Old Quarter, New Quarter, Next Quarter – Another “Bleet!”

Hello Friends!

It’s 2012 and it’s been that way for 2 whole months!  Whew!  So Happy New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day, and Happy President’s Day are greetings already of the past.  AND… I know it’s been too long since I last blogged – October, in the final quarter of 2011, to be exact…

OK, so here’s a quick run down of last quarter 2011, along with this new quarter in 2012 and thoughts on the next quarter coming up.  Ah, yes, it’s another “Bleet” — that series of really short items (mini-blog posts), but longer than tweets — to catch you up!

I left off in October 2011 telling you all about a Kickstarter Campaign to raise funds for Peter Link’s brand new CD Goin’ Home…

November 2, 2011: Hooray!!!  Peter Link met his Kickstarter goal of raising $9500 (he raised even more!) to finish the recording, packaging and releasing of Goin’ Home.  The best way to check out exactly HOW he did that is to visit the Peter Link Goin’ Home Kickstarter Campaign.

My Last 3 Months… A “Bleet”

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been 3 months since I have posted on my blog.  I have sincerely missed writing and posting.  Where does the time go?  In an effort to catch up fast and move forward, I offer you… a bleet!!

What, you ask, is a bleet???  A bleet is a cross between a short blog post and a tweet.  See, with a bleet, you can be short, but you don’t have to keep it to 140 characters, which, of course, is an absolute impossibility with me.  (And in case you’re wondering, I just made all that up!)

So, here’s my bleet about the last 3 months:

Julia with Bryan Ashley

At The Mother Church:  March, April and May took me weekly up to Boston where I continue to sing as Soloist at The Mother Church.  I sang some gorgeous, inspired music ranging from the wonderful contemporary songs of Mindy Jostyn, (“I And My Father Are One” and “Prodigal Child”) to a perennial favorite, “On Eagle’s Wings,” to several deeply loved traditional treasures: “Arise, Shine” by James MacDermid (with acoustic grand piano) and the healing words and music of “Reality” by Dorothy Currey Chancellor.

At The Watchfire Music Listening Room:  From March through May, I performed at The WFM Listening Room in New York City.  As a partner in Watchfire Music, I have been helping to develop this wonderful performance venue with Peter Link and have also co-produced concerts when not performing:

Djembe Thanksgiving – Part 5

Djembe Thanksgiving
Part 5:
Drums in Church – Some Concluding Thoughts

Read Part 1: The Drummers and Joe
Read Part 2: Kurzweil Jeff
Read Part 3: Oy! Logistics, Permissions and Switzerland, Oh My!
Read Part 4: A Joyful Chaos!

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Kemi Awosile

My friend Kemi Awosile put me in contact with Steve Okwor, an African drummer who organized the drummers for our Thanksgiving Day service at The Mother Church (TMC).  She had sat in and drummed with this group before, and so I asked her how she felt about her experience.

Kemi said, “I am in awe of the communication that occurs when two or more people sit down to drum.  The inner and outer rhythms, the call and response back and forth and the pure joy of working together and off of one another all leave me breathless and spell bound. For me, it is miraculous and magical to get to play with these folks.”

Djembe Thanksgiving – Part 4

Djembe Thanksgiving
Part 4:
A Joyful Chaos!

Read Part 1: The Drummers and Joe
Read Part 2: Kurzweil Jeff
Read Part 3: Oy! Logistics, Permissions and Switzerland, Oh My!
Read Part 5: Drums In Church — Some Concluding Thoughts

One of my most favorite times on Sundays and special service days is my morning walk over to the church.  I love to see the sun’s light starting to illuminate the church and the huge plaza with the reflecting pool that runs right by it.

Morning at The Mother Church (Tony Arruza/Corbis)

There is often a security guard somewhere along the plaza all bundled up that I wave to, and there is such peace, tranquility and beauty. Thanksgiving Day was no exception.

I always think of this phrase from a favorite hymn during my ritual walk:
“A glorious day is dawning and o’re the waking earth,  The heralds of the morning are springing into birth.” ¹

As those morning heralds, I like to get into the church good and early while it is still quiet.  On this morning, I needed to get there even a bit earlier to get warmed up.  The drummers were coming!  I had to be ready!

Djembe Thanksgiving – Part 1

Djembe Thanksgiving
Part 1:
The Drummers and Joe

Read Part 2: Kurzweil Jeff
Read Part 3: Oy! Logistics, Permissions and Switzerland, Oh My!
Read Part 4: A Joyful Chaos!
Read Part 5: Drums In Church — Some Concluding Thoughts

I am grateful for many things, and as I stand facing forward into the New Year, African drumming is one of them!  Looking back over 2009, one of the stand-out moments for me was the Thanksgiving Service in Boston at The First Church of Christ, Scientist, (The Mother Church) where I serve as soloist.

This year, we had the distinct privilege of including some truly soulful folks whose lives are given to healing and caring.  These folks also happen to be mostly African and drummers and they are Christian Science nurses and they shared their musical gifts with the congregation during the Thanksgiving service.

Rehearsal in the Original Edifice of The Mother Church: Doris Olawuwo, Tamie Kanata, Nathan Frederick, Joe Galeota, Dogah Koblavi, Teresa Ambugo, Steve Okwor, Julia Wade

In my inimitable fashion, I will be telling you some stories and sub-stories of this experience – in 5 parts!  It was such a rich, unifying and uplifting endeavor that went way beyond the actual church service (which was wonderful – but more on that later!)  So here’s the story, or actually, here are the stories…

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.