Hymn playing is a church organist’s bread and butter, but surprisingly it's not something that gets a lot of discussion. Maybe it's assumed that hymns are the easiest part of the job. In a technical sense that's true — it’s less challenging to master the notes of Amazing Grace than of a Bach Toccata. But at the same time, there are plenty of ways an organist can discourage congregational singing by making unwise choices. Here are some factors I have to juggle in deciding how to approach a hymn:
Registration: in choosing the sounds I use, I'm guided first and foremost by the text. What is its mood: triumph, penitence, hope, longing? (Lent’s sonic spectrum is obviously more muted than Easter’s.) Changing sounds for each verse also emphasizes the progression of the poetry. Some organists use the same sound on every verse of every hymn, but in my experience that quickly gets irritating!
Key: can the congregation reasonably be expected to hit the high notes printed on the page? It depends: people generally aren’t in good singing voice at 8:30 in the morning, so I lower the keys for their comfort. Even at 11:00 I try to ensure that the first hymn doesn’t soar too high. On the other hand, our red hymnal places some of its songs in surprisingly low keys, so I raise them to make them more engaging.
Tempo: This is probably the issue concerning which organists receive the most feedback, whether it’s “too slow!” or “too fast!” (Rarely do we hear “just right!”) Aware of the impossibility of pleasing everybody, I’m guided by several considerations: what is the mood of the text? Can the average singer manage each phrase in one breath? Is there time to actually think about the words as they go by?
Timing: Lifting my fingers off the keys at the end of every phrase allows us all to breathe together. It would be very rude of me to plow through a hymn without giving some space for breathing — although I have heard organists do it! I also add a somewhat longer pause between verses so people can send their eyes back to the top of the page and remember which verse is coming next. Some timing decisions are made on the spur of the moment: on Christmas and Easter, for example, I may have to improvise an interlude before the last verse of the processional hymn to give the choir enough time to reach the loft.
So how do organists learn this art? Formal organ study generally focuses on recital repertoire; only the colleges with a large pool of organ majors tend to offer a course in hymn-playing. For the vast majority of us, it’s a case of ‘learn by doing’…and of course, we also learn by listening to and imitating the people who do it really well.
Hymn playing is a church organist’s bread and butter, but surprisingly it's not something that gets a lot of discussion. Maybe it's assumed that hymns are the easiest part of the job. In a technical sense that's true — it’s less challenging to master the notes of Amazing Grace than of a Bach Toccata. But at the same time, there are plenty of ways an organist can discourage congregational singing by making unwise choices. Here are some factors I have to juggle in deciding how to approach a hymn:
Registration: in choosing the sounds I use, I'm guided first and foremost by the text. What is its mood: triumph, penitence, hope, longing? (Lent’s sonic spectrum is obviously more muted than Easter’s.) Changing sounds for each verse also emphasizes the progression of the poetry. Some organists use the same sound on every verse of every hymn, but in my experience that quickly gets irritating!
Key: can the congregation reasonably be expected to hit the high notes printed on the page? It depends: people generally aren’t in good singing voice at 8:30 in the morning, so I lower the keys for their comfort. Even at 11:00 I try to ensure that the first hymn doesn’t soar too high. On the other hand, our red hymnal places some of its songs in surprisingly low keys, so I raise them to make them more engaging.
Tempo: This is probably the issue concerning which organists receive the most feedback, whether it’s “too slow!” or “too fast!” (Rarely do we hear “just right!”) Aware of the impossibility of pleasing everybody, I’m guided by several considerations: what is the mood of the text? Can the average singer manage each phrase in one breath? Is there time to actually think about the words as they go by?
Timing: Lifting my fingers off the keys at the end of every phrase allows us all to breathe together. It would be very rude of me to plow through a hymn without giving some space for breathing — although I have heard organists do it! I also add a somewhat longer pause between verses so people can send their eyes back to the top of the page and remember which verse is coming next. Some timing decisions are made on the spur of the moment: on Christmas and Easter, for example, I may have to improvise an interlude before the last verse of the processional hymn to give the choir enough time to reach the loft.
So how do organists learn this art? Formal organ study generally focuses on recital repertoire; only the colleges with a large pool of organ majors tend to offer a course in hymn-playing. For the vast majority of us, it’s a case of ‘learn by doing’…and of course, we also learn by listening to and imitating the people who do it really well.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Summer music schedule
As we wrap up another year of programming and shift to our summer schedule, our Chancel Choir and Liberty Bells are taking a well-deserved hiatus. Music for our 9:30 combined services will be offered by the following:
June 3 -- Agape Bell Quartet
June 10 -- Braden Green, trumpet
June 17 -- Lois Kafferlin, piano
June 24 -- Lois Kafferlin, piano
July 1 -- Tom McFate, bass
July 8 -- Jennifer Dearden, trumpet
There are still Sundays available later in the summer. If you feel called to enhance our worship with your musical gifts, Kevin Dill would be delighted to hear from you!
June 3 -- Agape Bell Quartet
June 10 -- Braden Green, trumpet
June 17 -- Lois Kafferlin, piano
June 24 -- Lois Kafferlin, piano
July 1 -- Tom McFate, bass
July 8 -- Jennifer Dearden, trumpet
There are still Sundays available later in the summer. If you feel called to enhance our worship with your musical gifts, Kevin Dill would be delighted to hear from you!
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