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 The Verse
A monthly newsletter |
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The Hymn Society
in the United States and Canada |
February 2012 |
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Greetings!
Spring is in the air! Here in Richmond, dogwoods, redbud, azealeas, forsythia, and tulips in full bloom greet the eye with vivd color at every turn, set off by that once-a-year pale green shade of newly opened leaves. Early veggies are poking up in our postage stamp garden and the grass needs mowing! It's been a mild winter and it seems that new life is moving rapidly on the scene. This Lenten season has also seemed to move rapidly. As Holy Week approaches, I pray that you will find the nourishment and renewal you need in the last days of this Lent to make a new "springtime spirit" in your heart when Easter arrives.
Meanwhile, keep singing!!
Deb
Deborah Loftis
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Emily Brink, FHS, has had new hymn text published in the Baylor University publication Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith and Ethics. The theme of this issue is "Prisons" and includes not only her text "When Asked, Who Is My Neighbor" (set to MERLE'S TUNE by Hal Hopson), but also a worship service outline in which the hymn is the response to a sermon. Contents, including the hymn text and worship service, are available free of charge in PDF format on the Center's Web site www.ChristianEthics.ws. For the hymn, see http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/163079.pdf
We'll miss Emily at our conference this summer because she has been assigned to a Calvin Institute of Christian Worship team of people to lead a symposium in Indonesia during July. Congratulations Emily! We expect a full report!!
Congratulations to Chris Ángel who will be a student in the Ph.D. program in Liturgical Studies at Notre Dame University this fall.
A reception to honor Fred Graham was held at Emmanuel College in Toronto on March 28. Fred is retiring from his teaching position at Emmanuel at the end of this academic year. We rejoice with you, Fred, as you look toward a new chapter in life--more time for hymnic pursuits, right?? Speaking of hymns, William (Bill) Kervin, a UC minister and prof. at Emmanuel College penned a hymn for the occasion. Click here to see the hymn.
Harry Eskew, FHS, will sing with The Sons of Jubal, 150-member all-male chorus and orchestra from the Atlanta area. The chorus will perform in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in April and will also have performances in Bejing, China.
We hold in prayer George Shorney, FHS, retired President of Hope Publishing Company, passionate advocate for congregational song, and tireless friend of The Hymn Society, who has entered into Hospice care. The family requests no visits or calls, but messages may be posted on CaringBridge at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/georgeshorney/guestbook |
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April 9, 2012 -- The contents of the new Presbyterian Hymnal, Glory to God, will be posted on their website. The hymnal itself will not be released until fall 2013, but you can find out in just over a week which hymns will be included. http://www.presbyterianhymnal.org/
April 29, 2012 -- There will be a hymn sing at 6:00 pm at Wesley Chapel Free Methodist Church, 2385 Warden Avenue at Huntingwood Blvd, in Toronto to launch a new collection of hymns by SOCHS Member Charles C. Cooke.
Two upcoming seminars at Calvin College:
June 18-22, 2012, "Singing What We Believe: Theology and Hymn Texts" will led by Bert Polman, More information at http://www.calvin.edu/scs/2012/seminars/polman/
July 23-Aug. 3, 2012, "Globalization and Worship: Soundings from the Worldwide Church" led by Charles Farhadian. More information at http://www.calvin.edu/scs/2012/seminars/farhadian/
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2012 Summer Conference -- THE MEETING PLACE -- July 15-19
The conference brochure is available online! You can view the schedule and find information about all the sectionals being offered.
To view the brochure, click here.
The conference brochure is available also in the Winter issue of The Hymn.
Wednesday's hymn festival, "From Anglican Cathedral to Beale Street Blues" will be led by Thomas Pavlechko, Cantor and Composer-in-Residence at St. Martin's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas. This talented and creative composer is at home in wide-ranging musical styles, as the festival title suggests, so look forward to an evening of hymnic variety! This year Thom led a hymn festival in Mexico in February so with a festival in Austin in May and our festival in July, he's making the rounds of North America! Pavlechko has two collections of hymns tunes: Radiant City (2002) and Wellspring (2005) both published by Selah and available in our Book Service.
And we just have to brag: Thom was the piano/organ coach and hand double for Brad Pitt in the movie, The Tree of Life! You can read the fascinating story in the March issue of The American Organist. and editor, Todd Sisley graciously gave permission for us to post the article here. Coaching Brad Pitt
Copyright 2012, by the American Guild of Organists.
Reproduced by permission of The American Organist magazine.
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Recent Hymn Festivals
October 30, 2011 -- "Singing Our Faith: A Choral Celebration Honoring the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible" held at Wait Chapel, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. Michael Morgan, director and Don Armitage, organist.
