Celebrating Grace Hymnal Premiere Conference Sessions & Guest Speakers

Premiere Location

Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church

2715 Peachtree Road, NE - Atlanta, Georgia

Monday, March 8, 2010 - 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Reading Sessions

-Joseph M. Martin, Director of Sacred Publications

Shawnee Press, Inc. Austin, Texas

-Alicia W. Walker, Associate Pastor for Music & Worship

Peachtree Baptist Church Atlanta, Georgia

Ignite your imagination as you seek to enhance worship through choral music and hymnody. Enjoy two choral reading sessions, both of which will feature hymn settings. In an effort to provide creative ways to introduce hymns to congregations, the sessions will include some of the texts and tunes in Celebrating Grace Hymnal which may be less familiar, along with fine settings of standard hymns also included in Celebrating Grace Hymnal.

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Worship Planning with the Worship Matrix™

-David Bolin, Electronic Design Editor

Celebrating Grace, Inc. Waco, Texas

-Terry W. York, Extra Musical Resources Editor

Celebrating Grace, Inc. Waco, Texas

Explore The Worship Matrix, the new online service counterpart to the Celebrating Grace Hymnal, and enlarge your understanding of the dynamics that exist when the church gathers in worship. Learn how to connect scripture, music, and readings into services of cohesiveness and depth. Discover how new tools efficiently coordinate people and resources into the execution of an effective service plan. This not-to-be-missed session is for pastors, musicians, support personnel, and anyone who participates in worship at their church.

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Creative Hymn Singing with Celebrating Grace

-David Schwoebel, Minister of Music

Derbyshire Baptist Church Richmond, Virginia

Demonstration and discussion of the Celebrating Grace Supplemental Music Resources designed to enhance and enrich a congregation's ministry of song: full and partial orchestrations, piano, organ, simplified piano and handbell accompaniments, vocal solos, congregational anthems, children's materials and "Festive Finishes."

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Celebrating Hymns and Children

-Terry D. Taylor, Associate Pastor, Worship and Music Ministries

Shades Crest Baptist Church Birmingham, Alabama

The hymn texts that children learn become a permanent part of their memory, available for the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance during their faith pilgrimage. This session will review materials available for making hymns come to life for children for a lifetime, with a special emphasis on the new Celebrating Grace Hymnal resources for young worshipers.

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Inspirational Service Playing

Featuring Celebrating Grace Hymnal Supplemental Music Resources

-Mark Green, Minister of Music

First Baptist Church Gainesville, Georgia

-Anna Laura Page, Composer, Clinician

Sherman, Texas

Organists and pianists will discuss ways to inspire stronger congregational singing through creative introductions, modulations, harmony changes, and alternate accompaniments.

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Text and Tone for the Church Choir

-Dr. John H. Dickson, Dean, Townsend School of Music

Mercer University, Macon, Georgia

How much importance do we ascribe to text, and how much of this understanding do we communicate to our singers? To what extent do we "plug" them into the text so that both textual understanding and expression come alive with the music? The interpretive level of good diction moves beyond the basic levels of pronunciation and enunciation to a sensitivity of language in which words possess their own innate shape and expression. This attention to the expressivity of language shapes the choral tone, molds musical phrases, and creates an aesthetic union of words and music.

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Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 9:00 am - 11:00 am

Polyphony Brunch & Fellowship

Topic: Choral Artistry in the Church

-Dr. Tim Sharp, Executive Director

American Choral Directors Association Oklahoma City, Oklahoma