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Music in Worship

Stories of Healing and Reimagining with Dr. Ahmed Anzaldúa

September 22, 2021 by Shannon Marie Gravelle Leave a Comment

This was a remarkably invigorating, inspiring, and humbling conversation with Dr. Ahmed Anzaldúa, Founder and Artistic Director of Border CrosSing, and Director of Music Ministries at Unity Church in St. Paul, a congregation with a robust music program including four adult choirs, children’s choir, and an annual musical.

 

In the initial months of COVID, Dr. Anzaldúa’s main task as a church musician was to determine how worship was going to happen. The focus was on music in the entire worship experience and new structures that hadn’t been in place (such as determining the new duties for the music staff). Choirs met over Zoom. Dr. Anzaldúa thought they might keep their original programming, but soon realized that wouldn’t work. They did different projects, virtual choirs, discussion groups, Yoga, and hosted guest speakers. His main concern was getting everybody connected. As vaccines became available, some singers returned to sing with other vaccinated members, with optional Zoom rehearsals. This fall, they fully reopened with mask and vaccine requirements. Since musicians need to assess their own levels of risk, Zoom will remain an option for some things. Dr. Anzaldúa emphasized that it is important to continue to create as much access as possible. In music ministry, it is important not to forget the ministry part.  

 

In the way of “silver lining,” building community over Zoom created a closeness within the choir that would have normally taken years to achieve. Ironically, Dr. Anzaldúa has spent more time with his choirs online than in-person, having started at Unity Church in September 2019. In addition to relationship building, they explored music they may not have explored if not for COVID. His favorite piece was one they commissioned from Abbie Betinis called “what if you slept”, a piece full of experimentation written to be performed with a virtual choir. Conversely, Dr. Anzaldúa has not enjoyed making community health decisions. Many choral professionals have had to create policies and safety protocols for ensembles, and these risk mitigation strategies have often been adopted by our entire communities. He found himself in the unenviable position of having to say no to outside requests or remind guests to keep their masks on. Also, Dr. Anzaldúa adds, he would be happy if he never edits another video, although he understands it’s been meaningful.

 

The past year and a half has come with multi-layered discussions. The church is committed to social justice and equity, and with this commitment can come uncomfortable conversations; many conversations have went beyond singing and vocal warm-ups. He recognizes that church spaces lend themselves to conversations that don’t always happen in an educational setting. When there is something problematic, you have to attend to it, or the community lives with that issue until it is addressed.

 

Dr. Anzaldúa is heavily involved in ADEI work, and has had a big role in shaping important projects such as the Justice Choir. When asked about equity, he affirms its centrality, and goes further, challenging how we often think of ADEI. Equity, he points out, is not a separate thing. “What’s the alternative?” he asks. Are choirs singing without thinking about equity/access? If one is not thinking about equity or access, are they living their life and doing their work without thinking about how it affects others? When it comes to our work in the choral world, Dr. Anzaldúa hopes that equity is so central to our work that it becomes integrated, not a separate pillar. Thinking of others, being empathetic, treating others with respect are all examples of equitable practices. “Those are things we can all get behind,” he states.

 

“We all have our limitations,” Dr. Anzaldúa comments, going on to say that we are all working in systems that are structurally racist, and we can’t take what we do out of that context. One example he gives: In some school districts, teachers may lose their job or face discipline for speaking out on some topics. He understands that people can be hesitant to be vocal, often for these reasons. It varies from person-to-person. He would wish that people that have opportunity to push back use those opportunities.

 

“For any justice work,” Dr. Anzaldúa said, “there has to be relationship work. Without relationship, it’s charity.” When we discuss equity work, it comes down to relationship. What’s the relationship you have with your singers, administrators, community? More importantly, what relationships are missing? Are the systems in place, whether previously designed or created you, preventing relationships with people in your space and community? What are your relationships and what are the quality of your relationships? Even social justice-minded people can be unsure of how to respond or who to engage when confronted with a social-justice issue. He has seen that happen in organizations as well. A lot of organizations realized they didn’t have a relationship that would allow them to reach out to a community. It’s important to do authentic outreach, and whether this is in an organization or community, it requires establishing relationships.

