More on the Calvin Symposium

I'm excited to head up to Grand Rapids next week!  Here are a few more details on what I'll be doing.
On Thursday Sandra McCraken and I will lead a retreat for hymn/text/tune/song writers/composers, moderated by Greg Scheer. I'm excited to explore our varied approaches to our crafts. (By the way, I'm pondering an upcoming post on Stephen Sondheim's Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made A Hat as instruction books for good hymn writing.)
Thursday and Friday at 4:15 one of the vesper service options is
The Good News for the Hurting: A Service of Scripture and Song 
Michael Burkhardt, the Choral Scholars, and Zebulon Highben, featuring texts by Adam Tice
 The conference program describes it this way: "Led by choir and organ, this service of scripture and song surrounds a few Isaiah texts, bringing good news for a hurting world." Beyond that, I haven't heard anything about what is planned--I can't wait to see what they've included. And you can find out with me, even if you won't be in Grand Rapids--the Thursday service will live-stream at 4:15: http://worship.calvin.edu/symposium/schedule-overview.html
On Friday and Saturday afternoons, I'll present workshops on newer congregational song drawn from Isaiah. Passages from Isaiah play a prominent role in the lectionary for both the upcoming Lent and Advent seasons. We'll sing a number of selections related to those passages.
On Sunday morning I'll be at Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church for a hymn festival featuring my texts. Our title is "The Promise of Peace."
Sunday evening there's yet another hymn festival to attend, this one sponsored by The Hymn Society.
Will I see you in Grand Rapids? You can follow all the goings-on here: https://twitter.com/hashtag/wsymp16?src=hash

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