November 2, 2009  

Ministry Tools
Bob Burroughs

Quote

Body, Mind and Spirit - it takes the whole person to sing and rejoice! (Helen Kemp)

Scripture

I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.  Psalm 9:2

Prayer

Father, Great Composer of the Universe, Master Musician, and the cleft that is higher than I, this morning, I bring to Your Throne Room all those brothers and sisters who are immersed in preparing music for the Season of Seasons that celebrates and helps us remember the birth of Your Son, Jesus, who brought salvation to men and gave us the opportunity to become Children of the Most High God--to live with You eternally--forever! Give each on strength, endurance, love, grace and peace as the rehearsals will no doubt be taxing at times, tiring and hopefully, rewarding as the choirs, instrumental groups and others present their offerings of music to the Christ Child. Thank you in advance for blessing each one.  I pray this in the strong name of Jesus , who came to give us salvation and eternal hope. Amen.

What Think Ye?                   

A Choir/Orchestra Member's Bill of Rights

Choir and Orchestra members give their time, energy, talent and musicianship to be involved in the ensemble--and in return, they have the right to expect certain things from the director in rehearsals. Call it their Bill of Rights, if you will. Here are the basics:

• Music Discipline. This means, as their conductor, knowing the music extremely well, so that attention to details, such as attacks and releases, proper pronunciation of text, correct and tuned chords, breathing places, can take place. And certainly, being in charge of the rehearsal!

• Trouble Spots. The conductor should know where the trouble spots will be in every piece of music and the measures these will occur. If the conductor does not have these trouble spots marked or know where they are in advance, he/she will not be able to fix them quickly in rehearsal, which is always frustrating to the ensemble members.

• Don't Sing! The conductor should never ever sing along with the choir or hum with the orchestra!  Singing along with the choir on any given part will hinder greatly his/her ability to hear the blend, balance and discipline of the choir members as well as not being able to hear the voice parts and mistakes as they happen. This is a hard discipline to learn--but it pays off greatly! And, does your voice really add that much to the sound? In a word, NO!

• Preparation. The conductor should be sure the rehearsal room is properly prepared and ready for the singers. This includes correct temp--even a bit cool, for it should heat up as you work! Clean floors and straight chairs provide a sense of "order" when the ensemble members enter the room. Music should be available and someone should make sure every ensemble member has the right music and a pencil--red preferred!

• A Good Mood and More. Ensemble members have the right to expect you to be in a good mood, ready for the rehearsal to begin, excited they are present, happy to see each one and showing an attitude of gratitude for their presence, dedication, energy, abilities, and commitment. They have the right to expect their director to care about them personally and to be available to them when need arises.

What think ye?

Leaders of the Future   

Robert Clinton on "Leadership"

Robert Clinton has spent a major part of his life studying, writing, and teaching about leadership, especially biblical and ministerial leadership. Two of his books, The Making of a Leader, and Connecting, are essential books when learning about leadership and mentoring. Recently, Clinton participated in a Leadership Network sponsored forum on leadership development and after the forum, responded to a series of questions posed on leadership. This particular question/answer was most significant:

QUESTION:  ‘What trips up most leaders?’    
 
CLINTON:  Few leaders finish well. The ones that don't finish well predominantly lose it in the middle game--not in the end game. In looking at leaders who don't finish well, I have identified six barriers that stop them.

    1. Pride. There is a proper pride in recognizing who you are and operating out of what God has done for you, but there is also the danger of an inordinate pride or pridefulness.  

    2. Abuse of power.  This happens when leaders operate unjustly or unfairly with people and because of their position. They begin taking privileges that are not theirs, they influence people in a wrong way, and they quit listening--the most important ingredient in the skill of leadership.

    3. Lack of integrity with finances. This includes everything you can think of dealing with finances: embezzling, using funds that were earmarked for something else, not having a good accounting system and having no one to whom he is accountable.

