Life at a Lively Pace

I know it shouldn't surprise me when God puts something in my path that I just can't miss.  This is one of those moments.

As noted in my previous post, I was asked to serve on a search committee at church - a search committee for a minister of worship.  Shortly after I accepted the position, I was doing my daily blog reading and saw Tim Challies's review of this book.  Feeling the need to further educate myself in the area of worship, church music and the like, I ordered the book. (On a personal note, I don't need much reason at all to purchase and read books - I can't go long without a "fix").  The book showed up today and I managed to read a little in between rehearsals tonight.

I am only 30-some pages into it and it's already proving to be worth more than the cover price. Paul Jones, the author, is the organist and Music Director at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.  I really appreciate his insight into the trends and issues in church music.  While I may not completely agree with all of his conclusions, his points are well-made and his thoughts are worth pondering.  I have been very involved in the music portion of ministry, both at my previous and current church (I'm a pianist). Jones's propositions cause me to evaluate how music is utilized and presented in church. Not to mention the fact that, with a new perspective, I am also critiquing my methods of playing the piano.

I may have to buy copies of this for the entire search committee.  Call me selfish, but there is no way I am parting with my copy.

Due to ongoing sinus issues, my doctor prescribed Allegra-D. He suggested that I take it in the evening for two reasons: a.) congestion occurs more frequently overnight and into the morning hours and b.) the decongestant in Allegra-D has been known to make people jittery - if I take it in the evening, I'll should sleep through most of the jitteriness.

I took my first dose of Allegra-D Saturday evening. Sunday morning was a choir morning (they sing every other week at both services). As a tribute for Veteran's Day, the choir was singing a piece that included all of the "hymns" from each branch of the armed forces. The 8:30 service went off without a hitch.

During Sunday school, about 45 minutes before the next service was supposed to start, the jitters hit. Hands shaking, legs all jumpy - the whole bit. I was able to find the choir director before the second service and explain the problem. She started to chuckle and told me that she would take things a notch or two slower so that if I sped up, the choir wouldn't be racing to keep up.

It was OK until we got to the middle of the piece. In general, it takes some concentration to switch time signatures because you've been so used to the one you've been playing in. Add to that the effects of the medication and things got really interesting when I had to switch from the 4/4 timing in the Coast Guard hymn to the 12/8 timing for the Air Force hymn. Somewhere in the transition, I sped up, lost a few notes and ended up a half measure ahead of the choir director. Fortunately, I was able to cover up the mess and get back on track when the choir was came in singing "Off we go into the wild, blue yonder …". That phrase now has taken on a completely different meaning for me.

I'm typing this, hoping it will calm some of my nervousness…

First night of choir rehearsal, and I will be attending as the new accompanist. I thought that the piece I did this summer made me nervous. That was nothing. I am quite queasy at the moment and I have to leave in a few minutes. Yipe!

Musikfest has been held in Bethlehem, PA for a little over 20 years. They take one week out of August to host musicians of every genre, popular and "just starting out", food from a lot of nationalities as well as craftsmen and give them all a week to do their thing. It's like one giant street fair, but stretched out over a couple of miles.

Bob & I spent most of our free time this past weekend at Musikfest. Besides taking in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes (oh yeah!), we stayed for several perfomances. Our favorite, btw, was the Arrogant Worms. Here's who we saw:

Moscow Nights : can't help it. I'm half Russian. This stuff stirs my blood. I haven't heard a balalaika played in almost 20 years. I needed a fix … They were very good and added some comedic twists to a very traditional folk music concert.

Lynn Marie & the Boxhounds : Ok, can't help this one either. Have some Polish blood in me too. Polka music gets me grinning. We stayed around in the "polka tent" (festplatz) to listen to some other acts too. Inevitably, the Chicken Dance, Beer Barrel Polka and Pennsylvania Polka were played. The Chicken Dance is good fun, especially when you're out on the floor in August heat with a few hundred other people and a lady on stage dressed like a chicken, leading the whole thing.

Synergy Brass Quintet : Instead of being on a stage, these guys were among the street performers on Main Street. This was their first year at Musikfest. What a show! In another few years, they'll be giving Canadian Brass a run for their money. If you like brass ensembles, their music is well worth the purchase.

Cast In Bronze : Never saw anything like this before … this is the only mobile carillon in the world. Most carillons these days have been automated, so to find a live performer is rather rare, much less one that travels with his own 70-ton set of bells. Incredible performance, though I must say that his theatrics were a little overdone.

