From the Director's Stand
For the Church Newsletter... in case any of you wonder what it is I actually *do*. For notice: Choir director = Directs the Choir. Music Director = works with anything that has to do with Music in the Church.
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From the Director’s Stand
After a warm and exciting welcome, an interest meeting was held on September 6th to determine the direction of the Music Program. There was a great turnout of thirteen people, and we discussed a covenant for the group in which appropriate and direct communication was embraced; a vision of a radically inclusive and energizing music program that aligns with the purpose of UU and serves the spiritual needs of a diverse congregation and community; and a mission to develop the growth and attractiveness of UUSP through its music program and involvement in the community. We also talked about specific musical needs in the church: new sound equipment and musical talent, planning for musical workshops to take place in the new year, establishing UUSP as a performance venue, and streamlining the process of involving guest musicians (both inside the congregation and outside of it) to promote diversity in our music program. We’re also revamping procedure and expectations for the choir and pianist. These terms involve one Sunday per month of recuperation for both entities, which would be covered by a guest musician.
With that direction in mind, choir started. So far, it’s been a group of up to fifteen people working on vocal technique and singing as a unified group-but heading into the Holiday season (and collecting a couple of snowbirds along the way…) that’s going to change. We’ll be broadening our repertoire with more challenging and spirited pieces. Come join us! We meet on Thursday nights at 7:00 PM (unless noted otherwise) and rehearse 10:00am Sunday. Even if you’ve never sung with a group before, or are out of practice, I personally invite you to join me-I’ll work with you to figure out your voice part and develop quality sounds.
The music program and Religious Education has teamed up to involve the children more fully in the worship services, since music is an important part of creative development and a cool way of learning the values that are unique to Unitarian Universalism. During October 7th’s worship service (“Here a moo, there a moo”) The children were great in providing visual enhancement with their painted caterpillars during the opening choir number, and then provided their own energetic rendition of “A place in the choir”. With such an infectious enthusiasm and message, we can’t afford to not have the kids involved further. Watch out for their involvement and spirit in the future!
On the side, the Music and Worship committee voted towards contracting Jason Price as a consultant for UUSP’s sound system. This is a great way of stepping up the sound quality for future worship services, and considering accessibility needs. However, please be aware that to make progress in the sound system, it’s important that you don’t touch the sound equipment unless you’ve been trained by Margie Manning, Jason Price, or myself- even if you’ve worked with it in the past. But, if you’re interested in training with the new bits of the system, get in touch! We could always use more knowledgeable people, and it’s a great way to get involved in worship.
This is the gist of what’s been going on. I encourage you to get involved in any way you can. Want to sing in choir? Be a guest musician (or recommend one)? What about training on the soundboard, or organizing a field trip to the TBPAC for an evening? Even if it’s offering ideas or suggestions, I’d like to hear from you. Please get in touch with me, and get involved-there’s so much cool stuff going on!
In Faith,
Nadya Hand
Interim Music Director