One of the challenges for any church musician is the need to have new music ready every week, with limited rehearsal time in the midst of busy lives and other responsibilities. There is never enough time! This workshop will offer tips and tricks to make your practice more efficient, less stressful, and more enjoyable.
More than ever before, the contemporary worship accompanist must be familiar with a wide variety of styles. In this session, Brad will introduce you to ten accompaniment “archetypes” that you need to know!
Authors and composers of congregational music have given us rich expressions with which to shape and renew our faith and help us form connections with God and with each other. But our congregations will only get the message if they pay attention to the texts they sing! In this workshop we’ll discuss how best to help our worshiping communities sing this poetry with appreciation, artistry, and enthusiasm.
This session will explore techniques used by more experienced handbell ringers. Some of the subjects we’ll discuss include low bass bells, multiple-bell techniques, bell passing, weaving, and if time, several of the more ‘rare’ handbell techniques.
Should worship band members be able to read music? What kind of charts are most helpful for your worship band? What is the best way to give them all the details while avoiding page turns? We’ll answer these questions and more in the Teaching Your Worship Band a Song session.
Take your piano arranging skills to the next level with this informative session. Topics will include creating beautiful keyboard textures, modulations, introductions, and endings.
Every worship organist has encountered needs to improvise: the offering or communion takes longer than anticipated, a fanfare is needed for a processional hymn, the bridal party is running behind, variety is needed for a multi-stanza hymn, the anthem was originally written for piano. This workshop will explore easy ways to begin and build upon your improvisation toolkit.
Johann Sebastian Bach left a rich legacy of examples of how to live one’s faith as an organist and a composer. This workshop will explore Bach’s life and music in the context of his time, his theology, and his career as a church musician. We’ll discuss how to best live our own faith through our music-making.
Practical aspects of working with an orchestra, both on and off the podium.
A session devoted to suggestions on how to work and communicate effectively with instrumentalists
This session will focus on ideas for incorporating drumming into your worship service. Djembe techniques will be covered, giving you hands on experience, as…