Arrogant Worms : By far, our most favorite performance. These guys hail from Canada (which might explain a few things …) and are extremely funny. We were headed toward that particular stage (Liederplatz) to hear Moscow Nights and wanted to get there early. We caught the last 15 minutes of the Worm's show and decided that we had to come back on Sunday to see the whole performance. Their harmony and musical talent is amazing. Add to that their flair for making fun of anything that exists and you have the makings of a side-splitting evening. Some of the songs we heard were: "I Pulled My Groin", "Rippy the Gator", "Jesus' Brother Bob", "Carrot Juice is Murder" and "I Am Cow". We couldn't stop laughing - the music alone was hysterical, let alone the antics on stage. Would highly recommend that you see them if they're in your neck of the woods…

Just an example of their work:
Rippy the Gator - Given, Raffi, Barney the dinosaur and a whole host of other kiddie song promoters, the Worms wanted to get into the act. The two criteria for a good children's song is 1.) a cute animal to sing about and 2.) a catchy, sing-along chorus. Since all of the cute animals were taken, they chose an alligator. The chorus will get stuck in your head. Is it a children's song? You decide …

Lyrics to I Am Cow:

I am cow, hear me moo
I weigh twice as much as you
And I look good on the barbecue
Yogurt, curd, cream cheese and butter’s
Made from liquid from my udders
I am cow, I am cow, hear me moo (moo)

I am cow, eating grass
Methane gas comes out my ass
And out my muzzle when I belch
Oh, the ozone layer is thinner
From the outcome of my dinner
I am cow, I am cow, I’ve got gas

I am cow, here I stand
Far and wide upon this land
And I am living everywhere
From b.c. to newfoundland
You can squeeze my teats by hand
I am cow, I am cow, I am cow
I am cow, I am cow, I am cow!

For those of you who know me well, the following will not surprise you. For the rest, well, welcome to the murky waters of my psyche.

Piano lessons were foisted upon me by my parents when I was 5 years old. It was not a choice - lessons were mandatory in our household until junior high, at which point you could choose quit. I did not and continued on through high school. My middle sister continued on into college and graduated with a degree in music education (after years of teaching ingrates, she's seeking gainful employment in another related field). All this to say that while I do have a degree of talent, I run short on technical perfection. I do well with what I have and have no drive to become a concert pianist.

I have always been a pretty good accompanist. I sight-read well, can change timing and keys with relative ease, and can generally "go with the flow" (ask the soloists I've accompanied that have gotten themselves "lost" in a piece of music). My downfall is the area of solo piano. My nervous system can't handle the overload. Forget about butterflies in the stomach - they become bats with 6-foot wingspans. I'm a disaster prior to the solo. While I can pull it together to get through the solo (with much difficulty, I might add), the aftermath is even worse than the precursor. Best case scenario is a dazed state. Most often, I am found in a quiet corner, far away from everyone, sobbing my heart out and physically shaking. It's not because I fouled up - usually, the piece was near-flawless. I'm just one big case of nerves when it comes to solos, which is why I typically only do 1 per year.

I received a phone call about 2 weeks ago, asking if I would participate in a praise concert at our church, scheduled for this past Sunday. The music director wanted to know if I was planning on becoming part of this church's music ministry (which I was) and thought it would be a good idea for me to join in on the concert. After several days passed, I called her back and told her that I'd gotten a group together and I would accompany them (Bob, his sister and her husband).

I was getting very nervous once Sunday rolled around. This was unusual, given the fact that I was accompanying, not soloing. Several factors were working against me: this was my first time playing for a new congregation and the congregation is at least 3 times as large as our previous one. To top it all off, about an hour before the program started, a visiting college student was "tinkering" on the piano and broke out into various Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Liszt pieces. This guy was a concert pianist! This added a megadose of fertilizer to my pre-existing and growing inferiority complex (this complex is far better fed than some grapevines).

By the time I had to get up to the piano, my breathing was erratic, my hands were shaking and I had significant difficulty focusing on the music. I am told that I did well, but I can't remember any of it. While I did not break into tears, I did get lost in a dazed state. I was so wrung out that I was asleep by 9PM (normal is midnight) and slept straight through to 7 AM Monday morning.

It is now Tuesday and I'm still feeling the effects. I'm waking up very sleepy, as if I haven't had any rest at all. My mind has difficulty focusing on just about any task. Worst of all, I'm feeling like I never want to touch a piano again - from the sense that I've sustained some sort of trauma and from the sense that I really don't play well enough to be doing this at all. My inner voice keeps telling me that there are plenty of others that are far more qualified than I am to do the job, of which there are a quite a few in our new church.

This is where I'm at.