Gloria from Christmas Presence

Take a minute (actually you’ll need 6 minutes) to enjoy this “Oasis Moment,” and receive a beautiful Inspiration Infusion during this busy holiday season!

This video is an excerpt from Christmas Presence, an Interfaith Inspirational event with international speaker Chet Manchester and yours truly!  There will be a live webcast of this event on Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 1 pm EST.  Get more info.

Read my other blog posts about this event:
Christmas Presence in Baltimore, Boston and on the Web!
Christmas Presence:  A New Interfaith Event for the Community

Wishing you peace and joy and healing love this holiday season and in 2010.
With love from Julia

View this on youtube:

Christmas Presence in Baltimore, Boston and on The Web!

Hello Friends!

Chet Manchester and I have been to Darien, CT and Minneapolis, MN to give our beautiful Inspirational Event, Christmas Presence.  Next, we fly to Baltimore (Towson) Maryland and then on to Boston.  The Boston Event will be given at The Mother Church (The First Church of Christ, Scientist) in the beautiful, intimate Original Edifice of The Mother Church.

Finally, the Boston performance of Christmas Presence will be also be a live web broadcast which will then be available on the web afterward.  You will be able to find it on christianscience.com.

Here are the dates:

Baltimore: Friday, December 18th at 7:30 pm
Boston: Sunday, December 20th at 1 pm
The Web: Broadcast live on December 20th and then posted to christianscience.com for further viewing!

For detailed info at each location, go to ChristmasPresence.info

We would LOVE to see you and share this beautiful Christmas experience with you — whether you are in Baltimore, Boston, or just find us on the web.  This is a beautiful, uplifting program that you can bring your friends, family and folks of all ages to come and enjoy.  It is a GREAT way to usher in the Christmas Season with new insight on timeless ideas as told and sung  in an hour of inspiration. Come join us!

Interview with Musical Duo Pressman & Ponzek

Pressman & Ponzek:
A Natural Collaboration!

Pressman & Ponzek are a musical duo consisting of pianist, vocalist, composer and producer Lisa Pressman and guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, composer, arranger and producer Tim Ponzek.  Combining their many musical skills and talents, Lisa and Tim have worked together for many years and have created their own unique musical signature style.

Together in their latest recording “Tomorrow the World,” they draw upon their musical kinship and their extensive studies of the Latin, Jazz and Classical repertoire. Lisa’s crystalline piano and pure vocals combine with Tim’s romantic classical guitar to create a delightful, relaxing and even ethereal listening experience on “Tomorrow The World.”  The energy of their dynamic musical interplay can be experienced as well as in Lisa and Tim’s previous release “if the sky was home”.

In addition to their recordings, Lisa and Tim have made their music available in sheet music form for other performers to experience and share:  piano/vocal scores, piano scores, guitar charts and now lead sheets.

Lisa and Tim live in one of my favorite spots on the planet – the desert of Arizona.  In listening to their music,  I feel like their special collaboration of Inspirational music is influenced at least a little by the beauty of the desert — its rhythms, melodies and harmonies played out in sweeping landscapes, plant and animal life.  It turns out that other parts of nature also play a deeply creative role in inspiring their shimmering music.

Find out how this dynamic duo works together and what makes their collaboration so natural.

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Interview with Carolyn Kardinal – Part 2

She Writes Soulful Songs
with Words of Grace
An Interview with
Composer Carolyn Kardinal
Part 2

Read Part 1 of  Carolyn Kardinal’s interview

In Part 1, Carolyn Kardinal shared with us some of her process in writing both original Inspirational lyrics and music for her songs.  She also related how her experiences as a singer and a teacher of children and of voice students have deeply influenced and enriched her work as a composer and lyricist.  So let’s continue with the conversation…

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JW: What inspires you?

CK:  One spring morning I walked outside to smell the freshness after a downpour and at that moment heard a meadowlark sing the most beautiful melody – actually I recognized the motive as something Alexander Dumas had used as a primary melody in his “Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” At first I laughed at the absurdity, but as I have thought about that experience I realize many composers have been sensitive to nature’s sounds and have incorporated them into their own works. So I became a better listener.

