Christmas Celebration 2015 - A Review

If you are one of my Facebook friends (and in some cases, just a friend of a friend), you have seen at least some of the videos of piano arrangements of favorite Christmas carols that I recorded this year and referred to as my Christmas Celebration. Now that the project is over, I thought I should share some of details about the process as well as some lessons I learned.

How it all began....

While with my family over Thanksgiving break, several comments were made around the dinner table about how family members were going to miss hearing me play Christmas music during the holidays. I decided it would be fun to record a carol arrangement for each day leading up to Christmas to share with them on Facebook. When I returned home on November 30, I began the recording process.

Making the videos....

This project was originally intended for my family, so production value was not a primary concern. The videos were recorded in my piano studio at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas using the Camera app in my iPad. I literally balanced the iPad on a music stand, punched the record button and sat down to play. After getting an acceptable performance -- a daunting task at times -- I used the video editing capabilities found in the Pictures app in order to clean up the beginnings and endings of videos.

The plan was to daily upload videos to both Facebook and my YouTube channel. All 25 videos currently reside on YouTube for easy retrieval in the future.

What happened next was surprising.....

On December 1, I uploaded the first video to my Facebook account and explained what my plan was for the month in this initial post. I expected this video (an arrangement of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing) would have 75 total views or so. As the day progressed, I watched the view count climb. By that evening, the video had been viewed over 1,600 times. Facebook friends were thrilled for me and expressed their excitement for this project. (When I compiled the final tally of total views on December 26, this initial video had over 2,600 views.....the highest viewed posting of the project!)

With so many views, I quickly realized that this project had the potential for reaching a large audience and I wanted to give the best performances I could. In order to use the best instrument available -- the Steinway grand in my office -- all recordings needed to be completed before leaving Plainview for the holidays on December 14.

The final results.....

On December 26, I revisited each video on Facebook and YouTube to determine the total number of views. During the 25 days of my Christmas Celebration, I had 14,956 views! (Incidentally, 1,347 of those views happened on December 24 and 25.)

Because I enjoy looking at statistics, I could not resist determining which videos were most popular. The top 5 videos of this year's project based on number of views were

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (posted 12/1) - 2,626 views
2. Grown Up Christmas List (posted 12/4 in memory of victims of San Bernadino terrorist attack) - 1,066 views
3. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (posted 12/3) - 1,021 views
4. Away in a Manger (posted 12/5) - 724 views
5. O Holy Night (posted 12/24) - 677 views

What I learned from the project....

• Recording and editing takes a lot of time! Even though I was just using apps on my iPad, the recording process ate up a lot of my spare time. I will definitely allow more time when planning future projects.
• Consistency is vital. While driving home to Arkansas, I experienced some technological difficulties that prohibited me from posting at my normal time. My Facebook account was flooded with questions about when the next post would appear. People had gotten used to a routine and noticed when things did not happen as scheduled. I quickly stopped at a rest area, cleaned up my profile of the questions, and posted a statement that the day's video would be delayed until I arrived at home.
• Sharing videos greatly expands the reach of social media. My profile is public, so anyone can see what I post there. However, as family and friends began to share the videos on their own timelines, my audience grew immensely. I began to receive friend requests from people who had seen the videos on a mutual friend's page and wanted to make sure they didn't miss any of the fun. I had not asked anyone to share the videos...but I'm certainly glad they did! The more people viewing the videos, the more fun the experience became.
• Comments and likes are very encouraging. As I reached the middle of the project, I began to get tired and wondered if people were beginning to get annoyed with the volume of posts I was making. It was great to hear encouraging comments from friends I haven't spoken with in years, letting me know how much they were enjoying the daily videos. I tried to reply to as many of these comments and messages as I could, but I quickly realized it would demand all of my time to do so.

Where do we go from here?

This has been the question I have been asked repeatedly in the days since the Christmas Celebration ended. Are you going to do this again next year? Will you post something throughout the year? Some of these are easier to answer than others. Let's see if I can provide some answers now.

