Four Years

In a few days, I will have completed my fourth year as Director of Music at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I have been attending NWUUC since 2004, when I first moved to Atlanta. I served as an interim music director three times, keeping the music program going while various search committees looked for new music directors. After serving as interim for the third time, I thought, "enough of this interim stuff," and applied for the position.

I've been a freelance musician most of my adult life, doing this and that to make ends meet. Except for my four-year stint in the Air Force, this has been the longest I've held anything resembling a normal job. Maybe "normal" isn't quite the word I'm looking for. This music director job is far from normal!

As I've grown more comfortable with the job, the music has evolved and grown at Northwest. When I first started, the music program was very traditional, with the choir singing two Sundays each month, me providing the music once a month, and the pianist providing music on my Sundays off. My initial goal was to simply keep the music program going as it was while I got used to the job, but soon the program started to reflect my own musical tastes. Before I took over, the music was classically oriented. It still is, but I've introduced a lot more jazz, rock, and folk into the mix than there used to be. I used to perform the music alone on "my" Sundays, but our minister suggested that guitar alone didn't always feel right; there needed to be more. So I recruited a bassist and a percussionist from the congregation to play with me. This grew into an official church band, with a lead singer, two guitars, flute, bass, piano, and percussion.

This year, I experimented with combining the band and choir for two services. It was a hit. The band loved playing with the choir, and the choir loved singing with the band. After a summer break, we are going to combine the band and the choir once a month. On top of that, the band/choir Sundays will feature a "join-in" choir, meaning that absolutely anyone can sing in the choir that day as long as they can be at the pre-service rehearsal that Sunday morning.

I learn every day from this job. It certainly has taken its twists and turns. The combined band/choir is something I never would have anticipated when I first began serving as Director of Music. Where does it go from here? Who knows? We'll keep the band/choir ensemble rolling for a while, and I imagine something new will evolve over time.

Year Three

This coming Sunday will mark the end of my third year as Director of Music at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. It has been a wonderful three years.

When I first started the job, I was frankly happy to have a steady source of income, even if it was only a quarter time position. While I enjoyed being with the people at Northwest, I have to admit that I looked on it as a steady gig. I felt that my job was to come in twice a week, do my "music thing," and then make myself scarce. I felt that the music program was a separate entity – a self contained little bubble within Northwest.

That sense of separation began to dissolve in my second year, when Terry Davis became our minister. She brought a sense of inclusiveness, openness, and energy that had been lacking. Music became more integrated into the Northwest experience as Terry consulted with the staff to plan services. I began to become more than "the music guy." I was playing my part in a supportive team. Terry also helped me realize the impact that my role has on the church, and in particular on the choir members. Being a secular humanist, I had never thought that my music program was a ministry, but I learned otherwise. (And for those of you who are wondering how a godless heathen such as myself could be a music director at a church, I invite you to visit www.uua.org and read up on Unitarian Universalism.)

It wasn't until this past year that I began to feel like I was, indeed, the actual Director of Music at Northwest UUC. It began to feel real. For the first two years, I felt like my job was to keep a steady hand on the wheel and keep the music going through some staff changes (new music director the first year, new minister the second year). In this third year, I began to put my own stamp on the music program, most notably with the launching of a contemporary band. This band, which has yet to be named, was a popular addition right from the start, and then it kept getting better and better. Also, after struggling with sound issues for years, we finally managed to update our sound system, thanks in large part to the expertise of Bob Bakert, who is not a member of Northwest, but hosts the Hungry Ear Coffee House show that Northwest puts on every month.

Even where I have met challenges, I feel like I'm growing into my role. I had some difficulty starting a children's choir this year. (More on children's choir in a future article.) Even where I have faltered, I have continued to enjoy the support of the staff and the congregation. Rather than giving up on a children's music program because of a rocky first year, they have offered advice and support, and we have a new plan for children's music in the coming church year.

As each year passes, I am more and more grateful for this job. It started off as a gig, but it has become so much more.

Children's Choir

Today was a long day, but it was a good one. I led the church choir in the morning, led a children's choir rehearsal in the early afternoon, and then played a gig in the afternoon. It was all good. The adult choir did a good job, and the gig went well, but the highlight of my day was the children's choir.

Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation has been wanting a children's choir for a few years. I believe one of my predecessors, Sarah Dan Jones, started working with the children when she was music director. I don't recall if my immediate predecessor, Kathy Kelly George, led a children's choir or not. I do know that Kathy is excellent at working with children's choirs, and I had the privilege of observing one of her rehearsals a few months ago.

This is the first time Northwest UUC has had a children's choir for a long time. Today was their first rehearsal, and it was my first experience leading a children's choir. I had a blast! I expected maybe five children to show up this first time, so I was pleasantly surprised when we had about a dozen. After a quick warm-up, I taught them two easy songs. For the most part, the kids stayed on pitch, and they picked up on the words fairly quickly. Aside from teaching the music, my main focus was in getting them to sing out. We could see the parking lot from the window. To help them project, I told them to pretend they were singing to someone outside.

Some of today's highlights:

• A few of the children were wearing their Halloween costumes, which reminded me that last year at this time, I was having the kids help me write a song. That was a striking coincidence.
• When I led them through a breathing exercise, one of the girls raised her hand and told me that her choir teacher does the same thing. I took this as a sign that I wasn't completely clueless.
• After the rehearsal, one little boy came up to me with the lead sheet I had handed out and asked if he could use it to make a paper airplane.
• At the beginning of the rehearsal, one boy told me that he didn't want to sing. I told him that this was fine, but if he wasn't going to sing, he needed to be quiet during rehearsal. He stayed way in the back, and soon I noticed that he was singing along with everyone else. At the end of the rehearsal, he declared that he would like to sing after all.

This was such a rewarding experience for me, and I hope that this will be a fun and rewarding experience for the children. I'm so very glad I started this. I'm looking forward to working with these kids and getting to know them, and I can't wait to showcase them in a music service. My favorite part of being a school band director was working with beginners. It appears that this love for teaching beginners extends to singers, too.

Gearing Up

A few days ago, I was pleased to see an increase in my NWUUC paycheck, reflecting my increased hours. It's not a huge amount of money, but when you're a freelance musician, every little bit helps. To me, this pay increase represents a new charge to the music ministry at NWUUC.

NWUUC has had a very basic music program for the past couple years. It's been a quarter time position (10 hours a week), which leaves just about enough time to run a choir, plan music for services, and practice music for the services in which I'm the lead musician. In the newest budget, the congregation voted to add 5 weekly hours to the job, with the understanding that much of that will be devoted to developing a children's music program.

Seeing that extra money in my account was a reminder that things are about to get real, and I'm highly motivated to raise NWUUC's music program to a new level. I'll spend most of the extra hours on children's music, but I also plan on forming a church band to rehearse once a month. I've occasionally asked musicians in the congregation to play with me when it's my Sunday to be the lead musician. With limited hours, we only had time to meet the morning of the service, and I would go into each service crossing my fingers that it would all turn out okay! My new hours will only allow for one rehearsal a month, but right now, that one rehearsal will seem like a luxury! We will rehearse music for upcoming services, but I also plan on rehearsing songs in general, gradually developing a band book. Just like the children's choir, it's not going to be something we can build overnight, but an accumulation of regular rehearsals will go a long way toward developing a deeper sense of ensemble and a solid repertoire.

After the recent UUMN conference, I purposefully did not think about my church's music program. I just wanted to let all the new information settle in my brain. Tomorrow, though, it all begins! I'll take out my notes and conference materials, meet with NWUUC staff, schedule children's choir and band rehearsals, schedule some piano tunings, order music, and get this new church year going!

Children and Church Music

Last Sunday, I was at the mercy of a 9 year old drummer, but it was by choice. Because my music director job at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation is only quarter time, I have had to focus mainly on the adults: choir, hymns, and service music, but I feel that it's crucial to get the kids more involved in making music. I asked Emma and Claire (fictitious names) to help me with the first three pieces of music for a Sunday service, and I was also joined by another adult musician, Bruce, on bass.

