filling the gap

I'm the type of person who is willing to let others dream up a vision and take the lead while I happily follow with my support in small ways (when I believe in the vision, that is:). 

Except when there's something missing and there seems to be no relief in sight.  Then I'll step up to the plate to help fill in the gap.  Happened when I was in college - the music library didn't have very many operating hours and a fellow classmate was having a hard time getting there to checkout the reserves for the piano rep class we were taking.  Guess who volunteered to work so the library was open more hours?  Moi.  As you can imagine, it happened in a few areas of my life. 

Earlier this spring one of my favorite activities, a monthly song circle, was going on hiatus for not just one but two months.  The room was booked or the leader was out of town.  Singing is one of the expressive ways I keep my sanity so not having this outlet for 12 weeks was like being asked to starve.  So, I took matters into my own hands.  I found a room for a group to sing in, booked it, gave the event a name and let folks know. 

You may be wondering why in the land of 10,000 choirs I didn't just jump into a church choir or another community chorus?  A couple of reasons:  1) as a choir director in a church, my role is to plan and lead.  I needed an outlet where I could just show up.  2) ten years of classical voice training had freed a lot of my vocal technique into big sounds that some conductors don't like sticking out in choruses (unless it's opera and you're trying to sound like a crowd of different voices:).  3)  growing up in school and church choirs, I was surrounded by structure.  All well and good, but I was ready for a change to expand my improvisation experiences. 

Sing Heavenly Harmony (aka SHH!) in the Library had its first sing/stopgap "intervention" on Wed, May 12, 2010.  Two more are scheduled for the O'Shaughnessy Room at the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library on the University of St. Thomas' north campus.  I hope you can join us for one or the other!

• Wed, Jun 9, noon-1p
• Sun, Jun 27, 4-6p

More events are being tentatively scheduled for Jul and Aug -- check the "Public Events" link in the right column of the blog for the next scheduled opts.  If you'd like SHH! at your library or community singing for your private or public event, please contact me at pointsoflightmusic@gmail.com.

Blessings on your gap filling measures!

These songs were made for you and me

I was invited to sing some patriotic songs for a private reception celebrating a fellow's new citizenship.  As this isn't a request I get often I polled some friends on what they thought would be suitable songs for the occasion.  I started the discussion with America the Beautiful, the National Anthem, and included "Lift every voice and sing." The latter was on a Wikipedia list of 60-some American patriotic songs and I thought it might provoke some interesting discussion. 

Two very good suggestions came in:  Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land and Finlandia.  Thank you Jules and Larye!  (Nobody agreed or disagreed with LEV&S)

TLIYL is great.  The first and last line of each verse says it all:  This land is your land, this land is my land/This land was made for you and me.  Interesting history:  Did you know there are seven verses for TLIYL?  After the first verse of redwood forests that everyone knows, verses 2-4 are more beautiful images of our country (or any country for that matter) while the last three are political commentary on personal freedom, property, and hungry folks and in the case of the latter two, usually censored.  Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, and Seeger's grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, lead ALL of the verses at Obama's Inauguration Celebration Concert on the Mall.  Cool.  I have biographies of Guthrie & Seeger that I've been meaning to read and this nudged me to get on it. 

FINLANDIA the tune (btw I'm not yelling at you - it's common practice for hymn tune names to be in CAPS) and more specifically the poem "This is my song" (many poets have been inspired to wax eloquent to the lyric meter of this hymntune) have been hanging out in my consciousness for awhile.  As a music major and later music library staffer I knew of Sibelius' tone poem but didn't really give it much attention.  Last year I sang "This is my song" at a community sing, but since it was an aural tradition event I was preoccupied with the unfamiliar melody and words to really take it in as a whole.  This gave me the opportunity to dig into the beautiful tune and amazing words acknowledging our universal needs and wishes.  I haven't memorized it, but think I will. 

So, here's the setlist I used for the reception (aka "these songs were made for you and me").  With gratitude to Walt for joining me in the song leading. 

• This land is your land (processional into the backyard garden)
• America the Beautiful - sung by all
• This is my song (FINLANDIA) - just me
• The Star Spangled Banner - sung by all

Thanks for the opportunity Lisa.  I would do it again.

Caroling, is it just for Xmas?

What thoughts come to mind with Christmas caroling?  Does the thought of standing outside for a period of time in crazy weather singing jingles about snowmen, reindeer and stable scenes bring chills up and down your spine (literally & figuratively)?  Or does it conjure up memories of a community joined together in a singular activity to bring cheer to others. 

We ponder why we sing silly songs outside during the shortest days of sunlight, but there must be something about this group activity for people to repeat it year after year after year. 

Could it be we realize this intangible experiential gift is something that can live eternally in our memories, that singing/listening joyful honors each other's presence showing others they are loved? 

Why don't we do this more often? 

It was the intersection of hospice choir volunteering and working as a church musician in December when I realized that visiting people and singing with/for them is not just for Christmas or the dying.  It is for all of us at all times.  And that's when Minestrone Minstrels was born. 

Minestrone Minstrels is a visitation ministry of singing and sharing a meal together.  I'll talk more about the meal sharing in a future entry (though if you need instant gratification visit Emily Scott's Sit & Eat blog for glimpses of my inspiration).  For now, I invite you to ponder how your community, be it congregation of baseball enthusiasts, gardeners, or faithful, can remember your elder and/or home bound members with time spent together. 

Caroling.  It's for everyone, everyday. 

Come together

May Day has been a day to celebrate the spring planting for centuries. And in more recent times it is, for much of the world, a day to gather and support the rights and fair treatment of workers. Today, I see these themes of community and beginnings magnify my own life story.

I have spent the majority of my waking hours the last four days with artists and healthcare professionals attending the Society for the Arts in Healthcare conference. I observed movement and color, listened to words and music that in some way set the stage for healing. I have listened to hours of research going on in the field. I have met people who are passionate about healing and how the arts play a role.

And I feel like I’ve found my people, a tribe heeding the call to use the arts to aid in the healing of others.

I had started a music therapy degree about 15 years ago, but shelved it when I felt my maturity as a musician and person were not ready. Experience is the classroom for maturity and so I worked and made music for a decade. Along the way I met amazing people who opened my eyes to different ways of being. And more recently found the strength, courage and faith to make the leap back into the healthcare field armed with a much different arsenal of musical tools than I would have imagined before. It’s like I finally graduated and ready to start that music career in healing and wellness. Or if I stay with the earlier farming reference, my seed is ready to be planted.

Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater performed with Simone Perrin at the Closing Celebration. In the last dance we, the conference attendees, were invited to sing and waltz ...

“Come together, join in one place.
La-da dee-da-dum dee-da-dum dee-day.”

Like seasons of planting, growing, harvesting and rest, life contains similar cycles. Like communities with a common purpose, we circle round to witness each other. Come together indeed.