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Do you hear the people sing?

On a Saturday evening in August our son Christopher invited me to go with him to watch the Charlotte Football Club (CLTFC) play Los...

How healthy is your root system?

Last February we had our backyard landscaped in Rock Hill. We wanted to get plants established before the onslaught of the hot South...

Shall we still sing the choral classics in church? Part II

Should we sing the choral classics in church? Aren’t they too hard for the average church choir? And besides the technical difficulty and...

Shall we still sing the choral classics in church?

Should we still sing the classics, the time-tested anthems of the choral repertoire in worship? We expect to hear them (at least...

On attending a Polyphony conference for the first time

I attended my first Polyphony conference this year and I was overwhelmed by the experience. It was so nice to meet other musicians...

Does what we do make a difference?

Greetings from Rock Hill, South Carolina. My wife, Lori, and I arrived here last Sunday after driving 1039 miles from our home in Dallas...

Our time in Nashville was a success!

The 2023 Polyphony conference was a wonderful gathering of more than 50 church musicians at the Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville. ...

On the importance of life-long learning

She was the matriarch of voice teachers in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her name was Fran Shafter, a Juilliard graduate, and for a brief...

Reflections on hard conversations and lessons learned

I have learned some of my most valuable lessons in music ministry the hard way. I made mistakes. And fortunately for me, church folks who...

Reflections on adaptability and vulnerability

I am writing these words from 30,000 feet or so heading west to Dallas following our Polyphony conference in Nashville. These past three...

How are you doing this Advent season?

Dear friends, It’s Friday before the fourth Sunday in Advent and tomorrow Christmas Eve is a week away. How are you doing? Are you...

How do we as church musicians adapt to the challenges of this day?

Dale Peterson, who served for many years as Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Auburn, Alabama is a master gardener. If you are...

Do we spend our time on what is most important?

Elijah, age eight, and Wyatt, age six, are our two oldest grandsons. A few weeks ago my wife Lori (they call her Ellee and me, Papa)...