Adult Choir Concert: The Reason We Sing

Jun 4

Yesterday afternoon, the choir had their spring program—nine of their very favorite anthems from the past year (yes, we voted).

This year, I decided to turn it into more of a program, with narration tying everything together. It worked out perfectly—a beautiful celebration of the reasons why we sing. Enjoy!

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

The Reason We Sing

Choir Program

Narration

Each week, we gather in this place—just a room with four walls and a few doors and windows. We find rest, we learn, we encourage, and we love one another. You see, it’s not the place, it’s the people that matter. It’s not the words that are spoken or the songs that are sung; it’s the hearts that are shared in the process. Within these walls, we share, we pray, we sing, and we listen.

Anthem

“Within These Walls” (Choplin)

Narration

There comes a time for each of us when we put childish things behind us and take on the responsibilities of adulthood. However, there are moments of our lives when we find ourselves so humbled that we become filled with that childlike sense of awe and wonder. Have you been there? It’s in those moments of sweet innocence that we rediscover the simplicity of faith itself.

Jesus loves me.

The words seem so ordinary at first, but the depth and richness of this promise fill our very beings with uncompromising hope and assurance.

Jesus loves me.

This simple statement may call to mind that beloved children’s song: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.”

Anthem

“Yes, My Jesus Loves Me” (McDonald)

Narration

Can you imagine what it would have been like to meet Jesus during His time here on earth? Perhaps you would run up to greet Him and savor every moment you could be with Him. Or perhaps you would feel overwhelmed by His presence and instead would observe things from a distance. Would you shout, “Hosanna!” or would you let others speak for you? The Scriptures tell us, “If the people don’t shout, the rocks will cry out!” Let your voice be heard!

Anthem

“Ain’t No Rock Gonna Shout For Me” (Larson)

Narration

There’s something about water: calm and refreshing, powerful and strong. Spiritually speaking, water cleanses and renews us and makes us whole again. Are you weary? Are you burdened with the cares of the world? “I will give you rest,” God says. Come as you are, without expectation or money or price. Just come.

Anthem

“Come to the Water” (arr. Hasseler)

Narration

Some things bring us together, and some set us apart. We each have hearts that beat and hands that serve and voices with which to sing. We have eyes and ears to see and hear and communicate with one another. But what sets us apart—those things that make each of us unique—are just as important. We come from many places and backgrounds. We’ve shared a unique set of experiences. We are part of different generations, and we each have varying strengths and weaknesses. Despite these things that might divide and separate us, we share a common bond of unity in Christ. United in Your spirit, Lord, we are one.

Anthem

“We Are One, Lord” (Pethel)

Narration

“I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining; and I believe in love, even when there’s no one there. And I believe in God, even when He is silent; I believe through any trial, there is always a way.”

These words, believed to have been written by a Jew during the Holocaust were found inscribed on a cellar wall in Cologne, Germany during World War II. Though almost 70 years old, the words still resonate with us.

It’s a powerful statement of faith.

Sometimes, all we can do is hope: hope for clarity, hope for resolution, hope for a better tomorrow. “May there someday be sunshine. May there someday be happiness. May there someday be love. May there someday be peace.”

Anthem

“Inscription of Hope” (Stroope), Women’s Choir

Narration

God often speaks to us in words of assurance. “I am love. I will be your strength. I am light in the darkness. I am with you always.” He comforts us when we are upset. He listens when we speak. He comes to us when we feel alone. He loves us unconditionally. He carries us when we are too weak to walk. He lights the path before us, giving us wisdom and clarity in our decision-making.

Listen to the voice of God speaking to your heart: “I love you, and you are mine.”

Anthem

“You Are Mine” (Haas)
permanently out of print

Narration

Music. That thing which engages us, inspires us, connects us, empowers us, soothes us, and fills our spirits to the very brim, music lies within us and surrounds us in our everyday culture. The songs of the earth echo in our souls—we carry them in our hearts. In this way, music becomes a part of us. It’s a form of expression, a language that knows no bounds. When words fail, music speaks. We cannot keep it silent. And so we sing. We sing about faith and love and experiences. We sing about summertime. We sing about singing. How can we not?