Filed Under: Others Tagged With: ADEI, COVID-19, Equity, Music in Worship

Modulating/Adjusting to a New Era: Coordinating the Online Portion of a Church Music Workshop

June 29, 2021 by Austen Wilson Leave a Comment

Welcome to this summer series on questions and possibilities for a new era in our personal lives, professional lives, the choral landscape, and in society! I’m so glad you’re here for the journey. 

The pandemic has thrown a wrench in a wide variety of organizations, including summer conferences. Out of caution, some organizations have decided not to hold a summer event. Others took a leap of faith that vaccines would be widely be available to adults by the summer and decided to hold events. Today’s post is about a church music workshop I attended in person and helped lead.

The Fellowship of United Methodists in Worship Arts (otherwise known as The Fellowship) is a professional organization for choir directors and choir members in United Methodist Churches. For over 65 years, the Florida chapter has hosted its own weeklong summer workshop, which includes worship services, choir rehearsals, reading sessions, and a variety of elective classes. An important part of the event is concurrent Adult and Youth (grade 6 – 12) workshops with some intergenerational activities.

After the success of a 100% Virtual Conference in 2020, questions lingered whether or not the workshop in 2021 would be in-person, online, or hybrid. When the planning team met in early January 2021, opinions were split. At that point, vaccines had started rolling out, but only a small percentage of adults had been vaccinated then. Some committee members wanted a totally virtual conference. Others were passionate about having an in-person workshop.

For those who wanted an in-person conference, a major factor was the Youth workshop. Without a youth workshop two years in a row, that program would greatly suffer and would have adversely impacted its momentum. When the workshop chair, Joan FitzGerald, asked for feedback, I said I was in favor of a totally online workshop, but I was willing to go along with the will of the committee. After consulting others, Joan decided to take a leap of faith and have an in-person workshop. At that point, I was uncomfortable attending in-person and would assist with an online component. Thankfully I was able to get vaccinated in April. As a result, I attended in person.

Immediately after the chair decided to hold an in-person workshop, we started planning. Adaptations with regards to COVID impacted the schedule. Participants arrived Monday night instead of Sunday night, thus reducing the length of the workshop by a day. Any activity involving singing was shortened to 30 minutes and that space had to air out for a minimum of 30 minutes after a rehearsal or worship service. Masks were required indoors when Adults and Youth were in the same room. For Adults only classes, masks were optional for those who were vaccinated. In lieu of a final concert where friends and family could attend, final performances were recorded.

As coordinator of the online component, I set three goals early on: people would feel connected to each other, be inspired artistically, and feel renewed spiritually. I established a tech team that was responsible for bringing any tech equipment necessary for a livestream. Based on the goals, I created the schedule and secured facilitators for a variety of online sessions. All the plans were set!

Regarding the Adult portion, attendees include both choir directors and choir members. Some have attended for many years, especially if they had attended as a middle or high school student. This is an incredibly special part of the workshop, as it’s a vital time for reconnecting with long-time friends. According to Joan, seeing people reconnect with friends was a highlight of the week. While continuing education is an important part of the week, the workshop goes beyond taking classes to improve one’s skills. It is a strong community that is a time of renewal for those who attend. According to the workshop chair, despite the necessary adaptations due to COVID, it was one of the smoothest run FL Chapter Fellowship Workshops.

As coordinator of the online component, I was thrilled. Inevitably, there were a few wrinkles regarding WiFi, but overall the live-stream events worked really well. I thought that I accomplished the initial goals I had set up months before the workshop started. I felt as if the online participants were connected to each other. Worship services were wonderful and choir rehearsals were inspiring.

I asked Joan her favorite moments and she had many. The worship services, especially the preaching, were a highlight. Not having the typical duties of a Director of Music for a week was also a blessing.

After the workshop, she and I had a short conversation regarding hybrid workshops in the future. We both agreed that it was very challenging to pull one off. One of the Fellowship members happened to have the right equipment. If he wasn’t able to attend, we would not have been able to pull off the live-streaming for online participants. However, some kind of online offering is good. Maybe one online hour-long event once a month? In another week or so, we’ll have a debriefing meeting with other members of the planning team. I suspect we’ll discuss these observations and decide on a format for future summer workshops.

For more information on the Florida Chapter of the Fellowship, go to www.floridafummwa.org

Based on my involvement, I thought of some questions I will reflect on during the summer:

  1. Community was essential to the workshop. What might I do to strengthen community in my own context?
  2. For members of church choirs who are reluctant to come back to choir in the fall, how do we help them stay connected to the choir community?
  3. As a church musician, how can I connect those worshipping online with those worshipping in person?

