Highlight Brenna Everson!



Brenna leading at dusk

Points Of Light Music is SO excited to have Brenna Everson lead us in song in December!   

We asked her a few questions about herself and singing.  The following is what she had to say: 

Upcoming Singing Opportunities

Ooo!  So many delicious singing opportunities.  Find yourself at one or all of them!

The December and last edition of
Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts
(SHHH!) in the East Side Freedom Library (ESFL) is

 

**Updated: Friday, December 8, 2017, 7-8:30 p.m.

 

with guest leader Brenna Everson

Brenna leads with heart and groove.  And catches sweet tunes and meaningful words.  Come.  This will be good. 

Transitions

We at Points Of Light Music announce the following changes to our monthly programming: 

• 1st Thursday SHHH! Community Sing of November (11/2) at the East Side Freedom Library is cancelled due to a programming conflict.  It sounds like a fantastic program so go to ESFL anyway! 
• 3rd Saturday Dances of Universal Peace of November and December (11/18 and 12/16) are cancelled due to travel plans and the busy holiday season. 

These changes flag changes ahead. 

For Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts, the December sing will be our last at the East Side Freedom Library.  It will be a good one with Brenna Everson as our guest leader, so make plans to attend on Thu, Dec 7!  (here she is leading a song...)

As for Dances of Universal Peace on the 3rd Saturday of the month, we've been noticing a few things: our primary leader has been out of town for most of the 3rd Saturdays this year; this primary leader also has church jobs on Sunday mornings and evenings and pondering if having another leader/facilitator intensive space right before it is wise (probably not).  Some of what we're noticing externally is the local kirtan community is pretty active on Saturday evenings. 

So, SHHH and DUP are looking for new dates and times and places. If you have preferences, suggestions, and ideas, please drop us a line at shine@pointsoflightmusic.net.  Or just complete the poll on the side of the page.

We greatly appreciate your interest and look forward to dancing and singing with you soon! 

Highlighting Liesl Spitz





Our Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts (SHHH) in the Library guest song leader for October is Liesl Spitz.  We have a common background in Music that Makes Community, the organization that is enriching and revitalizing the songs of the church with paperless, aural tradition techniques.  I had the fortunate blessing of collaborating with her for a half day workshop at Concordia College, Moorhead earlier this month and am just thrilled that she is able to join us in October.

We're grateful to Peggy Johnson and Church Music at Concordia Moorhead for inviting Music That Makes Community to be part of Sing a New Song 2017! Conie Borchardt and Liesl Spitz shared a half-day workshop with musicians from around the area and had a great time modeling paperless music and leadership practices. #concordiauniversity #moorhead #minnesota #paperlessmusic #mmc #musicthatmakescommunity #leadership #churchmusic

A post shared by Music that Makes Community (@musicthatmakescommunity) on Sep 12, 2017 at 10:17pm PDT

---------------------------------

 

Points Of Light Music (PLM):  Tell us about yourself. 

 

Liesl Spitz (LS):  Hello! I am a recent transplant to the Twin Cities. I’m on the path to ordination in the Lutheran Church, and for the next two years I’ll be working at Trinity Lutheran Congregation in Cedar-Riverside and Nonviolent Peaceforce in St. Paul. I’m originally from San Francisco and come to Minnesota by way of the east coast.



Oct 5: SHHH with MMC's Liesl Spitz

The October edition of Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts!
(SHHH!) in the Library is

Thursday, Oct 5, 2017, 7-8:30 p.m.

with guest song leader Liesl Spitz!

Stopping at the Tennessee Roadhouse while on a roadtrip (#asyoudo) and you know you're in the right place when you're name is on the board inside the door. #yourewelcomehere

A post shared by Conie Borchardt (@pointsoflight_mu) on Sep 8, 2017 at 5:36pm PDT

East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul

Thank you, East Side Freedom Library!

A free-will offering will be collected for the guest song leader and the space.
Suggested amount is $5-10 ~ though don't let that amount keep you away.
  

Highlighting Lia Falls

Lia Falls, Sept 2017 SHHH Guest Leader

Prolific sound and songweaver Lia Falls will be our guest song leader at Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts on Thursday, September 7 at the East Side Freedom Library.  We asked her a few questions to get to know her better...   