    4. Family issues. This runs the gamut, including divorce or dysfunctional relationships between husband/wife and/or children. Too much time spent at the church and not enough time spent at home will devastate and destroy even the best marriages and family!

    5. Sexual issues. I'm not talking about simply adulterous affairs or flirtations. I'm talking computer pornography, sex books and other sexually related issues, and this is rampant among today's ministers.

    6. Plateauing. Some plateauing is good. If you, as a leader, have come through something intense, it allows you to take a step back but over the long haul, you've got to move on and get off the plateau.

Family Leadership

The Paradox of Our Age (Author Unknown)

• We spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch too much TV, and pray too seldom. 
• We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
• We talk too much, love too little and lie too often.
• We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
• We've added years to life, not life to years.
• We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
• We've conquered outer space, but not inner space.
• We've done larger things, but not better things.
• We've cleaned up air, but polluted the soul.
• We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
• We write more, but learn less; plan more, but accomplish less.

Inspirational Corner

Tim Sharp

Tim Sharp is the Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), based in Oklahoma City, OK. Tim, in the opinion of MME, was 'born' for this position. His passion is choral music. His background, education, training, conducting and multiple experiences have made him absolutely perfect to be the Executive Director of ACDA. Already, many wonderful and creative things have occurred and happening through Tim's leadership. One of his passions--is to have more church musicians become a part of ACDA. He feels strongly that conductors of church music as well as the myriad of school and university conductors should be involved in an organization that has the passion, drive, dedication and reason for existence in--choral music! We agree. If you have an interest in becoming an ACDA member, go to www.acda.org and look around. You'll be pleased with what you will see--and go ahead and join. You will be glad you did.

From My Cambridge Diary

Four years ago, my wife, daughter, and I had the joy of spending a year in Cambridge, England, while I was on sabbatical leave at Clare Hall, Cambridge. My sponsors for my work were Sir David Willcocks (King’s College) and Tim Brown (Clare). My associations in Cambridge over the year were a literal “who’s who” of English choral conductors. My daughter, Emma, attended King’s College School, the school that was established by King’s College to train the boy choristers that form part of the Chapel choir of King’s College. Every morning after I walked Emma to school, I listened to the boys as they rehearsed at 7:00 in the morning for Evensong later that day. After I met my daughter on the sport’s “pitch” in the afternoon after school, we would then walk to Evensong at King’s College Chapel where we would hear her classmates sing the service. On a couple of occasions during the year, Emma sang with the boys when they combined to do programs at the school. She sang Messiah with them (as a 12 year old), as well as other programs that took place at the school.

I had nothing but hope throughout the Fall that we would actually be able to get into the world-renowned Christmas Eve A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, that for many of us is the beginning of our own annual experience of Christmas. The King’s College community and alumni have the first option for admission, and people travel from around the world, queuing up the night before and sleeping on the sidewalk--just to take their chances on being able to get into the Chapel for this singular moment. For visiting scholars such as my family, the only option is to write for the remote chance of receiving one of the limited number of tickets that are given out to the world community.

I wrote for those tickets early in the Fall when the notice was given that the time was right. I dropped every name I could drop in my letter of request, not knowing if that would mean a thing. To my great delight, when I received my tickets in early December, we received tickets “001, 002, and 003.”  The following excerpt is from my Diary that I kept throughout my sabbatical year in Cambridge, marked “Christmas Eve 2004”:

We’re in! We were able to get into the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in King’s College Chapel. What a wonderful conclusion to a set of hopes and preparations. The fact of the matter is, this special service means Christmas to many around the world, but as we have seen during our earliest days here, in many ways this is just another day at King’s. Our ears have become so accustomed to the sound of the King’s College Choir.  I can’t help but wonder in these few minutes before the singing of “Once in Royal David’s City” how it will all feel. If I have ever experienced “rarefied air”, this is it.

