Association of Lutheran Church Musicians
June 1, 2019 e-newsletter

Dear ALCM friends,

Our 2019 Biennial Conference is at the end of this month in Portland, OR. If you have not yet registered now is the time to do so. Accommodations are still available, but filling up fast. I hope you will make your plans to attend today. The more ALCM members and friends attending this biennial gathering the richer the experience will be for everyone.

A few of the special moments not to be missed in Portland include:
  • The ALCM Faithful Servant Award being presented to Susan Palo Cherwien and Charles W. Ore for extraordinary contributions made to the worship life of the church. Charles Ore will be leading us in song from the organ bench during our opening eucharist.
  • Three lucky registrants' names will be drawn to receive $1,500 each for one-week sabbaticals sponsored by LutheranArts.
  • Experiencing the great worship spaces of Portland including Trinity and St. Mary's Cathedrals.
  • Inspirational plenaries by Susan Briehl, Sam Torvend and Bob Farlee along with 20 practical workshops.

Please pass the word onto your colleagues and come to Portland. It will be wonderful being with you in the great Pacific northwest. 

 

Veni Sancte Spiritus,

Jim Rindelaub


 

A Warm Welcome to Sally Messner 
as the ALCM Events Coordinator

Sally Messner is the director of music at First Presbyterian Church of South Lyon, MI. She is also the founding musical director of the Elm Ensemble, a liturgical project bringing together professional and amateur musicians with great sacred music to help keep the church in dialogue with diverse voices from Christian history. Sally earned a Bachelor of Music from Valparaiso University in Indiana and a Master of Sacred Music from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, MN. Sally will be coordinating local workshops for ALCM and assisting the national and regional conference committees with their administrative details. 

Welcome, Sally!

Election Results

Mike Krentz
Omaldo Perez
Thanks to all ALCM members who voted in the recent elections for two national board offices.  Mike Krentz was reelected as  Secretary/ Treasurer, and Omaldo Perez was reelected as Director at Large. Thanks to Randy Knutson and Karla Devine, who offered to run against the two incumbents.



Mark your calendars. The first of the Hearts * Hands * Voices workshops for 2019 have been set:

Abiding Presence Lutheran - San Antonio, TX
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Contact: Shelbie Simmons
 
Trinity Lutheran Church - Worchester, MA
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Contact: Mark Mummert
 
First Lutheran Church - Lorain, OH
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Contact: Brian Wentzel
 
St. Luke's Lutheran - Waukesha, WI
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Contact: Michael Schaner
 
Faith Lutheran Church - Chico, CA
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Contact: Kevin Anderson

Watch for events in these locations as well:
Valparaiso, IN
Baltimore, MD
Allentown, PA
Mission, KS
Rochester, MN
Columbus, OH
Sioux Falls, SD
Phoenix, AZ

Interested in hosting a local workshop? Contact jimrindelaub@alcm.org. Also, if your plans include attending the Portland conference in June, Kevin Barger is presenting a pre-conference workshop on Hosting a Hearts * Hands * Voices event.
Mark your calendar for the next ALCM webinar!

September 12, 2019

2:00 pm Eastern time

For Glory and For Beauty:
Poetry in the Service of God


Presented by
Susan Palo Cherwien


Words are not benign. Words are not neutral. How does poetry affect the human brain? The human spirit? How do the words we sing together shape us into a body for praise and for life in Christ? Into what are we being shaped by the poetry that we sing and pray together?

Registration opens July 1

Addendum: CrossAccent, Spring 2019 Issue


In response to the article about the Holy Spirit Mass in the spring 2019 issue of CrossAccent, Mr. Gary Aamodt supplied the following additional information about the text of the work:

 

"After many productive discussions, Aamodt, who drove the form and text of the work from beginning to end, settled on a commission centered on a setting of the Mass with interpolations of verses from the ninth-century hymn Veni Creator Spiritus to introduce each section of the Ordinary and ending with Komm, Gott Schöpfer and an Alleluia. However, for the Nicene Creed, he extracted only the section on the Holy Spirit and then interspersed commentary from and inspired by Luther's Small and Large Catechisms and Ephesians 4:4-6. Concerning the language of the Mass, the question inevitably arose about whether the text should be in Latin or English. For maximum accessibility, Aamodt finally chose English throughout except for the Kyrie which is in Greek and the Agnus Dei which is in Latin. Thus, although the predominant language of the work is English, two great historic languages of the Church, Greek and Latin, are honored. At a later date, the composer, in consultation with Aamodt, added titles for each section."

 

The downloadable (.pdf) version of the issue, available in the members area of the ALCM website has been updated to reflect this information.




Dorian Choral Retreat

Spend a summer weekend in beautiful Decorah, Iowa on the campus of Luther College for the Second Annual  Dorian Choral RetreatThis year's event occurs Friday, June 28 through Sunday, June 30 and includes choral singing and learning in community led by Luther College faculty and special guests. Open to anyone who loves to sing, the weekend promises to be a time of beautiful music making and connecting with fellow singers. Details & enrollment link available 
Become a Lifetime Member of ALCM
Before Prices Go Up!

Did you know that ALCM offers lifetime memberships for those under 65 (currently $1,500) and for those 65 and over (currently $750)? Pay the one-time fee and you are set for life--no more annual renewals. The prices are going up July 1 to $2,000 for a regular lifetime membership and $1,000 for lifetime membership for those 65 and older. If you're interested in becoming a lifetime member, now is the perfect time to do it.


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