It's good that summer has essentially arrived. Good for my sanity, that is.
Don't get me wrong. I adore the musicians I lead and our ministry together. I'm simply very tired. The frenzy of activity in the month of May was enormous this year. I'm making a promise to myself to not ever again attempt a major multi-group concert in May, ever again, even if the holidays coincide well for it. (We presented our every-musical-group-in-the-church-does-a-patriotic-bash-concert last Sunday evening, the day after Armed Forces Day and the weekend prior to Memorial Day weekend.) The concert went extremely well, despite some marked under-rehearsal on the part of several of my groups, and was well-received, but it was TOO.MUCH for this time of year.
My school age children did very well as the loft choir the Sunday before the concert, which was Pentecost, and also the observance of Mother's Day. That was also a coinciding of two "heavy" days that I'm glad doesn't happen very often.
Oh, and I started a new day-job assignment the Monday prior to the patriotic concert, one that my agency didn't tell me had an end time of 6:00 p.m. every day. Mind, I had a 7:00 down-beat for final rehearsals on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. If I'd known about that requirement, I'd have turned down the assignment or else negotiated a 5:30 p.m. end time (which is, this past week, how it did get negotiated, after it became clear that I was expected to donate a full hour of unpaid overtime, eating at my desk or in the conference room and answering all the calls that came in). It's an assignment supporting the CFO of the county hospital, and entails a fairly high stress level, especially here at the beginning. I don't know the end date of the assignment. A candidate for the permanent position turned it down, they don't have an answer from their other permanent candidate yet, and if she turns it down, they have to start from scratch. I actually meet all the desired and required qualifications, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that I could end up being considered, in which case I'd have to temp through a contract period and then be hired. But that's unhatched chicken territory, so I'm not thinking too much about that. I'm doing a pretty good job. The 7-month temp prior to me kind of made a hash out of a lot of the job, and I'm getting the office more organized. I acquitted myself well at a Board of Managers finance committee meeting on Thursday, a major hurdle. Major stuff is happening, including the CEO being replaced; we had a new boss after the Board meeting Friday afternoon, and Tuesday morning (early) it's all getting laid out for the C-level and VPs.
But anyway, my rehearsal schedule is d0wn to one evening rehearsal per week and one more per month. We take July off for both those groups, too, and I'll be taking two back-to-back July Sundays off; much needed. I'm hoping to take a weekend in Kerrville to get our handbells reconditioned. The tech came on-site last fall and this is a once-per-five-year-or-so thing. He's got a neat deal set up, where he has modest accomodations for those who bring their bells to him. Drop them Friday night or Saturday morning, spend the night, and leave Sunday afternoon with your shiny, reconditioned bells. It's one of the loveliest areas of the state, or so I'm told; I've never been there. (If you like James Avery's jewelry, that's where his studio is, too.) I haven't had a get-away vacation in nearly ten years, and finally I'll have enough money niched away to afford the lodging (the church has already agreed to pay my mileage, which is a bargain compared to the cost of shipping handbells).
So, a saner pace, a mini-vacation to look forward to, and
(trumpet fanfare)
A romantic relationship developing. Not going to say much about that at this time, but it's been WONDERFUL to my heart. He's a fine man who's genuinely attracted to me as a human being and as a woman. We're taking things very slowly for the time being. "And that's all I'm going to say about that."
God is good.
Showing posts with label choirs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choirs. Show all posts
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
What a sweet day!
It's been a good day. Other than a touch of digestive upset, which I'm hoping isn't the onset of a bug that's been going around, it was mostly delightful.
First of all, being at church, with loving, mature Christian people, is always a good thing. Sundays tend to be the best day of the week for me, the long hours and hard work notwithstanding.
Early service went well, the singers and players "syncing" better than usual, though the medley was more of a popular than a theologically super-solid offering. (I don't pretend we do great music, particularly at this service. The medley was "More Love, More Power" with "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord.")