Anthem

“How Can I Keep From Singing?” (arr. Courtney)

Narration

Life is not about the destination; it’s about the journey. It’s about the experiences, the joy, the sorrow, the lessons, and the people with whom we share all of these things. And so, we help those in need. We give as much as we are able. We accept help from those who care. We love one another as much as we love ourselves. Called to live as brothers and sisters in Christ, we know that true joy lies in the journey.

Anthem

“Climbin’ Up the Mountain, Children” (Shackley)

A to Z: Must-Haves for Your Choir and Ensemble Rehearsals

It’s back-to-school season, which means it’s time for all things Fall, new school supplies, and the start of a new academic year.

If you’re a planner like me and like things to be organized, you probably spent some time this summer cleaning out folders and boxes, straightening up counters and rearranging chairs, getting the piano tuned, and planning music for the Fall semester.

Three Models for Organizing a Combined Choir

Choir is a meaningful way to build community, promote unity, and bring people together.

Whether you direct a community choir, a church choir, or work with a professional choir, combining with other groups can be a memorable, enriching musical experience for all involved. It's also a practical way to expand what's possible on a concert program: more voices, more opportunities for divisi, and a bigger sound than one group could create on their own.

24 Piano Duet Books for Recitals or Worship

Piano duets are one of the most enjoyable ways to make music with another person—whether you're adding something special to a worship service, planning a studio recital or informance, or just looking for an excuse to sit down at the piano and play with a friend or student.

In my experience, most piano students love the chance to perform together, and even small churches have at least one person in the congregation with some playing experience. Often, people just need to be asked and invited to participate.

A Score-Study Checklist for Music Teachers & Directors

The phrase score-study takes me right back to music history at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays (you, too?). Grout anthology in one hand, class notes in another, marking cadences and phrase structure and German augmented sixth chords.

Don’t worry—I’m not suggesting you analyze your ensemble music quite to that degree. However, the practice of studying a score—before teaching, rehearsing, or performing the piece has its merits.

How to Lead a More Effective Rehearsal

Making progress, learning, improving. A sense of accomplishment and achievement.

Whether you’re leading a choir, chamber group, studio class, or classroom ensemble, you know what a good rehearsal feels like—focused, efficient, and productive.

There’s energy and momentum and everyone’s engaged and working together.

Oh, What Fun! How to Host a Christmas Choir Kick-Off Party

Who doesn't love a Christmas party in September (even if it’s still shorts weather)?!

A Christmas choir party is a fun and festive way to welcome new members, build community, and generate excitement for the season ahead. Whether you're leading a church choir, community chorus, or small ensemble, this kind of event sets a warm, enthusiastic tone for the year and offers your choir members a sneak peek of what's to come.

The Introverted Musician: 8 Survival Strategies for Teachers & Directors

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Society often makes us feel like we’re either one or the other. But these personality traits are actually opposite ends of the same spectrum.

And the reality is that most of us fall somewhere in the middle (source).

Susan Cain, researcher and author of the New York Times bestseller, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking noted, "Extroverts need higher levels of stimulation to feel their best” while "introverts prefer quiet, minimally stimulating environments." (source)

Five Ways to Celebrate the End of the School Year

From August or September until May or June, choir and ensemble members of all ages gather in communities across the country week after week. They sing, they smile, they learn, but most of all, they give their time to be part of something bigger than themselves.

It’s a commitment, and often one that includes the whole family. This alone is something worth acknowledging and celebrating.

But then there’s the wonderful work that you do together throughout the year—the music you learn, the songs you sing, the services and programs and concerts you present, the community you build.

Here are five ways to celebrate the end of another wonderful year and show your appreciation for your choir and ensemble members this spring.

5 Reasons Why Your Rehearsals Feel Monotonous (and What to Do About It)

You know what it feels like:

Uninspired.
Laborious.
Boring.

It’s easy to slip into a rut in rehearsals from time to time, but I think we can all agree: these are not things anyone wants to feel or experience.

You don’t want to feel like you’re just going through the motions each week; you want to feel excited and energized to sing or play and learn and make music together.

5 Simple Ideas for Creative Hymn-Playing

If you’re a church pianist or organist, you likely have lots of opportunities to use hymn arrangements and creative hymn-playing techniques (like, multiple times in every service!).

