Each month over the coming year we'll feature a composer who writes paperless music! While you may recognize a few names from our song collections and workshops, we're especially excited to share new compositional voices bringing breadth, depth, and richness to an evolving body of music sung without paper. Each composer has generously agreed to offer a free piece to the MMC community; others can be purchased from the composer directly or found in existing resources. We hope you'll enjoy the videos, audio clips and sample scores, and find many new songs to share with your community.
About Debbie Holloway:
Debbie Holloway is a congregant and sometimes-composer at St. Lydia's Dinner Church in Gowanus, Brooklyn. St Lydia's is where she was first introduced to paperless congregational songleading, which meshed naturally with her other musical proclivities and interests.
After working by day in Operations at the Museum of Food and Drink, Debbie enjoys exerting creativity in her side gigs as a freelance film critic. But her first love was music; whenever she can, she loves to make music with her husband or siblings, participate in choral singing, and support the music of other artists. Congregational songleading holds a special place in her heart because of its nonperformative aspect, simplicity, and the trust and camaraderie it builds within a community.
While these songs are her first few efforts, she hopes these will be the first of many.
Read moreMusic that Makes Community is excited to share webinars and planning guides that help you incorporate paperless music into your community's worship life. Resources include teaching notes, as well as links to musical scores and videos. After you submit payment, you'll receive a confirmation email with links to digital material.
Community-Rooted Lenten Planning Workshop (January 2022)
Suggested donation $50.00 (sliding scale rates available)
Paul Vasile and The Rev. Ashley Goff broadcast live from Arlington Presbyterian Church, sharing Lenten songs and liturgical practices inspired by the transformative ministry of Arlington Presbyterian Church, which sold its building and land to the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) to build Gilliam Place, a 173-unit affordable housing apartment community on the site of their previous building. They explored how the season of Lent invites deeper listening to the stories and experiences within our community and invited conversation around the unique challenges we may be facing in this late pandemic time.
You'll receive a link to a recording (which you can share with your planning team or worship committee), as well a list of songs and resources shared during the webinar.
Holy Week Test Kitchen (February 2021)
Suggested donation $50.00
(indicate Test Kitchen in the "Additional Info" line of the donation form)
Suggested donation for the webinar is $50. You'll receive a link to a recording (which you can share with your planning team or worship committee), as well a list of songs and resources shared during the webinar.
Advent Worship Webinar (September 2020)
Suggested donation $50.00
(indicate Advent Webinar in the "Additional Info" line of the donation form)
Wondering what Advent will sound like this year? Looking for ways to weave participatory singing and movement into online worship and community gatherings?
Paul Vasile led an hourlong webinar exploring creative possibilities for the season, sharing song suggestions and liturgical ideas from our creative community of MMC presenters. Experience a variety of songs for the season and ideas for integrating them into worship, education, and fellowship time.
In addition to a recording of the webinar, you'll receive links to:
- a list of songs from the webinar and suggestions of how to share them in your context
- curated resources and tools for online singing and collaboration
- Lectionary-based song suggestions for each Sunday of Advent
Paul Vasile is a interim/transitional church musician, consultant, and composer based in New York City. He has been a Music that Makes Community presenter since 2011 and now serves as MMC's Executive Director.
My second year of graduate school, I registered for an elective in continuo playing (see above for examples of figured bass, i.e. Baroque chord symbols). It seemed like a great way to round out my skills as a church musician and it offered the opportunity to play different repertoire than I usually encountered as a pianist. I went to the first class with a bit of nervous anticipation, which was kicked up a notch when the professor began with an exercise to assess our skill level. Each student was given an eight-measure melody with figured bass to sightread in front of everyone.
I registered for the class to stretch myself, to gain new experiences, and to be able to perform Baroque music with more authenticity. But, approaching this moment of assessment, all I felt was fear: fear of being scrutinized, judged, inadequate. When an exceptionally gifted keyboardist played shortly before me, I was undone.
Intimidated and insecure, I stumbled through my excerpt, sat back down, and decided the class was too difficult. I went to the Registrar’s office the next day and signed up for a choral literature class instead, embarrassed that I had even tried in the first place.
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