The program this year includes some special pieces—Paul Manz-“E’en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come”, Peter Cornelius’ “Three Kings”, a new work by Judith Bingham, as well as descants by both Stephen and David. The extraordinary moment is when the choristers form a circle in the narthex area—none of them know who Stephen Cleobury will call upon to sing the solo line from “Once in Royal David’s City.” Stephen walks the circle, sort of like musical chairs, with his typical bowing of the head as he walks. He waits for the red light from the BBC to indicate that the broadcast to millions around the world is now live, and after a few seconds, he looks up and sets his eyes on “the” chorister that has the responsibility and honor of bringing that first line through the voice that will signal “it is Christmas” to all of us listening. No one but Stephen knows who he is going to choose, but every singer has to be prepared.

As Stephen looked up and made his choice this year for the boy that would sing the line, as the first line was sung, Emma leaned over to me and said, “Daddy, that’s Edward”, an announcement that the BBC would not have known, but only Edward’s proud parents and a classmate friend in the school lunchroom world of the children at King’s would have recognized immediately.

During the recessional, as the choir filed out of the choir stalls along with the officials and alumni of the College, came Sir David Willcocks, my friend and sponsor, as well as emeritus professor and alumni himself of King’s. As he walked by my row, he looked up and over in my direction and winked at me. I then suspected how I was able to land tickets “001, 002, and 003.”

As inspirational as this event was for me and my family based  not only upon the beauty of the event, but my high level of anticipation for the event, there is a postscript that made another profound impact on me. As intense as the buildup is to this Christmas Eve world broadcast is for the singers at King’s College, they do not go home that day after the service. The choir is required to stay another day, when they sing for a Christmas Day service, again in the King’s College Chapel. While I had the same seat for this service, in contrast to the day before, there were no lines for these premium seats. In fact, we could have set in the stalls by the choir. The service is void of world visitors and tourists.  There is no BBC present. The chapel is practically empty.

But, to no one’s astonishment, the singing of the choir is just as beautiful, just as powerful, just as well prepared, and just as important to a nearly empty room as the activity that took place less than 24 hours earlier that was heard by the world. As moved as I was to be there on Christmas Eve, I was even more moved to realize who the choir was really singing to and singing for. To me, on Christmas Day, 2004, I heard clearly that excellence means the same thing on Christmas Eve as it does on Christmas Day.

May it be the same for me in all my preparations.

If you wish to contact Tim personally, his email address is: SHARP@acda.org

This Idea Will Work

Want to Be Really Surprised ??  Then take...

...A blank 5x7 Card and place it in every choir or orchestra seat on a  Rehearsal night. Then at some point in the rehearsal, say something like this:

"In your chair, you noticed a blank 5x7 card.  I am interested in hearing from you.  Would you please write me a note--telling anything you wish me to know? You can encourage or complain. You can rant, rave or give me a suggestion or two. You can write anytime this week and leave it on my desk, send it by email, and you don't even have to sign it! I'm interested in what you have to say." 

You will be amazed at the response you will receive. This is a good thing to do about every six months or so. Soon, the choir/orchestra will begin to look forward to communicating with you in this manner in the New Year.

Wisdom

There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music.         (William P. Merrill)

 

 

 

Humor  

Musical Tips for the Christmas Season

Below are some "tips" for the Conductor before the Christmas performance. MME thought you could use them this season!

• Go ahead - ask your family's forgiveness now for not being at home much this season.
• Try to sleep a little at school or work so you can be rested up for rehearsals.
• Put you CD player on auto reverse and let the musical score run all night by your bed. Just ignore the pleas and groans of your spouse.
• In order to get your eyes used to spot lights, have your quiet time in the garage with your car's headlights in your face on high beam.
• Stand--without moving--for long periods of time in your office or at school.
• In order to stay healthy for the performance, take 5,000 mg of vitamin C each day, gargle with salt water 3 times a day, and wear a surgical mask and latex gloves everywhere you go, and if you have a sick family member, rent a hotel room for them or you for the season or until they are clear.
• Have all your calls and emails forwarded to the church..
• Remember: the director is always right!
• If the director is ever wrong, remember the previous statement.

 

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