Music can touch our soul

This evening my wife suggested that we go to the All District Band concert.  We had been a few times in the past when our kids had played in it.  This year we knew some of the kids playing in it and we decided we wanted to show them our support.

I was pleased to find that Dr. Quincy Hilliard was the conductor of the Symphonic Band.  He had conducted one of our children when they played in that top district band a few years ago and I remembered him because they played some of his compositions and one in particular had really touched me. 

Tonight he told about a song entitled The Day the Clowns Cried which he wrote after reading an article in USA Today several years ago.  The article mentioned a time during WWII when in a little town Ringling Brothers Circus had come.  It was 1944 in Hartford Connecticut and the people went to the circus to forget the war and be entertained.  The heat of the day was so much that they hosed down the huge tent to try and keep things cool inside.  However they used a flammable liquid to water down the tent and a couple of children playing with matches burned the whole thing down.  100+ people died, a third of which were children.  Click here to read an article about it. 

In the song he starts with the happy music as the circus began but then pandemonium breaks out with the fire and finally a sad dirge as the crying clown exits the tent with a child's body in his arms.  Twinkle Twinkle little star is woven through the piece to represent the children that were there.  This song really had some emotional power for me today and I thought you might enjoy listening to it as well.

Another song he composed and was played a few years ago is The Unknown Soldier.  This one had me flying out of my seat as it finished in applause.  Throughout the song I was remembering my father who was a war veteran. 

Hope you enjoy them and get some of the feeling from these videos. 

Christmas Music 2011 #2 Eclipse

Another new Christmas album that came out this year is by A fantastic Accappella group that I have been enjoying for a few years.  This is their second Christmas album and sixth album overall, it is called "It's Christmas Time"  The band is made up of six guys:

Paul Hansen

Kevin Jones

Jake Despain

James Case

Dan Kartchtner

Shayne Taylor

 They have been singing together for about ten years and really have a great sound.  They started singing together when they were students at Utah State University and have had a couple changes in personnel since.  The members of the group are almost all return missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having served from Bangkok Thailand to Vancouver Canada.  Most are married with children and all love to sing having long histories of singing individually and in groups.

 Here is a video with a very quick summary of the songs on the new Christmas album. It is only a minute long:

Here is a full version of one of their songs from the Christmas Album
Do You Hear What I Hear by Eclipse.

This last video is a promo video that has a sampling of several of their songs both Christmas and otherwise.  It is fun to get an eight minute smattering of the various types of music that they sing. 

Hope you enjoy their music as much as I do!

Christmas music 2011 #1: Matthew West

I was surprised to find a really great Christmas album from an artist I was only minimally familiar with.  I had run across one of his songs a while back that I included with one of my Manly Man Trainings that you can view by clicking here.  From that little exposure I knew he was a Christian song writer and singer but I didn't really pay any more attention than that one song. 

For me Christmas music time starts early and I start looking around for good new Christmas Music coming out around the end of September.  Matthew West's album: The Heart of Christmas, was one of the early entries, so I listened and was impressed and I downloaded the album.  I have listened to it quite a bit this season and am more impressed the more I listen. 

Matthew West was really excited about baseball when he was a child.  He played baseball through High School where he hoped to get a baseball scholarship to a university.  Instead he ended up with a music scholarship to Millikin University in Illinois.  After graduation he put out three independent albums before signing a contract with a studio to produce future albums.  Also after graduation he was offered a deal to write songs and he has written some songs for famous singers. 

In 2002 he forgot his keys and was locked out of his house.  In his effort to break into his house he ended up cutting his left arm severely and blacked out.  He awoke to Spanish speaking construction workers praying over him.  He was taken to the hospital and told his chances were slim that he would regain full use of his arm.  However, he did indeed regain full use and continues playing the guitar and singing. 

In 2007 Matthew started having some difficulties with his voice that soon required surgery to repair.  Once again his career was threatened and it was unknown if he would be able to get back to singing.  Following the surgery he was prescribed a two month period of no speaking.  Fortunately he was able to recover and resume his singing career.  During that time a documentary was made of his situation entitled "Nothing to Say".  Not surprisingly his next album was called, "Something to Say".

Matthew West has been married going on ten years and has two daughters.  Being a family man and a person who has gone through difficulties in life may give him good perspective as he continues to write and sing that are able to touch people and change their lives. 

His Christmas album: The Heart of Christmas, came out this year and has a few traditional songs done well.  The real strength of the album is the Christmas songs he has written that will be new ones that we will enjoy years into the future.  Below I have put the videos from three of them.  Enjoy!