--

Points Of Light Music (PLM):  Tell us about yourself:

Lia Falls (LF): I am an artist, a mother, a hospice Devoted Companion, end-of-life harpist and singer,  a lover of in-between places.  BFA, MFA, Yoga of the Voice certificate, Full Voice coach, Contemplative Musicianship certificate....I love to study and explore.    I am fascinated by emptiness and how actions push into it, shape it.  I love questions.  How does sound shape the silence?   How do we, as humans, dwell in sound and silence together?  

I am in love with oral tradition.

Sept 7 SHHH! Guest Song Leader Lia!

The August edition of Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts!
(SHHH!) in the Library is

Thursday, September 7, 2017, 7-8:30 p.m.

with guest song leader Lia Falls!

 

 

East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul

Thank you, East Side Freedom Library!

A free-will offering will be collected for the guest song leader and the space.
Suggested amount is $5-10 ~ though don't let that amount keep you away.

SHHH! Aug 3 with Laura Caviani, guest song leader

The August edition of Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts!

(SHHH!) in the Library is



Thursday, August 3, 2017, 7-8:30 p.m.

 

with guest song leader Laura Caviani!

 

Laura Caviani, guest song leader for August 3, 2017

 

East Side Freedom Library

1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul

Thank you, East Side Freedom Library!

A free-will offering will be collected for the guest song leader and the space. 

Suggested amount is $5-10 ~ though don't let that amount keep you away.

--
Points of Light Music:  Tell us about yourself. 

 

Laura Caviani: I play piano, compose, and teach music at Carleton College. I feel fortunate to have made my way through life making music, in some way shape or form, for a living.

For me, my favorite part of music is improvising. I studied improvisation and composition at both Lawrence U. in WI and at the U. of MI in Ann Arbor.

Currently, I live in the Twin Cities, and love it. Minnesota is my home state. I grew up learning songs at home, at church, at school, and around many campfires, namely Camp Koinonia (Hennepin Ave. United Methodist Church) and Camp Olson, a YMCA camp near Longville. I'm recently loving re-learning all of these songs again, and am looking forward to passing them along to interested folks. I'm also looking forward to learning more songs by ear, myself, and to help others learn how to improvise, compose, and get to know their voices.

Highlighting Annie Zijlstra

The lovely Annie Zijlstra

So who is this Annie Zijlstra who will be leading our singing on Thursday evening? 
 

I had the opportunity to sing with her last summer in Powderhorn Park before she headed to Europa, which confirmed the welcoming and skilled presence she brings to community singing.  I started following her on Instagram (@zestinaferna) and discovered she's a forager, lover of the forest and other wild places, a chocolatier, and handy in many ways.  But who is she?  I decided it was time to ask her some questions...

A post shared by Annie Zijlstra (@zestinaferna) on Mar 28, 2017 at 6:36am PDT

--

PLM: Tell us about yourself. 

AZ: I grew up singing in the flat wind-humming prairie lands of northern Iowa. My voice was shaped by a childhood of abundant wide open spaces, a brand of hardiness acquired from the unrelenting sub-zero winters of the great plains, a whole load of family and teachers who never told me not to sing, and years of classical training grounded in an adulthood immersion in a grassroots, living culture of people who sing for the aliving of themselves and all of life in the places they call home. 

Jul 6 SHHH: Guest Song Leader Annie Z!

I'm especially pleased to have a guest song leader joining Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts in July!  Introducing Annie Zijlstra!  Here's a little taste test of what's to come:  (yes! follow her melodious and delicious escapades on Instagram!)

Inspiration + rain + weird ambient scenes of my mom's back yard in Marcus IA, population 500. Song: "Through the night" source: full moon drive through the corn fields last night

A post shared by Annie Zijlstra (@zestinaferna) on May 10, 2017 at 9:24am PDT

Come!  Bring your voice, friends, and water!

 

When:  Thursday, July 6, 7-8:30 p.m.
Where:  East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul, MN 55106

May 2017 Updates

The light is shifting this month.  Here's a heads up about some changes for some of our regular events: 

Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts! (SHHH!) in the Library
We're moving the time an hour later, 7-8:30 p.m.!  It seems gathering folks to sing at 6 p.m. on a weekday late afternoon/evening seems to be a hard sell, especially for those who would be making a drive from the south or east.  Same location:  East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier, St. Paul. 

