I’ve been a little quiet over here lately, but it’s not for lack of things to say or write about!
The end of the school/church year is always busy (am I right?!), and this year was no exception (read more about what I've been up to lately below).
I’ve also been hard at work on a few big projects and am right in the middle of planning ahead for some exciting things for the fall.
Today, instead of keeping you all in suspense, I thought I’d give you a behind-the-scenes look at exactly what I’m working on this summer.
Enjoy!
Online Courses
I’m wrapping up the first round of the Directing a Church Children's Choir 101 course - our time is flying by! It’s been so fun. We have a great group of 25 participants from all around the world. Looking forward to teaching this class again in the future! Stay tuned for more details.
I'm also preparing to launch another online course later this summer called The Church Musician Primer: Key Skills for the Music Director, Keyboardist, and Organist. I'm writing content, working on a marketing plan, and designing visuals. Here’s a sneak peek at what will be included. Want to be the first to know when it's available? Join the waiting list here.
Studio Teaching
We had our annual Spring Recital at the beginning of the month and I was thrilled that so many of my students chose to play pieces they picked out by ear and arranged this year. So many fun creative projects this spring!
I spent some time at the end of May and early June scheduling summer lessons - I do an “a la carte” sort of thing, where we schedule lessons month by month, based on the student’s availability and mine.
I’m also working on a few new things for next year, the biggest of which is a quarterly studio class where students (of all ages) can come together and play for each other, give and receive feedback, and make the music-learning process a little more visible.
Church Work
I’m finishing up our worship planning through the summer months and lining up soloists, ensembles, and other special music.
We’re also planning to launch a new website later this summer, so I’m helping with templates/layout and design and teaching the rest of the staff how to use Squarespace. 😃
My biggest church project right now is developing a brand new midweek children’s music and worship arts program I hope will launch in Fall 2017. I’m very excited about this! The program will be geared toward children in K-5th grade. Offerings will include: children’s choir, handbells/chimes, and possibly hand-drumming, drama, and visual art.
My plan right now is to have a 10-week session in the fall and a 10-week session in the spring. Choir would be all 10 weeks in both semesters, but the other “worship arts” offerings could be done in 5-week rotations so we offer 2-4 different things throughout the year.
Doxology Press
I’ve been working on lots of custom orders in the shop lately, which I love: wedding vows, Scripture verses, and hymn texts. I’m also working on designing a new print line to launch later this year. Stay tuned!
Travel
We have a few trips planned this summer. The first is a road trip to Lake Junaluska, NC for Music and Worship Arts Week! Looking forward to a full week of worship, rehearsals, seminars, and reading sessions! And sweet tea. Lots of sweet tea. 😃
Later this summer, we’re escaping to a little lake house about an hour outside of the city for a few days - a little R&R, grilling out, hiking and swimming with Rory, and catching up on some reading. Perfection.
What are you working on this summer? Do you do any planning over the summer months?