• Will I do another Christmas Celebration? Plans are already underway for the Christmas Celebration 2016. I had a lot of fun recording the music and sharing the holiday spirit with friends near and far. The videos were repeatedly referred to as a Christmas gift and I want to give the gift again next year. My intention at this time is to offer 25 new arrangements (although you may hear some of the same carols) to keep things fresh.
• Will I continue to record throughout the year? This is still up in the air. Offering Christmas videos is possible because it comes during a slower time in my academic life. I'm not ready to hang up my video hat entirely though. I am considering posting videos -- featuring hymn arrangements as well as Classical repertoire -- each month. Bear with me as I figure out how (and if) this is a realistic goal.
• Do I take requests? Sure! I'll gladly take suggestions of carols or hymns you would like to hear recorded. I just don't promise that I'll necessarily do them. It depends if I can find a nice arrangement that speaks to me musically.

Beyond that, I don't know a lot more. I'm considering posting the videos on my blog site instead of to my personal Facebook account. I'm checking into obtaining microphones and cameras to improve the quality of the videos. An audio recording (that often-requested CD) is not entirely off the radar. At this point, I'm just enjoying the process of sharing my music with friends and family near and far. Thanks for being a part of the 2015 edition of the Christmas Celebration. If you have ideas that you think might be helpful for future projects, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

Posted with Blogsy

New Christmas Favorites - Day 4

Today I spent some time surfing YouTube.com and accidentally stumbled across a series of videos known as the Forgotten Carols.  I had a great time listening to these and getting to know some songs I had never heard before.  I struggled to decide which to feature here, but finally settled upon Handel's Dream for my readers who are musicians.  Technically, the piece is more melodrama than song, but stick with it.....I think you'll enjoy the story!

If you have a chance, take a look at some of the other videos in the series.  I especially recommend I Cry When I Take the Tree Down and He's Not My Son. 

How awesome would it have been to have auditioned for the angelic chorus as this young cherub did!  I love this story....and hope you will too!
Kennith

New Christmas Favorites - Day 3

Okay, I know this piece does not qualify as "new" by any stretch of the imagination.  However, after a long absence, Gabrieli's O Magnum Mysterium has returned to my musical life and I am enjoying the beautiful harmonic progressions and excitement. 

New Christmas Favorites - Day 2

This year, the music ministry of the church that I serve decided to introduce Paul Baloche's worship song Offering during the Christmas season.  The opening verse contained here was a special addition for the holiday.  This month the song has found its way into all of our services and has become a bit of a personal anthem for me.  Like the shepherds and wise men of long ago, may we each bring what we have to give and place it at the feet of the child in the manger who is now Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Joy and Peace to you all!
Kennith

New Christmas Favorites - Day 1

Believe it or not, I'm actually back to some writing.  It feels good to be back among the land of the bloggers.....hopefully you noticed that I had disappeared for a while.

Much of my life recently has been devoted to Christmas music in all of its various guises.  I have discovered some new music and became reacquainted with some forgotten treasures.  This week, I would like to share some of my favorite Christmas songs.  To get things started, here's Amy Grant's I Need a Silent Night.  As you scramble to finish all of your holiday preparations, I pray that you will find some time to quietly reflect on the true reason we celebrate - the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!
Kennith

Reflections on Recording

Last week, I spent an afternoon at the piano in the sanctuary of my church to record two CDs. I have been through the process a few years ago, but this time it involved a different setting and a different production team. Here are a few things that I have learned about myself, recording, and music.

First, I am a huge critic of myself. Regardless of whether we are talking about my writing, playing, relationships, or leadership skills, I can always see where things could be improved drastically. On one hand, this is a great asset because I am constantly pushing myself to new levels of excellence in everything I do. On the other hand, my perfectionism can be crippling -- never allowing me to accept that anything is good enough. I cannot count the tasks that I have left undone because I couldn't execute them in the manner in which I wanted.

The recording session reminded me of the importance of practice. For various reasons, the repertoire selection process for these CDs was delayed a bit longer than I would have liked. This resulted in learning some of the passages rather quickly and figuring out how to navigate them musically. While the performances might be acceptable in a public performance, it drives me CRAZY to hear the errors----er, shortcuts---repeatedly on the recording.

I'm not going to continue blogging an evaluation of my playing right now. I have to do some more critical listening to the CDs and don't want to become overcritical of myself at this juncture. Once the entire process is complete, I will probably write a bit more about it.