One troublesome thing was that my adult assistant for the youth handbell ensemble never showed. She also missed last week's rehearsal with no notice, and hasn't returned messages left for her. I am concerned.
But with some last-minute fill-ins, we managed to pull it together pretty well. The kids rang as well as they possibly could have, and it's only their second time ever to ring in public. I was very proud of them, and grateful to the substitutes.
So once the ringers had rehearsed and I'd warmed up the choir, so began the second service. The hymns were pretty good and the congregation sang them enthusiastically. The choir had, I thought, got the anthem's two troublesome rests ironed out in warm-up, when several people sang through them due to not watching. Blast if we didn't have an unintentional "soloist" and "small group" do the same thing during the actual presentation of the anthem, though! Still, the singing was remarkably good (other than the unobserved rests). It didn't hurt that it was a very good anthem, Lloyd Larson's "My Savior's Love." Overall, I was very pleased.
The sermon was even better than our pastor's usual excellent. It was easily the best sermon I've ever heard on John 4:5-42 (the Samaritan woman at the well), and I've heard quite a few (and preached that text once myself).
I had a meeting immediately after worship, with youth and their families. Was able to "plug" the youth handbell ensemble and I think I may get to welcome another player or two in the near future.
My voice student then had her final lesson prior to her college program/scholarship audition. She will be transferring in and I'm very proud of her. She's a very young singer and isn't totally a "natural," which means she's had to work hard to accomplish all that she has. Together we chose a fairly ambitious pair of audition pieces for her and she stepped up to the challenge. I wish I didn't have to wait until Saturday to hear how it goes!
Then followed our brief evening service and meal, then time for pre-school choir. Only two of our potential six little ones showed up, but those two were delightful and sang their precious hearts out. I can hardly wait until next Sunday,when they'll sing for the first time this calendar year. Then off to activities they went, and my school-age bunch arrived. I pinch myself every time I hear this group. When they're all there, there are ten of them. Tonight I had eight. Every one of them matches pitch extremely well. They could rival any premier children's choir I've ever heard for purity of tone and pitch accuracy. They will be singing in two weeks. They're preparing "Wade in the Water," and it sends chills up my spine how good they sound.
And it didn't hurt that, as we gathered for our prayer circle at the end of rehearsal, the adult leaders prompted them to sing "Happy Birthday" to me before we began sharing prayer requests. I don't know how I managed not to cry; maybe it was the their much-loved addition of "And many more on Channel 4 . . . (I always forget what follows for Channel 2 and Channel 9)" at the end. And as usual, prayer time with both choirs proved the best moments of the evening. Their tender little hearts trust God SO much, and they love to pray for others.
It was a good day to start my 50th year on, I think. God IS good!
First of all, being at church, with loving, mature Christian people, is always a good thing. Sundays tend to be the best day of the week for me, the long hours and hard work notwithstanding.
Early service went well, the singers and players "syncing" better than usual, though the medley was more of a popular than a theologically super-solid offering. (I don't pretend we do great music, particularly at this service. The medley was "More Love, More Power" with "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord.")
One troublesome thing was that my adult assistant for the youth handbell ensemble never showed. She also missed last week's rehearsal with no notice, and hasn't returned messages left for her. I am concerned.
But with some last-minute fill-ins, we managed to pull it together pretty well. The kids rang as well as they possibly could have, and it's only their second time ever to ring in public. I was very proud of them, and grateful to the substitutes.
So once the ringers had rehearsed and I'd warmed up the choir, so began the second service. The hymns were pretty good and the congregation sang them enthusiastically. The choir had, I thought, got the anthem's two troublesome rests ironed out in warm-up, when several people sang through them due to not watching. Blast if we didn't have an unintentional "soloist" and "small group" do the same thing during the actual presentation of the anthem, though! Still, the singing was remarkably good (other than the unobserved rests). It didn't hurt that it was a very good anthem, Lloyd Larson's "My Savior's Love." Overall, I was very pleased.
