"let the chldren come"

The children did come, mostly elementary school age but some older.  The event was one of the classes in the week called "Created 2 Praise."  My part of that was "explore the organ."  Eight kids and one older helper went through exercises of listening, singing, rhythm, imitation and actual playing the organ for each other.  Here's the happy group!

pipe organ student

It's a rare youth who tackles the pipe organ. But is it really harder than mastering the Blackberry?

Eric Kehs kind of makes it look easy. He's active in youth activities and musical activities at Zion. Here I caught him practicing a student version of "Old Hundredth" or the doxology. Click on this and then hit play.

http://www.box.net/shared/gzokgdha25

master class, master teacher

My Saturday seminar...

One of the seminars featured Wilma Jensen giving a master class. That means a student volunteers to have a lesson in front of the rest of us.

Wilma is the one with white hair. She must be eighty-five, with seven grandchildren she told us, and as wirey as they come.

What struck me was a quiet confidence at the center of her. With this student her main objective was to loosen him up, to play expressively, to not be afraid to hold onto a note longer than the score prescribes. I was in the presence of a master musician.