Filed Under: Others Tagged With: conferences, Music in Worship

An E Natural in an E Flat Major World: Modulating/Adjusting to a New Era

June 8, 2021 by Austen Wilson 6 Comments

We are pleased to introduce a new blogger to ChoralNet. Austen Wilson, a church-based choral conductor, will be writing weekly about the ways that he and choral colleagues are making the transition back into a post-COVID world, or at least looking ahead toward that. Enjoy!

During the first week in March 2020, a good friend visited me in Jacksonville, Florida, for several days. Part of our conversations involved this new virus called COVID-19. While it had swept a number of other countries, it was just reaching the U. S. We talked about the various plans and vacations we had for later that year and that perhaps the virus would be serious for just a few months but then dissipate. Oh, how both of us were so wrong! The following week, my church and many organizations went on complete lockdown for what was an unknown period of time back then.

My name is Austen Wilson, and I’m the Director of Music and Worship Arts at Mandarin United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. In late 2020 or early 2021 I continued to feel like nothing made sense, that I was out of synch with everything. I felt a dissonance. After letting that marinate for a period of time, I thought, wait a minute. Some of the best music has dissonances I truly enjoy! Eric Whitacre’s music and jazz are full of dissonance. The last chorus of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion has some memorable dissonances. So wasn’t it.

Fast forward to the week before Holy Week in Adult Bell Choir rehearsal. We were rehearsing Lament by Karen Thompson, a piece based on the E harmonic minor scale. We were working on the climax of the piece where the whole ensemble was ringing at a forte dynamic. Something did not sound right, but we kept going, in the hopes the ringers would fix the mistakes on their own. After the climax was a part that was transparent, softer, and contained a motive that was isolated in 2 ringers. Except . . . a ringer was ringing an F natural instead of an F sharp by mistake. That’s what had sounded off in the forte section. The whole ensemble, including the ringer, had a laugh and we continued with the rehearsal.

As in the previous example, sometimes it can take us a while to feel that comething seems “off.” Even before COVID, I was experiencing seismic shifts. In July 2019, I moved from the Philadelphia metro area in southern New Jersey to Jacksonville, Florida, to start a new job. In early January 2020, a coworker and good friend was admitted to the hospital for non-COVID related illnesses and was in the hospital for several months. While he is at home now and doing extremely well, he’s not quite at 100 percent yet. In late January 2020, the senior pastor announced her retirement for May 2020. We were without an interim senior pastor until October 2020. The denomination for which I work, the United Methodist Church, is also experiencing many transitions. Adding COVID-19 into the mix is a recipe for a lot of uncertainty. The past 15-16 months have shaken us all. Even if you have worked for your organization for 20 years, my guess is that it has changed drastically. Perhaps you’re figuring out a multitude of transitions in your own context.

Getting back to the E Natural analogy, I’ve been asking myself where the resolution is, or at least how to get to a more pleasant dissonance. In my opinion, the solution is helping to create entirely new key that none of us have heard. This summer, I hope to get some insight about how to do that. Join me in this journey as we start to figure out this new world together. In addition to our own personal and professional circumstances, the choral world is progressing to a whole new paradigm. Using a prior transition point in music, when Beethoven explored 3rd relationships, I’m sure people thought he was crazy or wanted to keep tonal harmony the same. Look at the musical world he opened up! Similarly, we have the opportunity to create a brand new world.

Throughout this summer, you’ll read about how various organizations and events are making this transition. Here are examples of some of the topics:

  • What are conferences like in person? I’ll give you the inside scoop from the perspective of a conference organizer and attendee, as I’m doing both.
  • Now that we’ve had over a year of experience planning virtual events, what goes into executing an inspiring and successful online conference?
  • This new world also includes shifts that had started before COVID, such as a heightened awareness of the need for equity and inclusion in repertoire, conductors, and singers. How might we continue to create a world where all feel a sense of belonging in choirs?
  • What are the implications for music in worship?