Day After Christmas by Matthew West

Give This Christmas Away by Matthew West

One Last Christmas by Matthew West

Please come when I am old

This is Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson (The Piano Guys) playing for an older crowd.  I hope when I am old that someone might come and do this for me.  The song is the Charlie Brown Medley - Linus and Lucy.

Interesting song find: Adele--Rolling in the deep (piano/cello cover

Normally I don't get too excited when a song is redone by another artist.  Every once in a while those turn out well but usually the original artist is the best.  In this case a song by Adele is taken and done nicely in an instrumental format that I could really appreciate.  I read that Steven Sharp Nelson used five different cellos in making of this song, here is a picture of four of them. 

To be honest I hadn't heard of this song by Adele previous to hearing this new version.  Apparently I'm the only one in the house that hasn't heard of it, but now I have. 

For your listening pleasure we have Jon Schmidt and Stephen Nelson do the cover song by Adele--Rolling in the Deep.  The video is fun to watch as well. 

Monday Music #21: William Joseph

William Joseph is a piano prodigy.  He started playing the piano at age 4.  He tells the story that he was watching Fraggle Rock on T.V. and brought out his plastic piano to play along with the music from the show.  His parents observed that and thought they better get him some piano lessons.  He started composing songs at age 5. 

Maybe we have Fraggle Rock to thank for the great pianist.

At age 8 William won a full ride scholarship to study with Russian teacher Stella Saperstein.  He was trained classically but he says that he couldn't stay withing the boundaries of that type of music and enjoys making music that tells a story and is dramatic and cinematic. 

He taught music lessons for a company in Phoenix Arizona and continues to do occasional short lesson stints for them.  That job is what led to his playing at a charity event  and a friend that introduced him to David Foster while Mr. Foster and his orchestra were doing sound checks several hours before the concert was to start.  William had been married for one week.  His hope was to shake Mr. Foster's hand.  His friend ask Mr. Foster if William could play on the piano and Mr. Foster agreed.  During the song Mr. Foster led his orchestra in accompaniment of the song.  Mr. Foster asked William if he would open the concert for them that night.  William was so excited, he called his wife to ask “Honey, do you have a nice dress?”  From there he has become a well known and respected musician playing to large crowds.

William Joseph is LDS and works to live righteously.  He has had to make some choices between fame and money and doing what is right.  A nice article was written about him in the New Era magazine.  He tells that he was not feeling particularly spiritual around age 18 and when he was asked to play in Sacrament meeting in a cousin's ward he went.  There he saw a young couple that had just been sealed in the temple and he was struck by how they seemed to glow.  He decided he wanted that for himself.  In his own words: "I thought, ‘How will I ever do that? Someone like that would only want a returned missionary.’ And right when I thought that, it hit me. It was overwhelming. All of a sudden, music didn’t matter; my career didn’t matter; nothing mattered. And I knew for sure that’s what I had to do. I needed to go on a mission, and I’d be blessed if I did.  After that meeting, after that incredible, spiritual experience, I got in my car, and I had this rock music blasting. That music felt so disruptive, so loud and just ugly and wrong. That was the experience that changed my life.”

He was called to serve a mission in Australia.  He feared being away from music for two years as he hadn't been a day without music in his last 15 years.  Fortunately his mission president recognized his talent and gave him opportunities to write and perform in addition to his regular missionary work. 

William Joseph notices how his music and his example in life can have a positive impact on others.  He sees people of all sorts from the refined to the rough person who hears him playing in a mall and is touched by his music.  William feels like that is the Spirit that makes that connection.  “Music breaks down barriers; it softens people. I’m not a man of many words; I’m not an elaborate speaker. But I absolutely have a testimony. I love the gospel.”

William likes to meet some of the people who come to his concerts because he likes to hear what they think.  He not only likes to play for them but bring them on this enjoyable ride of being a well known musician as well. 

I guess I still have hurricanes on the mind as I chose this song to put on my blog.  It is from the album Within. 

William Joseph: Butterflies and Hurricanes

Here he is interviewed on a British morning show called This Morning.  He mentions some fun things about his music teacher, his big break into the music business with David Foster, and he creates a new song from four notes chosen by the hosts of the show as well as plays Asturias from his other album Beyond.  This is an enjoyable interview of about ten minutes, so if you have any interest at all it is well worth the viewing. 

I am a lover of Christmas music and was pleased to see that his next album will be a holiday album coming out this year which I will likely be a purchaser. 

