Posts from — December 2010

For many people, myself included, New Year’s Eve is a day filled with anticipation and hope. No matter how good or bad the previous year was, the symbolic date change represents the chance for improvement, new experiences, and a fresh start.

Will next year be the year that I ___________? I really hope that I can _________________. Maybe I’ll finally do _______________.

Perhaps, circumstantially, 2011 will be my best year yet. Or perhaps it will be a year of difficulties. Of course I hope for the former, but I don’t know.

One thing I do know, however, is that no matter what 2011 brings,

Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

I am grateful today that it is well with my soul, and I pray the same for you. Happy New Year!

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

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The Blog According to Wordle

I’ll finish up my gratitude series later today, but just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for reading along with me this year. According to the blog stats, the average reader spends over 3 minutes on this site — which is a lot in this digital age. Thanks for investing your time in my ramblings; it really does mean a lot to me!
I’m always curious to see what garners the most interest on the site, which influences what I write about in the future. Here are the top 10 (well, technically 11) posts for this past year (not counting the gratitude ones, which I listed yesterday):

• 5 Tips for Better Practicing
• On Playing in Church, Part 1 and Part 2
• Considering Colleges, Part 1
• Worship Music Roundup
• Fighting the Blues, Part 1
• Inception & Toy Story 3: Encountering Art at the Movies
• Cafe Finds: Belle Pastry
• The Nature of the Artist
• Hppy Birthday, Leonard Bernstein
• Japanese Vending Machines: The New Extreme

Now, if I may be so bold: can I ask for your help? If you enjoy this blog, please help spread the word by linking to or liking a post, commenting, or shooting me an email. I’m sincerely interested in finding out what people like and don’t like; and I do my best to work reader suggestions into the blog content. You can also subscribe via RSS or subscribe via email.

Thank you, and best wishes for a great 2011!

Tomorrow marks the end of December, of 2010, and of this blog series on gratitude. While I’m not sure that these posts have been particularly interesting to most people, they’ve proven enormously helpful to me. So to those of you who’ve been following, thanks for sticking with me! More arts-related content will return in the new year, Lord willing.

But for now, let me leave you with a few lessons learned from blogging gratitude:

Gratitude takes thought.
Gratitude is a feeling, but it requires thought. Otherwise gratitude could easily be misdirected or incomplete. Thinking about and articulating reasons for gratitude transforms fleeting and shallow feelings to lasting and focused appreciation.

Gratitude takes time.
I’m convinced that the main reason I’ve had trouble with gratitude is that I simply didn’t taken enough time to express it. It’s sort of like practicing — if you wait around for the urge to practice, you’ll never get around to it. There were several days this month when I didn’t really feel gratitude until after I had written about something or forced myself to think about it.

Expressing gratitude increases joy.
I posted this C.S. Lewis quote earlier in the month and have witnessed its truthfulness in my own life:

“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.”

After writing about why I was grateful for certain people or things, I found I enjoyed them even more. This is an encouragement to continue the practice of public gratitude; it’s also a caution to make sure I’m grateful for the right things and reserve particular time reflecting on the greatest reason and source for my gratitude.

Here are the top ten posts (traffic-wise) from this month of gratitude:

• Grateful for . . . parents
• Grateful for . . . brothers
• Grateful for . . . some holiday humor
• Grateful for . . . a fantastic weekend
• Grateful for . . . free in-home entertainment
• Grateful for . . . the musician’s life
• Grateful for . . . clever humor
• Grateful for . . . gig stories
• Grateful for . . . the morning routine
• Grateful for . . . the minivan

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Michael Jackson’s I Want You Back, like you’ve never heard before.

(And another reason I love my brothers.)

Towards the end of each year, I like spending some time thinking about the past 12 months and setting some goals for the next 12. (I do a similar thing around my birthday.) Since I use Google calendar to keep track of my brain, recalling past events is much easier (and more accurate) these days. As I clicked through the months, I was surprised at how many things I had already forgotten or relegated to some other year. Here are a few highlights from 2010:

• Visiting Japan
  Eating sushi in Japan had been a longtime dream of mine, and I finally got the chance this past spring (and yes, it was delicious). Even better than the sushi was the chance to tour and perform with the UW Wind Ensemble and interact with hundreds of Japanese students throughout the country. Definitely a highlight not just of the year, but of my entire grad school experience.
• Reconnecting with old friends
  I’m not the greatest in terms of keeping in touch with people (though Facebook has helped). Despite my failings, this year I got together with a lot of old classmates and friends through a combination of trips, conferences, and random sightings. It’s interesting to see how peoples’ lives change, yet also encouraging to renew friendships despite years and distance.
• Buying a house
  Definitely didn’t see this coming, but it’s true: I’ve owned a home for pretty close to a year now. I still laugh if I think about it long enough, because it doesn’t seem possible. (Except when I have to mow the lawn. Then I know it’s true.)
• Finishing school (for good, I think)
  I’m kind of a nerd; and I have always liked school. That being said — since finishing at UW in June, I have not for once wished I were still a student. Even more amazing is that I get to do what I studied and love it.
• Musical firsts
  They ranged from totally unexpected (conducting a handbell choir — no, I don’t play handbells), strange (teaching lessons via Skype), and long-overdue (first Nutcracker performance).

As I reviewed this past year, I was reminded of Psalm 111:4: “He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;the LORD is gracious and merciful.” One of the greatest benefits of reflecting on the past is that it reminds me of God’s character: His goodness, and His mercy, and His faithfulness from year to year. What a reassuring and exciting way to ring in 2011!