The sermon was even better than our pastor's usual excellent. It was easily the best sermon I've ever heard on John 4:5-42 (the Samaritan woman at the well), and I've heard quite a few (and preached that text once myself).
I had a meeting immediately after worship, with youth and their families. Was able to "plug" the youth handbell ensemble and I think I may get to welcome another player or two in the near future.
My voice student then had her final lesson prior to her college program/scholarship audition. She will be transferring in and I'm very proud of her. She's a very young singer and isn't totally a "natural," which means she's had to work hard to accomplish all that she has. Together we chose a fairly ambitious pair of audition pieces for her and she stepped up to the challenge. I wish I didn't have to wait until Saturday to hear how it goes!
Then followed our brief evening service and meal, then time for pre-school choir. Only two of our potential six little ones showed up, but those two were delightful and sang their precious hearts out. I can hardly wait until next Sunday,when they'll sing for the first time this calendar year. Then off to activities they went, and my school-age bunch arrived. I pinch myself every time I hear this group. When they're all there, there are ten of them. Tonight I had eight. Every one of them matches pitch extremely well. They could rival any premier children's choir I've ever heard for purity of tone and pitch accuracy. They will be singing in two weeks. They're preparing "Wade in the Water," and it sends chills up my spine how good they sound.
And it didn't hurt that, as we gathered for our prayer circle at the end of rehearsal, the adult leaders prompted them to sing "Happy Birthday" to me before we began sharing prayer requests. I don't know how I managed not to cry; maybe it was the their much-loved addition of "And many more on Channel 4 . . . (I always forget what follows for Channel 2 and Channel 9)" at the end. And as usual, prayer time with both choirs proved the best moments of the evening. Their tender little hearts trust God SO much, and they love to pray for others.
It was a good day to start my 50th year on, I think. God IS good!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
An Update
Zorra at Red Heeler Ranch has kindly asked me how I'm doing. It finally dawned on me that it's been nearly a month since I posted anything. So thanks for "checking up" on me, Zorra. Here's an update for you and my other readers.
I did not get an interview for the position I was looking into. Well, that's not quite accurate. During a follow-up call to be sure my resume was received, the pastor conducted a telephone interview. He didn't call it that and it was not at all formal, but questions asked and answered fit that description. A few weeks later, the church decided to expand their organist's duties to include leadership of the music ministry and direction of their chancel choir. Having been in their sanctuary, I see this as a recipe for disaster, unless their pianist does all the accompanying, speaking from an architectural perspective. (The choir cannot see the organist on the bench at all.) So whatever their goals in filling this position, hiring a skilled, experienced choral conductor and proven builder of music ministries was not at the top of that list. And I suppose it's a bit of a relief for me to not be answering to a pastor of my own generation who thought "I need to know, are you one of those women's libbers?" was an appropriate question to ask a professional candidate, even in jest. "I simply believe that all people should be treated with dignity and respect" was my answer, by the way. (And for what it's worth, the organist is a woman, also, who's been on their staff for ten years.)
We're beginning to gear back up for fall at church. It's somewhat of a relief to know that I'm there long-term. Our worship calendar is set through the first half of January, I have a lineup of anthems for the adult choir through the end of Ordinary Time, and I've settled on an adult Christmas cantata, which we'll present in the evening and during which the children will act out their annual pageant. I'm praying right now about whom to ask to be director for the children, since with the combined forces it's too much for me to do. Delegation is NOT a detestable word! Really, it's not. (I keep telling myself this.) No more sewing of extra costumes at the last minute when I could be attending to other equally important details. Two are better than one, as the Good Book says...