But knowing what to do, finding well-crafted hymn harmonizations, and accessing published resources can be challenging. In some cases, these resources aren’t available at all.

The good news is, you don’t need to rely solely on published resources to add creative hymn arrangements and harmonizations into your service-playing. You can learn to do some of this yourself.

4 Strategies to Help Your Adult Choir Improve Their Sight-Reading Skills

It's one the greatest musical skills you can help your choir develop: singing and reading music for themselves with musical understanding.

Just like learning to read language, music-reading comes after listening and interacting with music aurally and developing a musical vocabulary of tonal and rhythm patterns (these are like words in language).

Think of how you learned to read: You probably spent a lot of time following along in a book as you listened to someone else read to you. Eventually, you started finishing the sentences and pointing to the words as you went along.

You learned simple words like, go and dog and identified them in other books.

Learning to read music is no different. We learn to recognize tonal and rhythm patterns like familiar words in books.

15 Church Choir Anthems for Advent

'Tis the season to be jolly (in July, as you plan music for Advent!)

Am I right?!

As a church musician, you know it's never too early to be thinking about Christmas, so today, I thought I'd share a few favorite choral anthems for the Advent season.

I've mentioned a few of these in previous posts (Favorite Anthems for the Small Church Choir and Fifty More Favorite Anthems for the Small Church Choir), but I thought it might be helpful to compile everything in one post for easy reference.

26 Leadership Skills and Traits for Church Music Directors

What does it mean to be a leader? And what does it take to be a great one?

Leadership has been defined as “the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.” (source) Thus, a leader is one who inspires and directs that collective action.

This requires a certain set of skills and character traits, though experts say you can learn and develop these skills with time and experience.

You don’t have to be born with all of these skills and traits to be a great leader.

What Type of Choir Director Are You?

Take a moment to think about the choir directors you’ve had during your lifetime. What was your first choir director like? If you sang in a choir during high school, what was that director like? Think about the directors you’ve had as an adult, whether in a university, church, or community setting. What were those directors like?

Each one had a different style, right? A different approach to leading, conducting, organizing, and communicating with the choir. What makes one director a stronger leader than another? Which communication style is most effective?

Three Ways to Plan a Summer Choir

As you wrap up your school-year commitments and make plans for those lazy, hazy days of summer, now is the perfect time to start organizing a summer choir.

Here are three unique ways to organize and structure a summer choir at your church, plus some helpful strategies for making the most of your time together each week.

12 Anthems for Palm Sunday and Easter

Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are big celebrations in the life of the church and since they come back-to-back in the church calendar, it's one of the busiest weeks of the year for church musicians! Here are a few anthems to consider for your choir this year.

Reading Session Picks for Adult Choir

Music publishers often present reading sessions at music conferences, clinics, and professional development workshops. If you’re a director, this is a good way to learn about new repertoire and choose music for the year ahead.

In this post, you’ll find a list of reading session picks I’ve curated through the years. Some feature piano and organ accompaniment, and some include optional instrumental parts (flute, cello, violin, trumpet, brass quartet, timpani, chamber orchestra, and 4-hand piano).

13 Choral Anthems for Lent

Lent. A time of reflection, sacrifice, prayer, contemplating, and grace.

It's a time of stripping away, going without (for example, the practice of "burying the alleluia" during Lent), and quieting the heart and mind.

There are six Sundays during Lent, plus any services that take place during Holy Week (the week between Palm Sunday and Easter).

If you’re looking for a few new Lenten anthems to add to your library this year, here are a few of my favorites for SAB and SATB choirs.

Celebrating Women in Music Month: Church Music by Women Composers & Authors

In March, we celebrate Women's History Month around the world. And for those of us in music, we often celebrate women in music, as well.

There are festivals honoring the contributions of women in music, concerts celebrating repertoire by women composers, and publications about women writers and creators who have been relegated to the sidelines throughout history.

In church music, there is a rich history of women composers and authors sharing poetry, hymns, anthems, and service music. To celebrate Women in Music Month, here is a collection of church music written by women.