"Unforgettable" reception highlight

A couple days before the wedding Megan and Josh came and ask me what song I would like to dance to when I had my father of the bride dance with Megan.  I looked at a list but had to choose "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole when I saw it was available.  It turned out to be one of the highlights for me at the reception.  It was fun to have a few minutes in the middle of everything to talk and have fun with Megan.  I don't recall what we discussed but the pictures indicate we were having fun.  There actually was one picture where Megan was staring at me with an alarmed look on her face but I am not putting that one in the post.  I wonder what was being said then?  At any rate it was lots of fun.  Of course the moment hopefully will not be forgotten.

I decided to put the version of the song by Natalie and Nat King Cole that has been done in recent years for your listening pleasure while you look at the rest of the pictures from that father/daughter dance.  I actually prefer the one by Natalie and Nat King Cole but it also is symbolic in a way as well since it is the father and daughter singing.  And by the way Josh and his mother were dancing too and looking like they were having an enjoyable time.   

Natalie and Nat King Cole: Unforgettable

It was a memorable and unforgettable moment for me!

Monday Music #13: Francesca Battistelli: Beautiful, Beautiful

Francesca Battistelli has grown into a good Christian Singer.  Many of her songs have good strong faith filled lyrics that are encouraging to those trying to follow Christ in a world that seems headed in other directions. Francesca grew up in Florida in a musical family.  Her music is in the pop/rock style that appeals to young people but I enjoy her music as well.  She was in her first group when she was 15 and performed a lot.  After that group disbanded she decided to do the music that she wanted which was Christian music.  Now she is married and has had her first child.  She is maturing and growing up in the music industry that can be hard to stay grounded in. 

She is maturing in her Christian attitudes as evidenced by this quote from her web site: "The more you walk in relationship with the Lord, the more you learn to trust him. I'm learning not to focus so much on the issues I think are so big right now—our bus has broken down, or someone said something that frustrated me. I'm learning to slowly let things roll off my back, to say, 'Hey, God knew about this before it happened and He's got a way out or a plan better than mine.' I've learned to stop freaking out and just trust that God knows what he's doing. He's not going to leave me in a bad place because He never has before."

The song I have chosen to highlight today is called Beautiful Beautiful.  It is a song that I understand as teaching how we can change and grow when we recognize and allow ourselves to be influenced by the Savior. 

Words and music by Francesca Battistelli, Ian Eskelin, and Andrew Fromm.

Here are the lyrics: 

Don’t know how it is You looked at me
And saw the person that I could be
Awakening my heart
Breaking through the dark
Suddenly Your grace
(Chorus)
Like sunlight burning at midnight
Making my life something so
Beautiful, beautiful
Mercy reaching to save me
All that I need
You are so
Beautiful, beautiful
Now there’s a joy inside I can’t contain
But even perfect days can end in rain
And though it’s pouring down
I see You through the clouds
Shining on my face
(Chorus)
I have come undone
But I have just begun
Changing by Your grace
(Chorus)

This song comes from the album My Paper Heart.

 
Francesca Battistelli, Beautiful, Beautiful

Monday Music #10: Mars Lasar: At the end of the day

Mars Lasar is a well known musician with 22 individual albums to his credit.  Mars was born in Germany and raised in Australia.  He became fascinated with music at age 11 and by 14 was confident in his music.  He and his two brothers (he is a middle child) started practicing as a band.  He played the synthesizer while his older brother played the guitar and his younger the drums.  They started playing around their neighborhood and then in shopping centers and finally started getting paid in a restaurant and at wedding receptions. 

The rest is history as they say. 

This album seems designed to provide some relaxation when you return home from work.  The song and the album are the same title.  Some relaxation music is very slow and calm, while this has some jazz components that seem to grab you at whatever level of excitement or anxiety you are at and then bring you to a more relaxed state.  I like this album a lot.  Although I am not familiar with all his albums, I have enjoyed all of the ones I have listened to.  His Christmas music is very nice as well (I consider myself a Christmas music aficionado). 

Here's the video which is a single picture allowing the music to be the star.
Mars Lasar: At the End of the Day.

In addition to being a musician he is a photographer.  You can view his photography here.  Here are a couple examples of his photography:

Marriage 101: We Understand Each Other

I guess my thoughts are still on marriage as evidenced by posts earlier this week.  Marriage is such a highlight of life.  I don't mean THE wedding but rather the potential for a marriage to become hugely meaningful in our lives.  I remember early in marraige with my wife.  We were students in college and despite all the work that is required in school and the jobs we had, we seemed to have lots of time to talk about things that were important: experiences from our life that made us who we are, opinions and family history, and our dreams for the future. 