February 19, 2012 -- "Reflections on the Apostles' Creed Through Voices of Our Own Time" sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, Willmington, NC Chapter, designed and led by Don Armitage.
March 11, 2012 -- Brevard-Davidson River Presbyterian Church, Brevard, NC, presented a hymn festival based on the "I Am" sayings of Jesus. In addition to choir and congregational participation, three of the scripture passages were presented dramatically and artwork for the bulletin covers was contributed by four different visual artists in the church. Appreciation is expressed to Hymn Society member Mark Alan Filbert whose sharing of several programs from hymn festivals (via email) served as a stimulus for developing this festival. Charlie Steele is director of music/organist at Brevard-Davidson River Presbyterian Church.
March 25, 2012 -- "The Life of Christ" held at Hayes Barton Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC. To be presented again at Asheboro First Baptist Church on April 1, 2012. Led by Mike Eller, Dan Ridley, and Clint Aclin. Reported to us by Mac and Betty McElrath.
March 30, 2012 -- "Sing Peace" held St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Cambridge, MA. The festival was led by and featured the hymns of Adam Tice.
Stephanie Budwey hosted the festival. May Daw (recorder) was one of the instrumentalists.
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Attention Students!
We are accepting applications now for the Lovelace Scholarship. The application form is available on the website: http://www.thehymnsociety.org/lovelace.pdf
The Lovelace Scholarship provides registration, housing and meals for the annual conference and is a great way for students to really see what the Hymn Society is all about! Members--encourage the students you know to apply! Applicants may be full- or part-time students at the college or graduate level for whom sacred music is a significant part of their curriculum. Deadline is May 1.
There are two other opportunities for students and scholars--
The Emerging Scholars Forum showcases the research of three current or recently graduated students at the graduate level during a sectional session. Among the three, a winner is chosen to receive a prize and the opportunity to submit an article for consideration in The Hymn. Applications are available on the website: http://www.thehymnsociety.org/esf.pdf Hurry! Deadline is April 1!!
The Research-in-Progress Poster Session is open to all--students and seasoned scholars-- who would like to share and network with others. Find out more on the website: http://www.thehymnsociety.org/ripps.pdf Deadline is April 15. |
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Another Research Query
Is there anyone in this group who knows a tune by William B. Bradbury with the name MONTCLAIR to the text "So we gather"? In Norway and Sweden it is used to a text by Lina Sandell, "Herre, samle naa oss alle" (Lord, gather us all). I need to know the original text (the one referred to is probably a translation from Swedish) and the first appearance of the tune.
Stig W. Holter, Bergen, Norway (Hymn Society member)
Editor of Nytt Norsk Salmeleksikon (Norwegian Hymnal Companion)
If you have information to share, send it to Deb and she will forward it to Mr. Holter.
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New Hymn Contest
Macalester Plymouth United Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, announces the seventeenth annual international contest for English language hymn writers. It is our understanding that hymns can motivate the church to be more actively involved in social reform, a vital part of its ministry. It carries a prize of $500 for the winning entry. Our 2012 contest will be a search for hymns that address the scriptural call to speak out loudly and clearly against injustice, and to unite with others working for change. Entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2012. Macalester Plymouth Hymn Contest details |
| Continuing Hymn Contests
Humbercrest United Church, Toronto, and the Southern Ontario Chapter of the Hymn Society
are co-sponsoring a hymn search "Marking Significant Moments in Congregational History. Full details and a very concise summary are available on our site at www.sochs.org. Deadline for submissions is May 15, 2012
United Theological Seminary
has announced a new competition: "New Songs and Hymns for Renewal: A Conpetition for Writers and Composers." This competition will search for hymns/songs in three distinct categories: (1) new text and tune, (2) new music for traditional hymn/song texts, (3) new hymn text for traditional hymn tune. The deadline for submission is April 20, 2012. Visit
http://united.edu/Music-Competition/New-Songs-and-Hymns-for-Renewal/menu-id-639.html for more details.
The Hymn Society
has opened a search for new hymns on Unity in Diversity for the 2012 Summer Conference, "The Meeting Place." Visit our website
www.thehymnsociety.org for more information, guidelines and entry forms. Deadline for submission is April 30, 2012.
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Call for New Tunes
For its next project, DARCEY PRESS (www.darceypress.com) needs a number of singable, harmonized, congregation-friendly tunes to set some public domain (Isaac Watts) texts.
Contact Adrienne Tindall, (a.tindall@comcast.net), if you are interested in helping. Please include a brief description of your background, and perhaps a .pdf file of a harmonized hymn tune you've written.
DARCEY PRESS will pay 10% royalties, divided pro rata, to composers.
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