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If I had the luxury of doing so, I’d take a few months off and book one of those around-the-world plane tickets. New cultures and places fascinate me; and the list of places I’d like to see in this lifetime constantly grows.
But even if I do make it to half of the destinations on my list, I imagine in the end I’d still think I live in one of the greatest places on earth.

Among the reasons I love Seattle:

Natural beauty
Every time I return here after being away for more than a couple weeks, I’m struck by how gorgeous this city is. In Seattle, you’re never more than a short drive from real mountains (not hills), real ocean (not lakes), and real trees (not shrubs).

General atmosphere
Seattle is surprisingly relaxed for a major city. People generally come across as smart, friendly, and fairly laid-back. In terms of arts and culture, we may not have as much in quantity as other urban areas; but what we have is diverse and generally good quality. Another thing I enjoy about Seattle is that there are plenty of distinct neighborhoods to explore: downtown, Fremont, Capitol Hill, University District, Ballard, etc. I still feel like I have a lot more to see, despite having lived here most of my life.

Food
Four words: Coffee. Seafood. The best.

Weather
I am an extreme weather wimp, so Seattle’s climate is perfect for me. I’ll take a little rain and thunderstorms over blizzards and/or hot humidity any day. And just when I start wishing that we had “more distinct seasons” we get hit by a small snowstorm or heatwave to remind me what I’m not missing.

Yes, I am grateful to call Seattle home.

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Some snapshots from a great Christmas weekend!

Vacation = coffee and crosswords

Sunday service at Living Hope Bible Church.

Last Nutcracker of the year!

The family came to visit me during intermission.

My awesome Elvis stand lights!

In the pit we amuse ourselves with windup toys.

Post-show hot pot...it's all in the sauce.

This is how we eat.

Yum.

All our eyes are open! Win.

O source of all good,
What shall I render to you for the gift of gifts,
your own dear Son?

Herein is wonder of wonders:
he came below to raise me above,
was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love;
when I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace,
to raise me to himself.

Herein is power;
when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart,
he united them in indissoluble unity,
the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom;
when I was undone, with no will to return to him,
and no intellect to devise recovery,
he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
as man to die my death,
to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
to work out a perfect righteousness for me!

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
and enlarge my mind!

Let me hear good tidings of great joy,
and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father!

Place me with ox, donkey, camel, goat,
to look with them upon my Redeemer’s face,
and in him account myself delivered from sin!

Let me with Simeon clasp the newborn child to my heart,
embrace him with undying faith,
exulting that he is mine and I am his!

In him you have given me so much that heaven can give no more.

- From The Valley of Vision

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‘Tis the season of traditions.

My family has a few: Christmas Eve candlelight service, an attempt at a family picture by the tree, a large midday meal, a slow gift-opening process (Mom insists we write a thank-you after each one).

I enjoy traditions — the anticipation, the regularity, the memories. Though nothing’s wrong with taking pleasure in the act of carrying out traditions, we rob ourselves of their intended purpose if we stop there. The traditions we value most go beyond sentimental ritual — they remind us of what we treasure in the past, present, and future.

So tonight during my church’s candlelight service, I will delight in the sound of voices and strings lifting up familiar carols — and contemplate the day when all God’s people will join in perfect praise.

Tomorrow as my family fails several times before getting a decent photo and later sits down for a Christmas meal, I will tease the person who ALWAYS has his eyes closed and savor the delicious food — and thank God for His continual blessings of home and family.

And as we make our way through this year’s pile of gifts, I will enjoy seeing what everyone receives — and remember that my greatest gift, salvation, was bought with blood and will last forever.

May our traditions this Christmas flow from recognition of our true Treasure — Christ Jesus, our Emmanuel.

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One of my favorite parts of being a musician is collecting and trading gig stories. Not only are they great conversation starters at parties or during rehearsal breaks, but they often provide a good dose of hilarity.

December always brings to mind my personal favorite gig story, which occurred around this time of the year 5 or 6 years ago. I was in Toronto, getting ready to fly back to Seattle for the holidays. I got a last minute call to play pre-ceremony music for a wedding at an upscale hotel a few blocks from where I was living. They were willing to pay well and didn’t have any musical requests at all, so I figured it would be a nice way to get some extra Christmas cash. Oddly, the call came not from a bride but from a design company (in retrospect — my first hint that this was not your typical wedding).

Walking into the hotel lobby, I was greeted by a lavish (and, frankly, garish) display of silvery trees, huge colored balls, and fake snow. One (there were several) of the designers met me at the door and gushed, “Oh, we’re SO glad you’re here. The harp fits PERFECTLY with our Winter Wonderland theme! Let me show you to your throne.”

Um…throne?

Sure enough, they had set up this big white throne for me. (Try imagining the White Witch’s throne from Chronicles of Narnia.) I convinced them that the arms of the throne were in my way and it really would be easier for me to play on my own chair, but agreed to set up right in front of it to complete their visual design. Soon I was ready to go and started playing.

After a few minutes, another designer came over to me and announced, “The dancers are ready! They’re going to be right in front of you, ok?”

Errr…dancers?

And I kid you not — two dancers scantily dressed as peacocks (!) appeared and started doing this twitchy, cavorting interpretive dance to my Scarlatti. It was horrific and hilarious. It’s a miracle I could play because I was shaking with laughter. I also don’t know how peacocks relate to a Winter Wonderland theme.

I finished the prelude and started packing up when another designer frantically rushed over, whispering loudly, “The bride’s coming and we don’t have any music! Quick! Play that Pachelbel thing!” So I started playing the Pachelbel thing . . . and the aisle started smoking. To this day, it is the only bridal entrance complimented by dry ice that I have witnessed. It was dramatic, and I have to say — it fit the occasion.

Fellow musicians: any great gig tales to share?

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