Those were good times.  Times before the careers.  Times before elevated responsibilities in work and life.  Times before all the questions and learning and trusting of parenthood.  Those were days that I highly prize because it is through those many talks and gentle and sometimes tense conversations that I learned the beginnings of understanding my wife.  If truth be told, I also learned a lot about understanding myself.  There is something about putting things in words that can help us recognize, realize and understand things (including ourselves) in new ways. 

We do manage to have those conversations from time to time now, but not as compacted and as revelatory as in times past.  Now 27 years later we have learned a lot about each other.  Much of our experience is common between us.  We have raised years of children together.  Even though we of course were not together every minute or even most minutes we saw how each other think, react, and how we have each grown over the years.  We understand each other way better than ever before.

Oh, don't ge me wrong there is still the surprise when we learn something new that we never knew about the other, or when we react in a way unexpected.  Mostly though things are very comfortable.  Few egg shells to walk on, no bombs to maneuver around, just comfortable understanding. 

Those early times of self revelation and questions answered were like Christmas morning, opening presents and not sure what to expect.  Now, they are like opening presents of shared experience and expected appreciation for each other.  Very comfortable and valued times.

I guess I should admit that life is not bliss, entirely.  There is still much to learn, and hopefully lots of experiences to share.  We still have our weaknesses and foibles.  Even some new ones we didn't know about back then.  But we also have compensitory new strengths that have been developed through struggle and practical application.  We have gained appreciation for each other and are confident that we are valued by each other.  Our trust has greatly deapened.  And the fact that we are trusted and have confidence in each other has helped each one of us have increased confidence and trust in our own selves, individually and as a couple. 

We feel loved and that enables us to love others all the more.  Of course to love our children but also to love beyond our family, friends, even sometimes strangers and some people we have adopted into our family and they feel like parts of our family. 

This post was brought forward in my thinking as a result of a song I ran across by Lou Rawls.  When I thought back to my youth I forgot his music and just recently ran across it and this song (which by the way I do not remember from years gone by) reminded me of how this closeness and peace has come to our lives over the years. 

I look at that early time in our marriage as a time of revealing ourselves to each other and building the foundation of our marriage and our family.  We still add to that foundation from time to time, but the heaviest work was done in those early months and has allowed us to rest on that foundation frequently and as needed.  Sometimes we laid heavily on that foundation and other times lightly but always we have depended on it as it gave us the beginnings of understanding each other.  Listen to the song and see what it reminds you of.

Lou Rawls -- We Understand Each Other

Whose hand

Friday I was at an all staff meeting for District 19 Community Services Board.  We were having the typical meeting with various presentations and then it changed.  A singing group and band from the Sycamore Center was there to give an example of healing music.  The Sycamore Center is a day treatment facility for seriously mentally ill people.  The director of the band was remarkably well spoken and well prepared as he presented a speech before their performance. 

All the members of the group were in recovery.  In an effort to have the singers dressed alike they had obtained a white T-shirt for each of them.  Due to their disability most did not wear it with any pizazz at all and looked like a ragtag group.  This was not your typical singing group and several had pot bellies and some looked scared and unsure.  Many looked down in humility as they started the song.  They didn't look very slick or smooth as we are often accustomed with our entertainment.   

But then they started singing "Lean on Me" and all the imperfections fell into the background as the song was more meaningful being sung by people that had really been through some tough times with their mental illness.  They sang beautifully and there were few dry eyes in the audience.  Before it was all done the audience was spontaneously all on their feet, holding hands in a huge circle around the gymnasium where it was held, singing along and swaying to the music .

As the band and singing ended and we clapped loudly for several seconds I realized I had been holding the hand of a woman on my left that I didn't even know and a big fellow on my right.  People I wouldn't typically hold hands with.  But with the sense of brotherhood and sisterhood engendered by the song the whole audience was moved to join together in one big chain of humans in a show of support and caring for each other and appreciation for the music and message.

Even noticing the fingernails and tattoos on the woman to my left made me see that the music had the ability to bring disparate people together and indeed we could all lean on each other.  So in life when we see those who may be disabled, we need to accept that they certainly have talents just like we do that can inspire people to be better and feel the spirit of happiness and love.  Don't count them out but rather let them blossom where they stand.  I wish you could have been there to experience it.

Lean on Me lyrics

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won't let show

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand (Chorus)
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Second Verse
Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand (Chorus)
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

If there is a load you need to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call me

Call me (if you need a friend)
Call me (Call me)
Call me (if you need a friend)
Call me (if you ever need a friend)
Call me (Call me)
Call me
Call me (if you need a friend)