Austen Wilson

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” James Clear This humbling and empowering quote is from a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. From my experience, life is easier when systems are in place. For example, keeping an apartment, house, or workspace organized […]

“Relationships are built at the speed of trust, and social change happens at the speed of relationships.” (Rev. Jennifer Bailey) This is the third quote that’s guiding many of my actions this year. I’ve only served as Director of Music Ministries for about a month. As a new staff member, building solid relationships in the […]

I hope that the beginning of the program year or school year is going well for you and that you’ve had several memorable and musical moments already with your choirs. As the new Director of Music Ministries at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, Iowa, I’ve learned a ton already and will continue to […]

I realize that it’s been several weeks since I’ve written. It’s been quite a busy summer for me because I have a big life update! Earlier in the summer, I was offered the position of Director of Music Ministries at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, Iowa. As a result, I stepped down from […]

As Director of Music at a church, I often need to think about logistics during the service. Especially on Sundays with multiple choirs, I need to think about getting a choir to the correct place in the Chancel. If I need to switch to a different location in the Chancel, I often need to figure […]

For me, part of recharging means engaging in creating art. Often I feel much better after having sung in a choir. Last week, I had the great opportunity to attend, participate, and sing in the Illinois Bach Academy (IBA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where we rehearsed and performed the St. Matthew Passion […]