Thursday, July 31

Thursday morning was beautiful. Even the humidity wasn’t too much for this Yankee attending the conference for the first time.

After an organ/piano prelude by Matt and Cliff, we prayed Morning Prayer together remembering St. Ignatius of Antioch. The Song of Judith, “I will sing a new song,” was perfectly appropriate for a gathering of church musicians.

Two words that seemed to sum up our work on choral music this day were “blooming” and “tuning.” We all made a wicked witch “EEEeee.” Basses were compared to barnacles. We learned that Eeyore was from “The Jungle Book” and that we needed a “spooky Mary” at one point in the Howells’ Magnificat. All in all, the balance of light-hearted fun with intense preparation of incredible choral music was superb.

After distributing rulers as a reminder of our role as teachers, Susan explored a bit about St. Ignatius and what we, as church musicians, learn from him. As teachers, we were reminded that we are about transformation . . . transforming people to transform the world. Jesus, of course, was the best example of this.

We were also encouraged to become “enliveners,” engaging people and putting a face on the song. We sang two examples: “Now Thank We All Our God” from the Thirty Years’ War in Germany, and “Siyahamba” from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, singing in defiance of oppression and leading to hope.
After a quick lunch, we explored some more pieces from our choral packets, got a quick start on music for the Sunday liturgy, then focused our attention on getting to St. Philips in Jackson for Evensong.

The quick preparation “bloomed” into a wonderful liturgy, with . . .
beautiful Brahms,
sexy Sowerby,
heavenly Howells,
powerful, yet prayerful, Paulus,
and gregarious Gigout.
This Lutheran, visiting in Anglican territory, really appreciated the opportunity to sing in the choir for Choral Evensong. Thank you!

A free evening with friends wrapped up this packed and memorable day.

Scott Weidler
Associate for Worship
ELCA