Next week’s post is about a newly commissioned work called Remember the Ladies by Dr. Melissa Dunphy. It was premiered virtually in April 2021 by the Philadelphia-based PhilHarmonia Chamber Choir, an entirely women-led ensemble in its artistic and administrative staff. On May 27, 2021, there was an informal in-person gathering where we sang the piece in person for the first time. Stay tuned to read what that experience was like!

What are some transitions you’re facing or questions you have about the fall? Post below!

Austen Wilson recently found out he was named for an uncle on his dad’s side, and not Jane Austen as he previously had thought. He is the Director of Music and Worship Arts at Mandarin United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, FL, where he plans worship for traditional services and directs Adult Handbell and Vocal Choirs, and Children’s and Youth Vocal Choirs. Austen is looking forward to singing in the Florida Festival Singers during the 2021 – 2022 season. He holds an M.M. in Choral Conducting from Colorado State University in Fort Collins and a B.A. in Vocal Music Education from St. Olaf College.

Filed Under: Others Tagged With: COVID-19, Music in Worship, Transitions

Et Resurrexit (Easter Sunday)

April 24, 2019 by ACDA Leave a Comment

This week on Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio/ChoralNet, host Stan Schmidt goes back one more time into his archives for a program that was aired on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012. 

This broadcast opens and concludes with music from Handel’s oratorio “Messiah,” with the score proclaiming that “He Has Risen.” For this, you will hear the Boston Baroque guided by Martin Pearlman. There are two selections by John Rutter, the “Wells, Jubilate” and “Look to This Day,” with the Cambridge Singers assisted by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The talents of Mack Wilberg show in his arrangement of “The Morning Trumpet” by B. F. White, sung by the men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and followed later by “Fight the Good Fight With All Thy Might.” 

The glory of the day continues with “Psalm 148” by Gustav Holst, paraphrased by Francis Ralph Gray. This performance is by the entire Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at the Temple.  We certainly have to hear from Johann Sebastian Bach and Helmuth Rilling leads the Gächinger Kantorei and Bach Collegium of Stuttgart in the opening chorus from the well known “Easter Oratorio BWV 249” Kommt, eilet and laufet.

Embedded in the middle of this broadcast is a real keepsake from my shelf of CDs.  Right after Moses Hogan’s untimely death, I wrote a letter to his mother expressing what we were all feeling about the great loss of a wonderful human being, her son.  To my great surprise, I received in the mail two recordings, one with the title, ”Le Pius Beaux Negro Spirituals” featuring the Moses Hogan Singers published by Bayard Musique which was located in the French Quarter New Orleans. The Song I chose for this broadcast was “The Angel Rolled the Stone Away”.  To this day I do not know if one or both CD’s are available and wanted to share this recording with ACDA Colleagues. Thank You all for your support.

For a look at the CD’s used and a complete list of music heard, go to the blog of WWW.GOINGBEYONDWORDS.COM website and click on show 1825.

https://choralnet.org/wp-content/uploads/going-beyond-words/1825.mp3

Filed Under: Going Beyond Words Tagged With: ACDA Radio, Easter, Music in Worship

A Palm Sunday Hosanna

April 17, 2019 by ACDA Leave a Comment

This week on Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio/ChoralNet, host Stan Schmidt goes back into his archives for a program that was aired on Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011. 

Along with the two very popular motets by Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Weelkes, you will hear the following:

  • “Hosanna to the Song of David,” performed by the Voices of Ascension and the Trinity College Choir, Cambridge
  • The Eric Ericson Chamber Choir will grace the program with the Sanctus and the Crucifixus from Bach’s B Minor Mass
  • Barbara Hendricks offers the spiritual “Ride on King Jesus”
  • The Augsburg Choir with Leland Sateren sings “Jerusalem” by Egil Hovland and “Not My Will, But Thine” by Mark Shepperd
  • “Osanna” from August Söderman’s “Mass” with the Swedish Radio Choir
  • Daniel Gawthrop’s wonderful Lenten gem “Watch with Me,” performed by the Utah State University Singers

The program continues with:

  • “Song of Divine Love” by Grayston Ives
  • Mozart’s Ave verum corpus with Ricardo Muti leading the Swedish Radio and Stockholm Chamber Choir
  • “The Lord’s Prayer” by William Wiedrich, sung by the University of South Florida
  • One of the Tenebrae Responsories by Healey Willan
  • A gripping arrangement by Moses Hogan of the spiritual “He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word,” sung by Male Soprano Darryl Taylor
  • The famous “Crucifixus” by Antonio Lotti, led by Paul Halley
  • “Who Has Struck You Thus,” one of the chorales from J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion offered by the Netherlands Bach Society. 

