children's choir director

Planning the Choir Year: 4 Creative Theme Ideas for Your Children's Choir

Planning the Choir Year: 4 Creative Theme Ideas for Your Children's Choir

How do you plan your choir year?

Maybe you spend some time over the summer mapping out what dates your choir will sing, what hymns you’d like to teach them, listening to new releases from the publishers to get ideas for anthems, and searching Pinterest for games and other creative ideas.

Maybe you plan the first few weeks of rehearsals and then get burnt out and start winging it.

Maybe you’re somewhere in between.

As Winston Churchill once said, “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.”

We need to plan ahead in order to teach effectively. We need to think about the musical growth and learning we’d like to see and make a plan for how to get there.

15 Summer Conferences for Church Musicians

15 Summer Conferences for Church Musicians

This morning, it's 18 degrees here in Rochester, NY, and it's been snowing for 36 hours straight (oh hey, Winter Storm Stella), but summer is coming! And with summer, come lots of opportunities for learning, growing, and networking with other church musicians.

Summer conferences are a great way to stay connected with others in the field; learn new things about playing, singing, directing, and teaching; find inspiration for creating meaningful and engaging worship services; and hear about all the latest releases - choral music, handbell music, children's choir resources, instrumental collections, etc.

If you've been following along for a while, I'm sure you've heard me talk about Music and Worship Arts Week at Lake Junaluska (NC). I've been attending this conference on and off since I was in high school and it never disappoints. I always walk away feeling refreshed, inspired, and ready to get back to work. (P.S. I just completed my registration for this year's conference - will you be there?)

Whether you're a church musician, director, accompanist, choir member, student, worship leader, pastor, or liturgist, there is a summer conference out there for you.

Here are a few to consider (sorted by date):

Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

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