A Song for Good Friday, and monthly update

 First things first:

   I hope you have a blessed Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday!

   This song was one I learned years ago. I was at a week-long youth retreat, in which part of the required activities was participation in choir singing in the evening. It was my one chance to sing in a choir, and I enjoyed it! This song especially stood out to me, although many of my less-musical peers failed to appreciate the haunting beauty of medieval melody. 


   Now for the less-important things: what we've been up to in the studio. ;)

   I'll admit, most of my focus was on Parkland Music Festival. I tried to keep February's unfinished compositions going, but there's only so much you can do in half an hour, some students were falling behind in their theory lessons, and of course, there were still games to be played. (Games are very important. Just ask the students. 😁) Short story: the compositions are still unfinished. Hopefully that will change by the next time I write an update. 

   On a brighter note, Parkland Music Festival was terrific! I had four students participating in it in two classes. Also I did some accompaniment this year as well for several young vocalists. And I volunteered during the choir session. (I have volunteered twice at PMF over the years. Both times, oddly enough, the only time slot where my schedule and the need for a secretary overlapped was during the choir session.) 

   For my students, I enjoyed watching them all perform. And the adjudicator, Diana Wiens (who is possibly a distant relative but definitely not an immediate one), was a lot of fun to watch & listen to! One of my students has won a scholarship and will be playing one of her piano selections at the Showcase concert. That's always exciting! 



   Speaking of Parkland, we teachers at PMTA have our own concert coming up this month.

   Finally, my brother and I spent a full day hassling with new recording equipment. The result is that we have a new music video up on YouTube, just in time for Good Friday! The downside? We never managed to hit the balance with the mic where we were getting the full sound without static. But, nonetheless, here is our latest. May it inspire you to love our Saviour more. 💗







Comments

  1. Anonymous10 April 2023 at 14:57

    I love the medieval hymn!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarah Wiens15 April 2023 at 16:09

      I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It's one of my (admittedly many) favourites. :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

And to this I said Amen

Image
 (Note for those who may not know: The word "Amen" comes from an ancient word -- whether Greek, Hebrew, or some other language, I do not remember -- that expressed agreement with truth. It is a transliterated word; that is, it's very similar to the original word in the original language. One person claimed it was one of two words that has been transliterated rather than translated across all languages, the other word being Hallelujah. Fun fact for the day. 😀)    Again, I had writer's block and didn't know what to write about. All I could think about was how it's February, it's a theme month, and I haven't finished planning the theme, even though the month has already started. So, once more, I turned to Pinterest . (If that link doesn't work, let me know, because I'm not sure it will actually take you to my Pinterest profile.)    This time, instead of music humour, I found this beautiful musician's prayer. And I went, "Yes! That is exa
Read more

Gloves: For More than Keeping Your Child's Hands Warm

Image
   Snow swirls around the streets of Leningrad, Russia. Pedestrians pull winter coats tighter around themselves. Car lights shine through the flurries. In one large, multi-story building, a window on the corner of the building is lit. Inside the room, frost decorates the window panes. The only occupant – a young man, with a spark of life in his blue eyes – turns out music, gorgeous music, on the upright piano against the wall. He wears a heavy overcoat and plays with a pair of medium-weight, knit gloves – for his dormitory room has no heat.    At this point in the narrative, the music teacher jerks his enraptured student back into the present – modern Edmonton, a warm and very comfortable music studio, and the two Yamaha baby grands sitting side by side – with this question:    “ Have you ever practiced with gloves on?”    Ahh . . . no, I hadn’t. My house always had heat?!     My music teacher, undeterred by my blank look (which he had undoubtedly seen many times before!), resp
Read more

When Music Teachers Meet

Image
It was Sunday evening, and various members of  PMTA  were gathered at one member's home for the Annual General Meeting. Since I've only been a member for less than a year, this was the first time I'd been to one of their meetings. As we were setting up for supper, I asked the president, "So, what goes on in the meeting?"    She looked at me, and her face instantly displayed drama. With gusto, she replied, "You'll be thrilled, and chilled, and ... bored out of your mind!"    LOL!    That's the great thing about hanging around with other artistic minds. There's plenty of room for drama. :)    Seriously, though, I like getting together with other music teachers, because all of us can talk for hours about music. :) It was a lot of fun comparing notes back and forth and getting to know some of the other teachers. I pick up ideas from these exchanges, including other teachers' favourite methods and new things to include -- or new ways t
Read more