Arrgh! Computer Glitches Sherry's computer woke up last week with amnesia. We've slowly helped it recover most of its memory, thanks to a new machine and lots of tech help (thank goodnes for multiple back-ups), but the program that decodes the encrypted emails with your online renewals and donations is not working. Yep, right when so many of you are trying to renew or make end of year gifts. For right now, you can print the online form and mail it with your check or credit card number, or call the office and complete the transaction over the phone. 800-THE HYMN (843-4966). We will post a notice on the website when the online payment options resume. For those of you who have tried to renew or make a donation after November 21 your transaction has not been completed. Your card has not been charged. Please contact Sherry to complete your transaction. You are also welcome to call or email to ask about the status of your renewal or gift. We hope the situation will be rectified before the end of the year. Thanks for your patience. Technology is great when it works . . . . . |
Your Support is Needed Help us finish 2014 "in the black" with a contribution to The Hymn Society Annual Fund. And when you are shopping on Amazon, enter the site through Amazon Smile and register The Hymn Society as your favorite charitable organization. A percentage of your purchase will be donated to The Hymn Society! Thank you for your support. It's clear that The Hymn Society has embraced a culture of generosity. We couldn't continue our work without your help.
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2015 Annual Conference in New Orleans
The Hymn Society Annual Conference
Loyola University, New Orleans
July 12-16, 2015 Dr. John Baron
Plenary Address: "Psalmody and Hymnody in Jewish Congregational Singing"
John Baron, a native of Milwaukee and the son of a rabbi, is a graduate of Harvard and Brandeis Universities. He is now Emeritus Professor of Music at Tulane University where he taught for 45 years. His books include Chamber Music: an Information and Resource Guide, Intimate Music: a History of the Idea of Chamber Music, and Concert Life in 19th-Century New Orleans; he is also co-author of the book Music in Jewish History and Culture. He is the recipient of numerous grants including from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for a year-long study in Kiel, Germany, from the American Council of Learned Societies for a year-long study in Spain, and from the Fulbright Foundation for a half-year-long study in Holland.
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Church Music Position at Samford University
Samford University, Birmingham, AL, announces a new faculty position in music and worship. This position comes as a response to the recent retirement of Dr. Paul A. Richardson, Professor of Music, as well as a flourishing music and worship program at the undergraduate and graduate levels. For more information, see the attached announcement: Samford faculty position |
Braille Hymnals Available
Central Lutheran Church, Portland, OR, has Braille hymnals to give away. We have a 3 volume Braille Lutheran Book of Worship and two copies of the 4 volume Braille With One Voice. Contact Janis Lord at worship@centralportland.org . We cannot promise to cover shipping, but contact us and we will discuss shipping costs. |
Psalm Contest Winners
Greg Scheer and Church of the Servant are pleased to announce the co-winners of the 2014 New Psalm Contest: "Clean Heart" by Kimberly Williams and "Oh Rejoice in All Your Works" by Wendell Kimbrough. More information
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Dialog with Shirley Erena Murray
In the latest issue of Sine Nomine, the newsletter for the Southern Ontario Chapter of The Hymn Society (SOCHS) Lydia Pedersen asked Shirley a series of questions about her writing. I thought that other members of The Hymn Society would be interested in this conversation, so with permission from both Lydia and Shirley, I've posted this portion of the SOCHS newsletter here: Dialog
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Continuing Contests
Macalester-Plymouth United Church in St. Paul, MN announces the nineteenth annual international contest for English language hymn writers. The 2014 contest will be a search for a hymn text that celebrates God's presence in current social changes and changes in the church. It carries a prize of $500. All entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2014. For more information, view the attached flyer.
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, is pleased to announce its first Church Music Search, a contest for composers and authors. This annual and international search calls for the creation of congregational hymns, choral anthems and orchestral music that engage and exclaim liberal Christian theology and associated themes. Each year a different musical category and theological theme will be selected to resource Pullen and other theologically-liberal congregations with artistic and meaningful church music.
The 2015 search is for an SATB choral anthem suitable for adult choirs with keyboard accompaniment (organ or piano). Other optional instrumental parts may be included. The text of the anthem should express the meaning and celebration of Easter from a theologically-liberal viewpoint.
An award of $1500 will be given to the creator of the winning selection (or divided equally between author and composer). Though the Pullen Music Ministry will retain the right to print and use the winning selection in perpetuity, copyright will remain with the creator(s) and a publisher will be sought for the winning composition.
Entries are submitted electronically and will be accepted through February 1, 2015. Find submission guidelines and enter at: www.pullen.org/musicsearch .
For additional information contact Larry E. Schultz at lschultz@pullen.org.
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Upcoming Events
January 7-9, 2015 -- Augsburg Publishers will present "THE SONGS WE SING:
National Conference for Sacred Music" in San Antonio, TX. The conference will feature David Bone, Mel Bringle, Michael Burkhardt, Mark Mummert, Charles Peery, and Randall Stroope.
National Conference for Sacred Music is a unique conference designed to provide the practicing church musician with fresh new ideas to help create a vital, growing music ministry. The emphasis of this conference is to provide a wide variety of new approaches to revitalize and reinvigorate the church's passion for music in worship.
Among the many sessions you will find:
- Strategic planning and educating the congregation about worship, with an emphasis on hymnody
For more information visit: http://www.augsburgfortress.org/ncsm/
January 29-31, 2015 -- Online Registration is open for the Calvin Symposium on Worship. See the presenter list http://worship.calvin.edu/symposium/presenters.html and program page http://worship.calvin.edu/symposium/program.html .
