Points of Light Music awarded MRAC grant

[Apologies to all for the belatedness of this announcement...]

In December 2010, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, http://www.mrac.org/, awarded Points of Light Music a $5,000 Community Arts grant to run a hospice choir project between January and May 2011.  Points of Light Music is one of 63 organizations to recieve awards that demonstrate strong artistic quality and a response to community's needs. 

This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

More updates will be forthcoming about the project's progress.  To read about the call for singers, see http://pointsoflightmusic.blogspot.com/2010/12/invitation-to-join-hospice-choir.html. 

A quote for the New Year

This could be a poetic form for my resolutions this year. 

Sing songs that none have sung,

Think thoughts that ne’er in brain have rung,

Walk in paths that none have trod,

Weep tears as none have shed for God,

Give peace to all to whom none other gave,

Claim him your own who’s everywhere disclaimed.

Love all with love that none have felt, and brave

The battle of life with strength unchained.

⎯ Paramahansa Yogananda

Thanks Rochelle! 

Invitation to join a hospice choir

You are invited to join a hospice choir I am directing this spring. Please consider sharing your voice and heart in the rewarding work of singing at the bedside of someone in fragile physical and emotional condition.

Communicating love and care to someone who is struggling with life and death takes a heart full of compassion, attentive eyes, a kind face and a voice strong enough to be vulnerable. Doing this work brings meaningful life lessons – I hope you are ready to receive them.

If you are interested, please continue reading about orientation, rehearsals and bedside visits. If you know of someone who may be interested in this, please forward this to them.

Cool quote

A quote from an unknown Ingrian (Finnish) Bard LI 858:

"If what use are we singers

what good we cuckoo-callers

if no fire spurts from our mouths

no burn from beneath our tongues

and no smoke after our words?"