Music and Choir (Composers and Lyricists)
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The choir has begun it’s year and we are off and running. What an exciting year this promises to be. Each week we offer music to the glory of God. We hope your worship is made better for our offerings. Are you interested is joining one of our groups? Choir meets most Thursday evenings September through mid June, 7:00 – 8:30 Instruments meet as needed and as group schedule accommodates. Please call the church office to let us know of your interest.
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Music, It’s Composers and Lyricists:
In this area will be giving you an opportunity to meet some of the men and women responsible for the music we sing. These are people with incredible stories. Their walk with God is interesting and inspiring. I hope you enjoy them and will come back often to see who is new for you to meet.
Allan Petker is a composer I have been getting to know over the past several years ago as I have attended the Zephyr Point Choir Directors Conference (recently renamed Tuning at Tahoe). Allan was raised in Bakersfield. His mother is the retired Organist at First Presbyterian Church here in Bakersfield and his father has been involved with the travel business in town.
The following is part of his official biography:
Allan has conducted choirs of all age levels in festivals, honor choirs, workshops, and tours throughout the U.S. and abroad. In 2008 he completed his 15th season with Consort Chorale, an ensemble of 40 select voices from the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1995 he was the American guest conductor/composer for the Cathedral Choir Tour in England. He was invited back to England in 2003 as the featured guest for the National Association of Choirs (UK) annual conference. From 1999 to 2006, he conducted the College and Community Choir at Marymount College (Rancho Palos Verdes). He is currently the Minister of Music at the First Presbyterian Church, San Pedro. In 2004 he became the Artistic Director for the Santa Clarita Master Chorale, a 60-voice auditioned choir.
Allan is a published composer and arranger with over 250 published works with numerous publishing houses. As a composer for hire he has written original scores for live performance and has penned a number of original TV commercials which have appeared on the CNBC network.
He has been involved in the choral music publishing industry for many years. In 1977 he became the Director of Publications for Fred Bock Music Company. In 1989 he established his own choral music publishing company, Pavane Publishing.
As an instrumentalist (viola), Allan has done free-lance studio work and occasional concert playing. His specialized understanding of both instrumental and choral music enables him to be a sensitive and communicative conductor. Allan holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from California State University at Northridge in music, specializing in viola (BA), voice and choral conducting (MA).
Joseph Martin
In the next couple of weeks our choir will be singing “A Servant’s Song” by Joseph Martin. Here is some information about him:
Joseph Martin, a native of North Carolina, has earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance. Joseph taught for five years in the Piano Pedagogy Department of the University of Texas. While studying at Furman University, he was accompanist for choral director and composer Milburn Price and, inspired by his teaching, Martin began to compose.
He is a member of the staff of Shawnee Press, Inc. as Director of Sacred Publications, with responsibilities for overseeing the editorial and creative direction of the company and also coordinating the recording and production aspects of future sacred publishing efforts.
Joseph has performed solo piano recitals and has been the featured artist with symphony orchestras in the United States and Mexico. Though he continues to perform in concert, he now devotes his efforts to playing in churches and for conferences of church musicians
His first solo piano recording, American Tapestry, was nominated for a Dove Award. This album, along with his other recordings (Songs of the Journey, Celtic Tapestry, and A Christmas Tapestry) has been enormously popular in the sacred and secular markets. He has composed hundreds of commissioned works and has over a thousand compositions currently in print. The list continues to grow.
Along with Mark Hayes and David Angerman, Joseph has co-authored a fully graded, progressive piano method for the Christian student called Keys for the Kingdom. His major works include 25 choral cantatas and Song of Wisdom, a choral tone poem based on the best-selling children's book, Old Turtle.
His music can be heard in such diverse locations as Carnegie Hall in New York City; the Lawrence Welk Theatre in Branson, Missouri; and in hundreds of worship services in churches across the United States and Canada. He continues to surprise audiences with the variety and scope of his compositions and arrangements.
Joseph lives in Austin, Texas with his children Jonathan and Aubrey and his wife Sue.
Previous Composer for September
Fannie Crosby
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Fannie Crosby has a legacy that lives on. Most of the Christian world is familiar with hymns set to her texts. Among the most popular are Blessed Assurance, I Am Thine, O Lord and To God Be the Glory. Because she was so prolific, it is not surprising that some of her texts have only recently been published, and many of these have never been set to music. In September, our choir will be singing one of these later texts. The tune occurred almost instantaneously to the composer, John Ness Beck, as he read the poem. The tune and choral voicing are directed toward keeping our focus on the power of the text.
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