2015 Book List

2015 Book List

"She reads books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live." - Annie Dillard

I haven't always been a reader, but for the past few years, I've tried to be more intentional about reading for pleasure, fulfillment, inspiration, well-being, knowledge, and rest. I've read books about love and faith; balance, leadership, and goal-setting; living, giving, and relationships. Each one has taught me something new about myself, my priorities, and the person I want to become.

This year, I hope to read at least six new books, chosen from the list below. Are any of these on your list? Are there any books you'd recommend as must-reads? Follow along with my reading adventures at #ashleydanyewreads!

How to Create Instrumental Arrangements for Worship

How to Create Instrumental Arrangements for Worship

Have you ever needed an instrumental piece for worship at the last minute? If you've found yourself in this situation, then you know it can be complicated and time consuming to track down a piece that will work. Because, after all, you're not just looking for any piece of music; you're looking for something that fits the theme of the day, is the right length, is in the right key, is manageable enough to put together the morning of, and is easily accessible (i.e. downloadable or something you already own).

As someone who's been in this situation many times, I've come up with a quick and easy solution: creating instrumental arrangements from music I already have (choral octavos, solo piano music, hymn harmonizations, vocal collections, etc.). 

"Around the World" Piano Theme

"Around the World" Piano Theme

One of my favorite ways to prepare for the new teaching year (or new semester) is choosing a theme and gathering inspiration. Last year, I spent some time planning an "Around the World" theme for my young piano students (inspired by a children's choir curriculum I created a few years ago). So fun! See my inspiration board here.

Pack your bags and join us for an exciting musical journey around the world! This year, students will discover new skills and musical concepts, hear and play new music, and experience the language of music in a rich environment. At the end of the year, children will have suitcases full of new skills and experiences from their musical travels!

Let's Get Together (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah): The Art of Collaboration

Let's Get Together (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah): The Art of Collaboration

Hi from NYC!

SD and I are here for the Chamber Music America conference and Eastman's pre-conference day workshop - "How to Succeed in a Changing Musical World," which SD helped organize.

There's been a lot of talk so far about collaboration, relationship-building, and community - I love that! Today, I wanted to share my notes from a talk Darrell Grant gave on collaboration. Whether you're a chamber musician, church music director, teacher, or arts administrator, we all collaborate in one way or another. I hope you find these notes as encouraging and empowering as I did!

Top 10 Posts of 2014

Top 10 Posts of 2014

Happy New Year, y'all! I love this time of the year - looking back, reflecting, dreaming about what the New Year will hold, and making plans to make it happen.

I always love looking back and seeing what your favorite posts were, so this year, I decided to put together a little recap post. Without further ado, here are the top 10 posts of 2014:

The Beauty of Christmas

The Beauty of Christmas

This year, December comes with a bit of nostalgia for me.

Last year, the weekend after Thanksgiving was the last time I saw my Grammy. In February, the day before she passed away, she told me she had reluctantly taken down the last of her feather trees. In her words, "Christmas was beautiful, and it will be beautiful again."

Last weekend, we picked out our little tree and strung it with white lights. As we stood back to admire its warm, cozy glow in our dimly-lit living room, I leaned my head against SD's chest and whispered, "Christmas is beautiful again."

Monster Dance

Monster Dance

Last week, I introduced Jennifer Fink's Monster Dance to an 11-year-old student. It was a sight-readable piece for him - something we could put together in one lesson. The piece is written for left hand solo, though it ventures up into the treble clef partway through. Once we had worked through the key patterns, tricky moves, and looked for repeated material, he wanted to play it all the way through from the beginning.

As he played, I thought about the beloved Disney/Pixar film, Monsters, Inc. (one of my personal favorites!).

"Have you seen Monsters, Inc.?" I asked when he finished playing. "Um, yeah, of course!" he said, with a sparkle in his eye. "Have you seen Monsters University?" he asked. "Um, yeah, of course!" I said, imitating his inflection. "I was thinking - which monster is the best match for the music in Monster Dance?" "Definitely Sullivan," he said without pause. "I was thinking Sully, too," I said. "What about Mike Wazowski? What kind of music would fit his character?"

He immediately went to the high side of the piano and started playing something.

How to Start a Church Choir

How to Start a Church Choir

This fall, SD and I are starting an intergenerational (youth and adult) choir at our church. The church has a strong children's choir program (through 6th grade) and a good size adult choir (30-40). Our program is a short, 8-week session designed for people who love to sing - no prior experience necessary. We meet once a week for an hour and at the end of the session, we'll combine with the adult and children's choirs to sing an anthem in worship.

We created this group for people that like to sing but feel uncomfortable jumping right into the adult choir, those who can't make Wednesday night rehearsals or don't feel they can make the year-long commitment, and those who've never formally sung in a choir but want the experience.

It sounded good on paper.

We gave the invitation by email, print mailings, and the weekly bulletin. We made an announcement in church one Sunday. We shook hands with people we didn't know at Coffee Hour.

One week before our first rehearsal, we had four people signed up.

Welcoming a New Season

Ecclesiastes 3 has been on my heart and mind lately. "To everything there is a season; a time for every purpose under heaven..." Maybe it's the hint of fall in the air (after all, the Pumpkin Spice Latte did come out this week) or the promise of structure that the school year provides. Whatever the reason, I've been thinking back on the "seasons" I've had so far this year:

In February, I entered into a season of grieving after losing my Grammy very suddenly. Everything changed, and yet, I stocked up on colorful Clare cardigans at J.Crew Factory because I craved more change - I didn't know how to keep living with the way things were.

Then, in May, I wrote this post about the season of waiting. I still craved change - We almost bought a house, y'all. And got a new job. But, those things I thought we were waiting for (in reality, hoping for) did not happen. In the restless moments of this busy summer, waiting for tangible, visible change, I thought about contentment. This moment, our lives as they are right now - am I content?

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

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