Dances of Universal Peace
Regularly scheduled for the 3rd Saturday of the month, in May it falls on the same day my Korean family arrives, May 20.  There will be no Dances that evening, though I am considering moving it to a different night and time.  Stay tuned.

SHHH! April changes

East Side Freedom Library

Sing Harmony, Heavenly Hearts (SHHH)'s host, the awesome East Side Freedom Library* (ESFL), is the site for "Down in Mississippi: A Gospel Play with Music" a production by Carlyle Brown & Company Mar 23-Apr 8. 

So sadly, the Thu, Apr 6 session of SHHH in the Library is cancelled.  SHHH will be back on Thu, May 4.  (We are really excited for ESFL to host this awesome production though -- who wants to go with us?)






Instead we'll be offering an element-focused Full Voice workshop loosely called "Steely Dan:  How to Fortify our Voices for the Long Hall" on the 3rd Thursday of the month, April 20 at ESFL*.   Stay tuned for more details to come. 

* p.s. checkout all the events ESFL hosts!  Later this month, they're hosting a screening of Let Freedom Sing, a documentary about the singers and musicians who stood up against inequality and racism, and gave the civil rights movement its anthems and its soul.  Mon, Mar 27, 7-9p. (want to go with us?)

SHHH Guests, 3/2/17

I'm really looking forward to the next Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts (SHHH!) in the Library tomorrow, Thursday, March 2, 2017.  The Uprisingers will be joining us! 

Here's how they describe themselves: 

Uprisingers: Bringing more songs and singing to our movements.

Sing along!

UPRISINGERS is not a performing group - it's a songleading group to spark community singing at protests, marches, rallies, and the like.

UPRISINGERS is for people who want to sing strong, easy, sustaining songs when spirits are lagging or people are tired of chanting - with the intention of always encouraging others to join in if they want to.
You do not have to be a "good singer" to participate.

 

Leadings songs at downtown Minneapolis Library
during This Machine event on Monday, February 20, 2017.

Sounds like a good match to me! 

You can learn more about them on Facebook.  They have a public page and a private group for internal discussion.  If you don't do the Facebook thing (and I love that you do/don't), email uprisingers@gmail.com and ask to be added to their email list. 

Looking forward to singing with you on Thursday evening.  Cheers! 

SHHH Guests, 1/19

Tonight is the inaugural Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts (SHHH!) at the East Side Freedom Library!

I'm excited that we'll be gathering together to use our voices to speak our truth, weave them together with the truth-telling voices of others, and practice the act of welcoming others, making space for all voices to belong, adapting to the needs and will of all present.  These are skills so needed, especially with diverse gatherings of folks. 

We will have some special song/dance leader/carriers in our midst. 

• My friend Saleem Adam will be sharing some Dances of Universal Peace. 
• Laura Nelson who hosted the Election Eve Sing in St. Louis Park will be joining us too! 

Bring water and a chair or cushion to sit upon.  Tonight we'll be in the lower level meeting room, so enter the front doors, hang a right and go down the stairs.  There won't be many chairs available to us as a larger group will be meeting upstairs after us.

Sing with you soon!

SHHH! reborn at East Side Freedom Library

We're excited to announce the re-emergence of SHHH!

New Name:  Sing Harmony, Hungry Hearts!  (SHHH!) in the Library
New Location:  East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier Street, St. Paul, MN 55106
New Times:  6-7:30 p.m.

The inaugural event will be on Inauguration Eve, Thursday, January 19, 2017 to follow up with the Election Eve sings organized by the Center for American Studies at Concord. 

For the rest of the spring, hungry hearts are invited to gather on the 1st Thursday of the month.

• February 2
• March 2
• April 6
• May 4

Suggested Donation:  $5-10 per person, but don't let a fee keep you away.  All voices are needed! 

Why?  Humans have been singing together for thousands of years to fill their spirits with community, pass on stories, and express joy, grief, and everything in between.  Around the campfire, every voice was honored and respected for their contribution.  Have we lost touch with this in our digital world?  Let's reignite this flame and rebuild our heart to heart connections. 

Come!  The voice you speak with is enough.  This is not a performance. 

Come!  You don't need to know any songs.  The songs will be taught to you. 

And if you have a song to share, wonderful! 

Come!  It is time to create beauty with the raw materials of our bodies, breath, and vibrations. 