Claire is a 9 year old drummer, and Emma is a beginning guitar player. I'm guessing she is probably around 12. We rehearsed the week before the service, and then again the day before the service. Both girls impressed me, and they were tons of fun to work with. I went into the first rehearsal with absolutely no idea of what they were able to play. Claire was able to play a few different drum beats, and when I had her focus, she was able to keep a steady beat without rushing – or at least without rushing too much! Emma has been playing a year and a half. She hung with me on the guitar chords. I showed her how to play a B minor chord. Since it was a new chord for her, she had trouble with it the first rehearsal, but she nailed it a week later and during the service.

During our first rehearsal, I commented that the music was coming together even faster than I expected. Claire said "That's because we're fabulous!"

Sunday morning was go time, and they did great! Claire held down the beat, Emma nailed her chords, and the congregation ate it up! I had a big grin on my face the whole time, because I had so much fun playing with them! After they played the third song, they left the service to rejoin their friends, who had already left for children's activities. I saw the girls briefly afterward, and I only had time to thank them and tell them they did a great job. I was told, though, that they had a great time playing, that they were proud of themselves, and that they'd love to do it again. It makes me feel good to know that I helped created a fun, positive musical experience for Emma and Claire.

As I mentioned before, my job is only quarter time, but I hope that I'll be given more hours in the future. That's something the congregation will have to vote on. As it stands now, I only have enough hours to work with the kids occasionally. In the future, I hope that I will have enough hours to start a children's choir and work with these girls and any other kids who also play instruments.

Our music program at NWUUC is gaining strength, and if I have the time to start working with the children on a regular basis, we'll establish an even firmer foundation.

Never Bored

A few years ago, when I was living in Chicago and engraving music full time, my schedule was simple: Wake up and engrave until noon. Walk to my favorite sandwich shop (every day) and have lunch. Walk home and engrave until 5 or 6. Have dinner. Read a book, watch TV, or play a computer game. Go to bed. Wake up and do it all again. Wednesdays were a little different, because I volunteered at the Old Town School of Folk music in the afternoon, archiving old concerts by transferring them from DAT to CD. I even worked half days most weekends.

It was a predictable, boring existence, but that changed once I started playing the guitar.

At first, the only difference was that I practiced an hour or two a day. Then I started taking lessons and eventually worked up the nerve to start playing in public…in nursing homes and church, then restaurants, coffee shops, and paid gigs. I knew playing the guitar would add variety to my schedule, but I had no idea!

I started playing with the intention of becoming a fancy fingerpicker of American folk and Celtic music. Then I veered off into jazz and started dabbling in other styles with InTown Band. These days, I have to stay on top of a lot of different things at once. This week is a perfect example. I just finished playing Rent, I'm preparing Christmas music with Tea for Two, I'm performing jazz standards at solo show tomorrow, InTown Band plays a three hour show on Saturday, and I'm conducting a church choir on Sunday! So much for becoming a folk music specialist.

I'm putting a lot of things together – music engraving, teaching lessons, performing, and working as a part time church music director. I haven't talked to other musicians about this, but I suspect that most other freelancers are also putting together a lot of different projects to make it all work.

While I enjoy the variety, sometimes I long for more simplicity. I'm not sure I could handle all my current projects indefinitely. What I think is going to happen is that eventually two or three of my projects will outstrip the others. One of my bands may really start to take off, the part time church job may expand, or I may decide to make a stronger effort to recruit a lot of private students. At that point, I would have to make some hard decisions about which projects to keep or drop. Even then, I'll always have enough going on that I'll never be bored again.

Wish Granted

When times are tough, I'm often guilty of that useless mind game "if I could travel back in time, what would I do differently?" Part of that fantasy involves investing in Microsoft. I would have stuck with piano lessons. Also, in hindsight, there are a couple girls that probably would have gone out with me, but I was just too scared to ask them out at the time. Alas, I'm still hopelessly shy in this area.

Most of my back to the future fantasies involve music…starting guitar at age 9 instead of 39 for example. Another one is my choice of college majors. I can't imagine being anything other than a musician. I would still have majored in music, but I often think that I would have enjoyed being a choral music education major so that I could go on to lead choirs. It came in a roundabout way, but it appears that, with my new job, my wish to conduct choirs has been granted.

