Earlier this year, John Thornburg and Mel Bringle wrote a letter about the ways that text and tune writers might contribute to The Hymn Society through their publications.  Mel has been tithing her royalties to us for a while; John has started directly assigning copyright to The Hymn Society when he is commissioned to write a text.  Following their lead, we have heard from Amanda Husberg and Rae Whitney who have assigned copyrights to The Hymn Society as part of their estate planning.  We offer up our very grateful thanks to these talented poets and composer.  Each one of these four has found a way that feels right to them which will provide real support for the work of The Hymn Society. 

Amanda told me that she was not trained in composition in her studies and without the Text and Tunewriters workshops that The Hymn Society offered, she would not have been able to be successful in her composing.  She attended three of the workshops.  Rae has related how important those workshops were in her life as well, especially because of the friendships and collegial work that developed as a result.  John and Mel have also stressed the importance of what they learned at one of our sponsored workshops. 

When I look back over the names of the people who have taken part in the workshops that extended from 1987 to  2003, I see many names that now frequently appear in hymnal indices.  Clearly, this is an important service to congregational song that we must continue. 

We're making a new version of the Text and Tune Writers Workshop a priority for the immediate future.  It's important to give the emerging poets and composers the support and development they need so we continue to have strong hymns and songs for our future worship.

Won't you help?  Whether or not you write texts or tunes, you are one who values the health of congregational song.  Your contribution helps us build the Endowment so that we can continue to provide resources that undergird congregational song.   

A Call for 2016 Sectional Proposals

We are accepting proposals for sectional (break-out) presentations for the 2016 conference in Redlands, CA  July 17-21, 2016.  The theme, "Formed in Faith, Shaped by Song" will give us opportunity to examine how congregational song helps to shape our faith and spiritual development.  Sessions focused on children, youth, and senior adults are especially fitting, but we will cover a broad spectrum of topics in our sectionals so all proposals are welcome.  Presentations should be no more than 60 minutes in length. Please fill out the online proposal form located on our website, or click on this link to go directly to the proposal form.  Sectional proposals

Determining Future Conference Dates

Put the future dates of our summer conference on your calendar now --

Amazon Smile

Remember that you can support The Hymn Society each time to buy books and products through Amazon.  Enter the site through Amazon Smile, register The Hymn Society as your charity, and then enjoy your purchases even more, knowing that a percentage will come to us as a result.  We received our first check recently and are looking forward to many more!

 http://candler.emory.edu/about/work-at-candler.html

Announcement      Guidelines      Entry Form

Continuing Hymn and Psalm Contests

As part of the 125th Anniversary Celebrations of St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, an International Hymn Competition is being held to find a new celebratory Pauline hymn. The terms and conditions of the Competition are published here:

 http://www.stpaulscathedral.org.au/music/st_pauls_cathedral_125th_anniversary_hymn_competition

Submission deadline:  September 18, 2015

In an effort to encourage Psalm-singing, Church of the Servant invites congregational songwriters to submit a Psalm-based song to its 2015 COS New Psalm Contest. The winner will receive a $500 award. There is no entry fee and the contest is open to all. Submissions must be emailed or postmarked by October 1, 2015. The song will be premiered in worship on January 31, 2016. Church of the Servant is a Christian Reformed Church with a rich history of encouraging the arts in worship. Its worship is Reformed, liturgical, participatory, eclectic, and open to creative new worship expressions. This contest is made possible by a generous donation in memory of Ben Fackler, who loved all things musical.

 

Full contest rules may be found at:

http://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/2015-cos-new-psalm-contest/  

You may also download a pdf of the contest details here.  Contest Rules

The Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (CRCCM) announces a competition for newly composed settings of the proper texts of the Entrance and Communion Antiphons with psalm verses from the Roman Missal (pub. 2010) for the Chrism Mass. The Chrism Mass is usually celebrated in a diocese during holy week in the cathedral church. During the liturgy the sacred oils used in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, the sick and holy orders are blest. A single prize of $1,500 USD will be awarded for the winning settings. The texts are to be scored for congregation, choir, organ and optional instruments. Submission deadline is November 30, 2015. A detailed explanation of the contest rules, full texts, instrumentation and submission requirements can be found at

www.crccm.org

Macalester Plymouth United Church of Saint Paul, MN announces their 2015 hymn contest: a search for a hymn that celebrates the language of love, inclusiveness, commitment, and the love God has for the union of all people regardless of gender.

See the attached document for full description and contest rules.  The prize is $500. Hymns must be postmarked by December 31, 2015.   

contest information and rules