All in all a very thoughtful look at the great ride into Jerusalem and the Passion of Christ.

For a look at the CDs used and a complete list of music heard, go to the blog of WWW.GOINGBEYONDWORDS.COM website and click on show 1717.

https://choralnet.org/wp-content/uploads/going-beyond-words/1717.mp3

Filed Under: Going Beyond Words, Others Tagged With: ACDA Radio, Easter, Music in Worship, Palm Sunday

Is it Time to Rethink the “Conventional” Model of Youth Choir?

November 28, 2016 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

Image result for youth choir

The June/July 2016 issue of Choral Journal was a focus issue with articles and columns pertaining to sacred music. One article titled “Soul Searching: Is it Time to Rethink the ‘Conventional’ Model of Youth Choir?” by Eric L. Mathis. The author posits in the introduction that in the twenty-first century, a “conventional” model of youth choir does not exist.

He says, “There is no cookie-cutter model of youth choir ministry in the twenty-first century. Everywhere we look, youth choir ministry looks different, and that can be both encouraging and perplexing for those of us engaged in the task of youth choir ministry. The primary goal of this article is to ask a pastoral question of youth choir directors. Admittedly, this is not a musical question, but taken to its full lengths, this question will have significant musical ramifications. The question is this: As pastoral musicians committed to the spiritual and musical development of teenagers, how do we best cultivate a generative faith that is rooted in a relationship with God, nurtured by the faith community, and important enough to extend beyond adolescence?”

The article contains three parts: 1) The relationship between the study, congregations, and the climate of youth ministry in the United States. 2) Recent cycles in music and worship and observations about how these cycles have impacted youth choir ministry. 3) Asking the question how those of us who lead student choirs might adapt our practices in light of current research about the faith lives of teenagers in the twenty-first century.

This brief ChoralNet blog will address four theological accents to realign priorities discussed in part three of the article.

How can we better use creeds—theology, principal tenets of the Christian faith, and the God-story—to instill deeper faith in our teenagers?  

• A conductor in Iowa decided to choose her youth choir repertoire by theology rather than music. Rather than say, “I need a global anthem in my repertoire,” she said, “My teenagers need to better understand journey through suffering.” She realized this is a theme in music from the Hispanic culture and found that theology and a global anthem

How can we better instill within our teenagers a sense that they are part of a much larger and intergenerational community that regularly participates in and enacts the God-story?

• One part-time musician had trouble finding time to rehearse youth choir and recruit significant numbers of teenagers. In his soul searching, he learned that parents are the single most influential factors in the religious lives of teenagers.After conversation with a friend, he decided to imitate the African American church choir model by doing away with children, youth, and adult choirs to make intergenerational choirs the norm rather than the exception. (The African American community has a larger number of youth involvement in religious choirs than any other!)

How can we better help our teenagers comprehend a sense of the purpose they have in the God-story as present members in the faith community?

• One conductor decided to reverse the performance/ rehearsal/mission ratio for three months out of the year. In these three months, the youth choir rehearsed anthem literature one week out of the month for two hours and Soul Searching: Is it Time to Rethink CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 11 25 spent the other three to four weeks engaging in mission projects related to music therapy in the nursing home, music education in lower socio-economic, and music advocacy with a local public school system.

How do we instill deep hope in teenagers so they learn to find hope outside of themselves and better anticipate the work of God in the world around them?

• One youth choir director took seriously research claiming teenagers don’t actually learn anything of lasting value on short-term mission trips like his youth choir was accustomed to taking. He admitted that teenagers receive the deepest sense of connection to the values of their congregation through ongoing mission endeavors where they develop long-term relationships with individuals. With the support of his leadership, they abandoned summer trips and began a routine schedule of worshiping with residents in a homeless shelter and eating with them afterward.

You can read the rest of the article online here. (Note: you must be an ACDA member and logged into ACDA.org to view the Choral Journal online.) If you are not an ACDA member, you can become one here for $45 for an associate member or email me () to request a copy of this issue of Choral Journal for further reading ($3/copy + shipping).

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Publications, Choral Journal, CJ Replay, Music in Worship

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