There will be over 100 workshops and seminar choices, including:
-Thursday seminar "Seven Streams of 21st Century Congregational Song: Skills for Leading the People's Song in a Musically Multilingual Word" moderated by C. Michael Hawn, FHS with contributions from James Abbington, Jorge Lockward, Emmett Price and the James Abbington Church Music Academy alumni, Martin Tel and the Princeton Seminary Choir
-Vespers "We've Come This Far by Faith: Our Story, Our Song" led by Emmett Price, III, James Abbington, and several alumni from the James Abbington Church Music Academy
July 4-9, 2015 -- the Winnipeg Organ Festival will host a very exciting week of workshops, concerts and events planned for organists and anyone who has an interest in the organ, in choral music, in church music and more! Our web site is www.winnipegorganfestival.ca and has an extensive amount of information on it. Of particular interest will be the Hymn Festival Sunday night, July 5, 2015. This Hymn Festival will be led by Christine Longhurst and will include a vast variety of hymns with organ (of course!) but also with organ and "praise band."
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News of Members
We mourn the passing of John F. Wilson, on November 7, 2014 in Plainsville, IL. John was for many years an editor with Hope Publishing Company and a noted composer and arranger. His obituary may be found at
Congratulations to William L. (Bill) Wallace of Christchurch, NZ who has just had his seventh collection of hymns published: Singing the Sacred, Vol. 2 (World Library Publications). In addition, other hymns and "Sacred Energy / Mass of the Universe" (score and multimedia files) available for free download on the website of
At the website, along the top bar under the logo, enter "Wallace" and choose "Last Name" in the options on the search window to access all of Bill's postings.
Congratulations also to Eric Mathis who has been awarded a grant from the Lilly Endowment. This 3-year grant, in the amount of $600,000, contains provisions for anima to expand Animate, an intergenerational, ecumenical summer workshop in worship and the arts; develop a liturgical pilgrimage to serve as a rite of passage for high school juniors and seniors; conduct research related to adolescent spiritual formation through worship and the arts; multiply the online resources; and increase staffing for these endeavors. anima: the Forum for Worship and the Arts at Samford University launched in January 2013, and since then has begun providing online resources and training opportunities for young people in worship and the arts.
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Recent Events
November 9, 2014 - Mary Louise Van Dyke, FHS, wrote, coordinated and led an All Community Hymn Sing in historic First Church in Oberlin, OH. The event was co-sponsored by the Oberlin Heritage Society and The First Church in Oberlin. The title of the 'sing' was "Oberlin Connections through Hymns" bringing together singers and instrumentalists from seven local churches plus many other singers in the area. The event was planned to lead into the dedication of an Ohio historic marker on the front lawn of the church, so the entire assembly was led outside by a black gospel group singing a traditional song "Come along, my friends". Each hymn in the 'sing' was chosen for its connection to Oberlin and to Antoinette Brown Blackwell, an Oberlin alumna who was the first woman ordained in America. Several hymns were contrasted with the way they had sounded within the same walls in 1837. Featured were texts and tunes by Oberlin alumni Calvin Hampton, William W. Reid, Dosia Carlson and George Nelson Allen among others. November 23, 2014 -- Indiana Wesleyan University worship major students led an interdenominational, county-wide festival of song under the direction of Constance M. Cherry. The twenty-two students in "Centuries of Song" led the service of song along with guest clinicians from a local Roman Catholic Church, Missionary Baptist Church, and Wesleyan Church who also had trained the students in responsorial singing, black gospel, and global song during the semester. Eight different types of congregational song, ranging from classic hymnody to modern worship music and everything in between, was led by the students. It was a lively evening full of moving moments. November 25, 2014 -- Students in "Centuries of Song," a course in congregational song required for the major in Christian Worship at Indiana Wesleyan University, were honored to have Adam M. L. Tice as a guest speaker/hymnist in one of the classes. Constance M. Cherry, Professor of Worship, arranged for Mr. Tice to share many of his new hymn texts and discuss the process of writing hymns with the students. The students loved learning from a contemporary hymn writer.
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The Yale ISM Review
The Yale Institute of Sacred Music is pleased to present a new venture: The Yale ISM Review, a biannual, open-access online publication serving practitioners in the fields of sacred music, worship, and the related arts. You are invited to join us for stimulating discussions, enriched by contributions from Yale faculty and others who are leaders in their fields.
The inaugural issue is organized around the theme of song --that deeply human expressions so important to worship, yet also fragile and needing care if it is to flourish. The theme of song is reflected here through music, poetry, art, and prayer; in these pages you will discover connections between song and human health, philosophy, architecture, and more.
ismreview.yale.edu
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2015 British Conferences
Have you made your travel plans yet? Many members earlier expressed an interest in attending our joint hymnological meeting which takes places every six years. Now is the time to start looking for favorable air travel. Let's have a large group from HSUSC at the meeting!
The joint meeting of our Hymn Society with HSGBI and IAH will be held at
Robinson College, Cambridge. The conference will begin with registration on Sunday, 26th July 2015 with the Conference program beginning on Monday and concluding on Friday 31st July. It is anticipated that there will be at least one optional outing day on Saturday, 1st August. The Conference theme will be: Hymns in Liturgy and Life. Revd Michael Garland is convening the group which will be organising the Conference. Details
The third biennial conference of Christian Congregational Music: Global and Local Perspectives will be held at Rippon College Cuddesdon, Oxford on August 4-7, 2015. Details
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