55 Hymns by Black Composers

In February, we celebrate Black History Month—an annual observance in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. (and perhaps other places, as well) honoring the history, achievements, contributions, sacrifices, and struggles of African Americans.

A Quick Warm-Up Routine for Piano Accompanists

Remember in college when you'd get into the practice room in the morning, unpack your books, and launch into a warm-up sequence? Maybe it was scales, chord patterns, or arpeggios. Maybe it was a finger-strengthening exercise. Maybe it was a technical etude.

Whatever your routine, warm-ups were an important part of each practice session.

Songs of the Season: A Celebration of Winter Holidays

Fall is here, which means the return of Georgia football (Go Dawgs!), puffer vests, and apple everything (sorry, PSL).

It also means lots of repertoire planning and rehearsing for Christmas programs, musicals, and holiday concerts.

I recognize that some of you are in positions where you may be programming a holiday concert or program, whether that's a school or community setting or an interfaith musical celebration with area churches. If you're looking for choral music that touches on various Winter holidays and celebrations, I hope the list of anthems below is helpful to you.

5 Things You Should Know About Directing a Church Choir

Many of you faithful readers have probably been directing a choir for what feels like ages.

But I recognize that some of you are new to this: maybe this is your first church job or your first time directing the choir at your church after serving in another capacity. Maybe you have choral conducting experience, but not in a church setting.

New Choral Settings of Old Hymn Texts

Hymns tell the stories of our faith.

Stories of faithfulness, prayers for peace, and songs of abiding love. Stories about Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection. Prophecies, promises, and words of hope and assurance.

As the great St. Augustine once wrote, "To sing is to pray twice."

When we sing these stories of our faith, we internalize them. We remember them.

How to Help Your Adult Choir Learn to Read Music

For those of you who work in a choral setting, you know that a big challenge is working with adults who don’t read music. How can you teach music-reading in a group setting when your rehearsal time is limited each week? How can you empower your adult singers to develop these skills on their own?

Doug Hanvey—a pianist, adult educator, and composer—has a few teaching tips (and a free printable resource) to share so you can help your adult singers learn to read more confidently and develop their sight-singing skills. Enjoy!

25 Church Choir Anthems for Ordinary Time

Ordinary Time, for most Protestant churches, begins the week after Pentecost and runs until the beginning of Advent. Some churches also consider the period between Epiphany Sunday and Lent Ordinary Time, making it the longest season of the liturgical year (source).

Are you doing the math? That's 33-34 Sundays in Ordinary Time in any given year. That's a lot of anthems!

I thought today would be the perfect time to share some of my favorite anthems for Ordinary Time. Most of them work really well with small choirs (or large choirs—whatever you've got!).

Without further ado, my top 25 anthems for Ordinary Time:

What Makes Something Singable? A Guide for Congregational Singing

When we talk about singing, especially singing in a community or congregational setting, we often ask, "Is it singable?"

This simple question may sound arbitrary but there's actually a lot of care and thought that goes into determining the answer.

Q&A: How to Celebrate a Church Musician's Anniversary

Sometimes I get questions in my inbox that I think others may be wondering, too. Here’s a question I got recently about celebrating a church musician’s anniversary.

How to Manage Your Music Budget: A Guide for Church Musicians

It’s a new year and that can mean only one thing: a new budget for your music program!

Most churches run on a January-December fiscal year, which means it's time to pull out your budget worksheets and start fresh.

When you do this, you suddenly remember that budget worksheets are boring, black and white Excel files, with heavy black grid lines, plain font, and pages that run on forever, which sort of puts a damper on the whole happy, fresh-start thing.

Does this sound familiar? If so, I made something for you.

How to Write an Annual Report for Your Church Music Program

For most churches, January is the start of a new fiscal year, which means it’s almost time for that long-anticipated after-church event that may or may not include finger sandwiches and decaf coffee…

Annual Meeting (and your written annual report).

Today, I’m sharing a few outline ideas for writing an annual report, a simple checklist of things to mention or include, and a few real-life examples for inspiration.

church choirnarrationsacred musicsinging

Ashley Danyew

Adult Choir Concert: The Reason We Sing

The Reason We Sing

Choir Program

June: Getting Organized

2012 WCMW: Recap I