In a recent blog article, I wrote about being hired as music director at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. So far, I'm loving the job. One of my main responsibilities is leading the choir. When I first took the job, I had a minor case of buyer's remorse stemming from nervousness about making a major change in my life. Having sung with this choir, and having served as interim music director three times, the choir members were already familiar with me. Not that I was expecting a rebellion, but I wasn't sure how the choir would react to the difference between "interim substitute" Tom and the "in charge" Tom. In our first choir rehearsal, I made myself clear about how I like to work. They've gone along with me, and so far, working with the choir has been a dream. Rehearsals have gone smoothly. The choir season is off to a good start, and I'm looking forward to making great music with them for many years to come.

Of course I won't love every single rehearsal, and I won't love every aspect of the music director position. Not everyone in the congregation will be 100% pleased with the direction I have planned. I will run into hurdles. I will have setbacks. I will make mistakes. Worst case scenario, I may have to be on a committee. Overall, though, I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be, and I'm pleased my secret wish to work with a choir has been granted.

How Did I Get Here?

This is crazy. How did I get here? Tomorrow I'm going to be standing in front of a choir as the latest music director at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. If things had gone as originally planned, right now I would have either been the band director at a college or a really big high school. Instead, 25 years later, I somehow I wound up a freelance guitarist, music engraver, and brand new music director. Here's the chain of events that have led up to this point.

1. I entered the University of Illinois one year early, majoring in music education, where I was consistently praised for my teaching and conducting ability by a notoriously difficult teacher. Student teaching was a dream. I was on my way.
2. After two dismal jobs as a school band director, I realized that I wasn't cut out for public school teaching, or possibly I found myself in two impossible situations. Either way, I gave up my aspirations as a band director and went back to school to study trombone with Elliot Chasanov at Kent State University.
3. While studying with Elliot at KSU, and again at the University of Illinois, my trombone playing improved immensely. I won an audition and began a performance career in the Air Force.
4. The Air Force gig started off well. I really enjoyed it. The plan was to put in my 20 years and then seek out a college teaching job. Then I developed an overuse injury that halted my trombone career. Suddenly, the Air Force wasn't quite so fun. So much for that.
5. While in the Air Force, I learned how to use Finale to prepare printed music. I loved it so much that I decided to become a freelance music engraver. I'm still a freelance music engraver. I'm very good at it, and I'm proud of the work I've done. (1,300 publications and counting!)
6. After a year of struggle, my freelance music engraving endeavor really began to take off. I had lots of work and was making very good money. I had finally found out what I was going to do with the rest of my life, until my (then) wife gave me a guitar for Christmas!
7. Learning the guitar rekindled my dreams of being a performing musician again, so I set to learning guitar with a vengeance. (Unfortunately, this had a detrimental effect on my marriage, and that's all I'm going to say about that.)
8. I started off wanting to play Celtic music and singer/songwriter music similar to David Wilcox or Susan Werner, but then I hooked up with a jazz guitar teacher, and then I got hooked on jazz guitar.
9. Over the next few years, I was in and out of a few jazz groups, and I started and stopped a few of my own. Eventually I found a balance between my own solo playing, subbing in big bands, and my jazz vocal combo, Tea for Two, which I think is going to be a big winner.
10. While working on my jazz guitar chops, over the years I also became more and more involved with the music program at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I never really wanted to start going to church, but I went because my (then) wife wanted to go. She eventually left, but I stayed, and there I remain. I started off singing with the choir, and then I worked up the courage to begin playing guitar for services. I eventually became a substitute conductor as needed, and I served as interim music director three times. This last time, when the job opened up, it seemed like the right time to apply, and tomorrow I'll be standing in front of the choir.

I'm the type of person who likes to plan. Unfortunately, life often seems to have different plans! Maybe it's the improvisatory nature of jazz that has influenced me, but lately I've just decided to let the universe have its way. I still make my plans, but I'm no longer surprised when life takes a detour. For now, I'm equal parts music engraver, performer, and church music director. This finally feels right, like I'm where I'm supposed to be.