I'm in long-term limbo with my current day job situation. I like it pretty well. I'm supporting the property management department of a locally-headquartered national commercial realty firm. They're still one admin support person down from full-strength, and even so, there is no sign they're going to hire me. One property manager in particular has clicked with me quite well and makes no secret of wanting me hired permanently, so perhaps there's some hope. Still, it's difficult to be in the position of not being able to go to the doctor without taking unpaid time off, not having a retirement plan to join, having no long-term disability plan, and knowing that if I were to get seriously ill, I'd lose my job. Adds to the stress in a big way. (The lack of these things is one reason I was motivated to go after the full-time church position. Believe me, it was NOT the warmth of the congregation when I visited...BRRRRRR! --I can say these things now that I'm not in the running anymore.)
But we've started adult rehearsals again...what a joy to have a solid bunch of singers leading on the hymns again! We're starting "light" so that we have time to prepare some of our more challenging anthems properly. But I can hardly wait for Alice Parker's arrangement of "Be Thou My Vision" tomorrow...heavenly!!!
Still tired, but two consecutive weeks of vacation from church did help considerably. All in all, I'm OK. Actually, I'm more than that. God is with me, so how could I be anything BUT well?
I did not get an interview for the position I was looking into. Well, that's not quite accurate. During a follow-up call to be sure my resume was received, the pastor conducted a telephone interview. He didn't call it that and it was not at all formal, but questions asked and answered fit that description. A few weeks later, the church decided to expand their organist's duties to include leadership of the music ministry and direction of their chancel choir. Having been in their sanctuary, I see this as a recipe for disaster, unless their pianist does all the accompanying, speaking from an architectural perspective. (The choir cannot see the organist on the bench at all.) So whatever their goals in filling this position, hiring a skilled, experienced choral conductor and proven builder of music ministries was not at the top of that list. And I suppose it's a bit of a relief for me to not be answering to a pastor of my own generation who thought "I need to know, are you one of those women's libbers?" was an appropriate question to ask a professional candidate, even in jest. "I simply believe that all people should be treated with dignity and respect" was my answer, by the way. (And for what it's worth, the organist is a woman, also, who's been on their staff for ten years.)
We're beginning to gear back up for fall at church. It's somewhat of a relief to know that I'm there long-term. Our worship calendar is set through the first half of January, I have a lineup of anthems for the adult choir through the end of Ordinary Time, and I've settled on an adult Christmas cantata, which we'll present in the evening and during which the children will act out their annual pageant. I'm praying right now about whom to ask to be director for the children, since with the combined forces it's too much for me to do. Delegation is NOT a detestable word! Really, it's not. (I keep telling myself this.) No more sewing of extra costumes at the last minute when I could be attending to other equally important details. Two are better than one, as the Good Book says...
I'm in long-term limbo with my current day job situation. I like it pretty well. I'm supporting the property management department of a locally-headquartered national commercial realty firm. They're still one admin support person down from full-strength, and even so, there is no sign they're going to hire me. One property manager in particular has clicked with me quite well and makes no secret of wanting me hired permanently, so perhaps there's some hope. Still, it's difficult to be in the position of not being able to go to the doctor without taking unpaid time off, not having a retirement plan to join, having no long-term disability plan, and knowing that if I were to get seriously ill, I'd lose my job. Adds to the stress in a big way. (The lack of these things is one reason I was motivated to go after the full-time church position. Believe me, it was NOT the warmth of the congregation when I visited...BRRRRRR! --I can say these things now that I'm not in the running anymore.)
But we've started adult rehearsals again...what a joy to have a solid bunch of singers leading on the hymns again! We're starting "light" so that we have time to prepare some of our more challenging anthems properly. But I can hardly wait for Alice Parker's arrangement of "Be Thou My Vision" tomorrow...heavenly!!!
Still tired, but two consecutive weeks of vacation from church did help considerably. All in all, I'm OK. Actually, I'm more than that. God is with me, so how could I be anything BUT well?
"No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I'm clinging.
Since love is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?"
(Robert Lowry)
while to that Rock I'm clinging.
Since love is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?"
(Robert Lowry)
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