Christmas Presence — A New Interfaith Event for the Community

For Immediate Release:

“Christmas Presence” – a new interfaith event for the community

A natural shelter in the fields outside Bethlehem. Starlight glowing overhead.  Shepherds and wise men.  These elements of the traditional Christmas story took on new meaning for international speaker, Chet Manchester, when he visited Israel several years ago.  He captured hours of video footage in Bethlehem and in the green hills of Galilee, where Jesus grew up.  Now, he and New York-based singer Julia Wade are bringing the Christmas story to life for interfaith audiences across the country through an inspirational talk and concert called “Christmas Presence” to be given in Darien’s newly completed Library on Thursday, December 3, at 7:30 pm.  Sponsored by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Darien, the event combines music, scenes from Israel, and spiritual insights as it retraces Jesus’ life and light from past to present.

Interview with Composer Carolyn Kardinal – Part 1

She Writes Soulful Songs
with Words of Grace
An Interview with
Composer Carolyn Kardinal
Part 1

Read Part 2 of Carolyn’s Interview

Watchfire Music Composer Carolyn Kardinal is a prolific writer of sacred songs that have been sung widely in churches throughout the United States and abroad.  Carolyn is not only a composer, but she is also a truly gifted lyricist.  Her songs possess memorable, “sticky” melodies — they leave you humming the tune long after the song is over — and  Carolyn’s lyrics contain ideas and images that take you on journeys of the soul, bringing healing inspiration.

I have enjoyed my many conversations with Carolyn over the last year since she first brought her sheet music catalogue to Watchfire Music.  Additionally, I have loved the experience of performing Carolyn’s music.  The response to her particular songwriting talent is always immediate and filled with testaments of healing and gratitude.  Enjoy reading on as Carolyn shares with us her wisdom and experience as a creative artist in Inspirational music.

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JW:  What is your earliest impression or memory of music?

CK:  I grew up in Seattle, but both my parents’ families were in Southern California where we spent our holidays. I remember sitting in the back seat of the old Ford, passing those long boring miles by singing.  And on those cold, drizzly, pre-TV, winter nights in Seattle, I recall everyone sitting around listening to classical records.  I’d go dancing around the living room on the fast orchestral pieces, or during those beautiful soprano arias, I would sit staring into the coals of the fireplace.

Random Thoughts on the Artistic Process

I did an interview with visual artist Marty Coleman in September. After the interview was posted, Marty wrote me a quick thank you. In response to his short comment, I wrote a not-so-short, stream of consciousness “you’re welcome” back and ended up thinking deeply about how the artistic process manifests itself across different disciplines, and specifically in my own life.

I wanted to share these thoughts with you, so I grabbed what I wrote and have posted it here — with a few clarifications along the way.

The Kingdom Of God: A Follow Up

Follow up
to
Inspiratus Interview
with Composer Greg Granoff

Read Part 1 of the Greg Granoff Interview
Read Part 2 of the Greg Granoff Interview

By the time I posted the Inspiratus interview with composer Greg Granoff, I had already sung two of his songs at The Mother Church in Boston where I perform each week.  I felt I had a real sense of his music by then, and I had become a true fan!

In his interview, Greg mentioned that his favorite song was “The Kingdom Of God.”

Well, when I first heard this song about a year ago, I was very moved by the beauty of its unique melodic and harmonic structures.  Shifting keys from minor to major and a constant conversation between the voice and keyboard fully engaged me and drew from me an immediate emotional response.  I was excited to explore this piece further, but I had to wait until last Sunday, September 13^th to sing the song in a service.

“The Kingdom Of God” is a dramatic song, and it tells a truly dramatic story.

On Success: Thinking Out Of The Box

John Carter, a baseball writer, wrote an insightful, honest comment in response to my Inspiratus interview with visual artist Marty Coleman. He is a friend of Marty’s from their high school days and he writes of being proud of Marty’s success in the world of art.  John also speaks of his own quest to understand success in his own life.

John’s thoughts really got me thinking.  I believe that his are questions that we all face:  What is success?  Who or what defines success?  According to any number of prevailing definitions, am I successful? If I feel that I am not, how do I find or achieve success?

As I pondered these questions recently, I found myself being led to re-read two books that have had a huge impact on me.

The first book is Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.