Time to rewrite a culture of hope, strength, and love in our hearts and communities. 

 

 

Working on commissions today & this one asked me to write it down, even though it knew it wasn't there for that reason. So, I'm passing it along to the ones it's for...

A photo posted by Brian Andreas (@brianandreas) on Jan 6, 2017 at 1:31pm PST

Last SHHH of 2013

This quote is, once again, ringing true for me.  As I'm listening to what's going on around me, listening to what's inside of me, and sensing what my next action is, I'm aware of how adaptable life is when we're paying attention. 

And what I'm attending to on the birthing threshold of November 2013 is a cornucopia of goodness in a variety of fronts in my life. Two fulfilling jobs, one amazing hospice choir, plus a blossoming relationship. Life is full, indeed. 

Overflowing, in fact. I have a few art projects waiting in the wings, a final report to write, book reviews to complete, and a certification course to wrap up.  A financial analyst might say I'm to the point of diminishing returns because I'm too tired to get around to these things. Wouldn't you want to hang out with your honey after a long day in the library/church/insert your occupation here? 

So, Sing Heavenly Harmony Home (SHHH) in the Library is going on hiatus. After the November 3 sing at Rondo, SHHH is hibernating. 

Or what is it that butterflies do? Emerge from the cocoon completely transformed from the previous state of being.  This is most likely. 

So stay tuned. Not only to what's going on at Points of Light Music, but to your own life and the music around you. Are you composing by ear, feeling, and instinct? It can be unknown and scary. But you don't have to be alone.  I'll be doing my own composing and discerning and will share it here. 

Until we sing together, beit on Sunday or some other blessed day. 

C-

Upcoming singing events: September 2013

There's lots of singing opportunities available.  Here's my recommendations for the month!  -Conie
--
Sun, Sept 8, 4-6p: Singing in the Light with Barbara McAfee. Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, Minneapolis.  Suggested donation of $10-20, but please don't let money keep you away!  More details here. 

Sun, Sept 15, 2-4p: Sing Heavenly Harmony Home (SHHH!) in the Library. Rondo Community Library, St. Paul. NOTE: this is during Open Streets St Paul so University Avenue will be closed between Hamline and Marion Avenues.  The library is open, but the parking ramp will be inaccessible.  Plan to park on the surrounding streets ... Or ride your bike or walk and be part of open streets before and after.  See more sing details here.

Sat, Sept 21, 9a-1p: Sacred Harp Convention.  The Landing - Minnesota River Heritage Park, Shakopee. This is the first morning of a two day gathering of shape note singers.  I plan to attend this portion of it and hope you will try it out with me!  Learn more about this annual event, other weekly events in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, and the basics of this unique American singing tradition made famous in the movie Cold Mountain at http://www.mnfasola.org/. 

Sun, Sept 29, 12n-1p: Dances of Universal Peace  (DUP)focusing on the Aramaic Lord's Prayer. Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, Saint Paul. The Dances are simple circle dances while chanting the sacred words from the world's religious traditions. Lead by John Hakem Bushnell, this monthly series will examine  the 8 lines of Christianity's widely recognized Lord's Prayer in the language of Aramaic.  This language was commonly spoken during the time Jesus was alive and has many layers of meaning. Dive in with us. Come with open eyes to the various possibilities of Jesus' words.  Watch this space for details on this event and other DUP events.

--
 

Upcoming October events:

- Sun, 10/6, 2-4p - SHHH in the Library

- Sat, 10/12, 7p - MN Community Sings

- Sun, 10/20, 12n-1p - DUP-Aramaic Lord's Prayer

- Sun, 10/20, 4-6p - Singing in the Light

SHHH! Is that the sound of fireworks about to pop?

Tonight is a celebratory observance of rebellious colonists breaking free from monarchy rule. The party includes food, friends and family, and fireworks fueled with fabulous patriotic songs. Will your music be piped in or live?  If its the former I hope your finding some time to make some live sounds!

Like on Sunday. Join me and others at Rondo library from 2-4p to sing songs of rebellious patriots from then and now (among other sounds). We'll create fireworks that won't damage your hearing. We'll share time and space with others that creates deeper meaning without widening our waistlines. 

More details here: http://pointsoflightmusic.blogspot.com/p/sing-heavenly-harmony-shh-in-library.html