Music in Worship Chair's blog

Let me begin by recognizing two gentlemen who have made a tremendous effort to bring this festival and concert to life: Jim Larrabee and Dana Sloan. Thank you so much.

So, the exciting development for this the eighth edition of the Omaha Church Choir Festival--now called MUSIC WITH A MISSION--is that we've more than doubled the number of choirs and the number of singers who are participating this year. We are expecting 16 choirs, 250 singers.

Save the date: the Omaha Area Church Choir Festival is set for Sunday, February 19, 2012. To let me know of your interest in participating email me at gzielke@graceu.edu.

The format of the festival includes two main activities: a mass choir rehearsal and a concert to benefit the Open Door Mission. Participating choirs can opt to perform individually on the concert.

We haven't met to select the music for the festival so stay tuned. Of course, we would your input as well.

Our Summer NCDA conference is July 10-13. The theme of the conference is “Lucky 7s in 2011: All in for Music.” The focus is on advocating for Choral Music in all settings. With this in mind with have designed Monday afternoon and evening just for you. We have planned three music in worship sessions:
1. “How to Plan for and work with Praise Bands,”
2. “Various faiths on the Function of Music in Worship: A panel discussion,”
3. “a choral repertoire session where we explore music used in 10 different faith traditions.”

Music with a Mission is in it's Sixth edition. This year seven Omaha area church choirs will collaborate in a benefit concert for the Open Door Mission. I, along with a faithful steering committee comprised of Jim Larabee, Dana Sloan, Charles Cohen, and Michael Kesar are eagerly looking forward to another rewarding and fulfilling evening. Participating church choirs include Community Bible Church, Countryside Community Church, St. Mark Lutheran, Good Shepherd Lutheran, Presbyterian Church of the Cross, Faith Christian Church, and Bensen Presbyterian Church.