The second is A New Earth:  Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle.

These books are very different from one another, but both are radical and thought-provoking.  Their authors are each thinking out of the box.

Inspiration Infusion: Mr. B and His 5th Grade Chorus

Have you heard about “Mr. B” and his 5th grade chorus at PS 22 in New York City? Gregg Breinberg, director of the PS 22 chorus of 5th graders is an amazing, inspiring teacher who has reached the hearts and souls of his students through music.  He teaches at in an inner city public school in New York City’s borough of Staten Island.

This is a truly uplifting and affirming story of the power of love and dedication – and of the expectation and realization of the capabilities and possibilities inherent in every child.

So here’s your Inspiration Infusion: Listen to the PS 22 Chorus sing “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac:

Interview with Visual Artist Marty Coleman – Part 2

He MAKEs Absorbent Art:
An Interview with
Visual Artist Marty Coleman
Part 2

Read Part 1 of  Marty’s Interview

In Part 1, Marty Coleman spoke of his artistic roots and artists who have influenced his work.  Marty also shared some of his thoughts on his own unique approach to the creative process both in his art and his life.  This approach led him in some surprising directions, one of which was the creation of his “napkin art”…

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JW:  Marty, can you talk a little bit about being The Napkin Dad?  I love the story of how you came to do this.

Interview with Visual Artist Marty Coleman – Part 1

He MAKEs Absorbent Art:
An Interview with
Visual Artist Marty Coleman
Part 1

Read Part 2 of Marty’s Interview

Marty Coleman is a visual artist who has been working in multiple mediums throughout his career.  Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Marty works in his own photography, design and art studio, MAKE Studio. In 2008, Marty’s “napkin art” piece “America The Beautiful” was included in Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year 2008 edition on Barak Obama.  Recently, Marty  published his first book, ‘The Napkin Dad’s Book of Absorbent Ideas’.

Visual Artist Marty Coleman

I knew Marty from my college days in San Jose, California at SJSU.  Marty was earning his Master of Fine Arts degree, and I was an undergrad music major.  During those student years, we became friends at a successful downtown dining establishment and art gallery, Eulipia Restaurant, where we were fellow waiters.  Eulipia was well known for its California Cuisine, and it was a major gathering place for artists, art aficionados, opera enthusiasts, serious art collectors and diners.  Indeed, it was a deeply creative (and truly gastronomic) atmosphere in which to work.

Almost twenty years went by where Marty and I completely lost touch, and through the Facebook revolution, we recently reconnected.  Back in the day, Marty was the wise-cracking sage who presided over the less experienced wait staff (I was in that group for a time).  Today, it is fascinating and fun to catch up with Marty on his progress and evolution as a full-time independent artist.

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Here’s our interview/conversation:

No Emotion

This is an article by Peter Link from his blog Sparks From The Fire.  “No Emotion” is a response to one singer’s feelings about how music should (or should not) be performed  in a church worship service. Peter’s answer, written from the point of view  of a lyricist/composer of inspirational songs,  is an illuminating and even instructive  jumping off point for further discussion…

There is so much to explore on this subject!  At least that is true for me as I continue the journey of performing inspirational music in the church worship service.  I hope this article will spark ideas for you and your services.

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No Emotion
by
Peter Link

A woman called several weeks ago to thank me for a sacred song I’d written that she sang as a solo in church. We had a most friendly talk and near the end of the conversation she said proudly, “I just want to assure you that I sing your songs with absolutely no emotion.”

Interview with Composer Greg Granoff – Part 2

Music Chose Him:
An Interview with
Inspirational Composer Greg Granoff
Part 2

My interview with composer Greg Granoff kicks off a new part of Inspiratus.
It will be featuring interview/conversations with artists of all kinds.
The idea is to explore just how inspiration, creativity, and spirituality all play a role in the development, creation and reception of an artist’s work.

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Read Part One of my interview with Greg Granoff

To continue with our conversation, Watchfire Music Composer Greg Granoff has spoken in depth about his approach to composition and his thoughts on creativity. Greg also mentioned his work in the Music Department at Humbolt State University.

Wisdom is more precious than rubies…

“Joyful is the person who finds wisdom,
the one who gains understanding.

Wisdom is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.