Progress

Seven long years ago when I started my Master of Church Music degree, the choral conducting professor was talking about retiring. Several years ago, while I was busy battling cancer, he did retire, and we were told that we could be grandfathered out under his call-back expertise. But since I dilly dallied around and decided to undergo yet another round of cancer, he really and fully retired.

This means that I will now be working with the new choral conducting director without having taken classes from her except for this year's advanced conducting. Fortunately she realizes that I may not be on her page, especially helpful for when I reach the Written and Oral Comprehensive Exams.

I have never studied under a woman director before. All my teachers have been men. Whether her gender gives us a better rapport or she simply has a style that speaks to me, I don't know. But I can easily say I have better understood and made more progress in two short weeks than in years of trying to figure out how to communicate sound through movement.

Her frank explanations, her patience, her willingness to slow things down until we get it, her clear connection between what we are hearing and how we are moving, her excellent diagnostics - wow. Watching her work with the other students was as enlightening as when she was working with us individually.

Besides all that, she generously met with me everyday to work on the music I will be doing in my recital/concert/service. What a rare and blessed opportunity! I am simply thrilled to be making clear progress.

Sometime in the spring, I will conduct my recital/service. I am calling it "Teach Us To Pray: a Musical Exploration of the Lord's Prayer." This takes each of 7 petitions from the Lord's Prayer and performs a setting of the text from throughout the centuries (from chant to Tavener), an anthem by the choir that elaborates on that aspect of the text, and a congregational hymn that also speaks to the text. Woven throughout will be Luther's shorter catechism on the Lord's Prayer and his hymn of the same.

I'll let people know the date as soon as it gets set. I am very excited about the whole idea. I hope you will all come if you are able and share in our exploration of prayer. I will be videotaping it as well. Yahoo! I may actually be able to do justice to the music.