Selecting the Christmas Musical

It's July, so that means it's time to begin the search for this year's Christmas musical for the church job. It is insanely early to begin thinking about Frosty and the gang, but I have learned from experience that a selection needs to be made by the end of August in order to keep stress levels to a minimum. With the selections that I have seen in the catalogs this year, I am not expecting great things and anticipate that the selection process will be more difficult than in years past.

What makes a good Christmas musical? The answer to that question can be as varied as the noses on all the music directors in the world! Since this is MY blog, I'll give you my ideas of what I'm looking for. Some of these will hopefully be common to most of us; the other ideas will at least get you thinking. So, in no particular order, here are my considerations for finding the perfect Christmas musical for kids.

1. Theologically sound. I do believe this is the most important issue in selecting any type of music for your children's program. While most of the musicals we will review appear to be rather basic in their presentation of Biblical truths, a thoughtful examination of the script and lyrics will normally reveal some theological stances in the background. It is important to make sure that these positions are in agreement with the statement of beliefs of your local congregation. For instance, if a musical builds on the assumption of eternal security and your congregation does not take this stance on salvation, this is probably not the selection for you. I make it a practice to have a team of teachers review the finalists in the selection process to make sure everything is sound before I make a final choice.

2. Casting requirements. This seems like an obvious consideration, but I cannot tell you the number of times that I have heard from music directors that they started rehearsals for a program only to find out that they didn't have enough participants to bring it to stage. If you have worked with the kids for any length of time, you have a good idea of whether a kid will "definitely" participate or whether you should classify him as a "maybe" or a "no way." I generally don't pre-cast my shows (selecting people for roles before all the commitments are made), but I do come up with a possible -- and realistic -- cast list based upon who participated in my last show. This doesn't mean that you won't run into trouble with casting (a fact that was obvious with the last musical I did), but it can help to rule out some shows simply on the basis that you can't cast it. I don't want to waste my time looking at a musical for 30 kids when I can only be assured of a cast of 15.

3. Musically interesting. The music needs to be interesting to me as well as to the children. If I'm bored with the show -- even on the first hearing -- I'll have problems during the creative process and the final production will be flat and unexciting. Similarly, if the kids don't find the music energizing, you are going to have a difficult time getting them to stick with you for the long haul of preparing the production.

4. Unit Set. A musical that changes scenes is a logistical nightmare unless you have a committed crew of stage hands. Even if you have the bodies who are willing to do this job, but have no experience with it, I still recommend moving to the next show! You will have enough on your hands preparing the children during production week; you don't want the added stress of trying to train stage hands on the intricate choreography of making scene transitions work smoothly. Look for musicals that use a single setting for the entire story. The best scenarios are those that are in "generic" spaces -- a choir room, gym, classroom -- since your stage can easily be decorated to suggest these places without having to bring in a lot of props.

There is an exception to the preference for unit sets. If a scene change can be suggested by bringing in a couple of small set pieces and changes to the lighting, I would be willing to do it. When in doubt, let your motto for set design always be K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, Stupid!) In the end, you'll be glad that you did!

5. Applicable to modern society. While there are some wonderful musicals from the past that I greatly enjoyed as a child, many of them simply will not translate to today's kids. The music sounds dated, the topics are archaic, and they don't address issues in a kid's life. While we are looking to produce good theater, as a church director our first priority is (or at least SHOULD be) ministry to kids. If the story and the message aren't going to speak to kids, then it's not a show on which we need to invest our ministry time; leave that production for the Community Youth Theater down the road.

6. FUN! Even though this is the last thing on my list, it's importance is very high on the list. If the show is not FUN, kids aren't going to get excited about it and you'll spend the majority of your time trying to pump up the kids rather than working on making the show the best it can be.

There are some ways that you can increase the fun level for any show. Movement is an obvious choice. Start small and simple, but be ready to let it all out. My kids LOVE to dance while singing.....and it keeps the show's energy HIGH the whole way through. Don't forget about bringing in props or costumes that will make the kids laugh as well. The most important key to a FUN show, however, is YOU! Your advance preparation is crucial so you are confident and relaxed in the rehearsal process, allowing you to smile and play with the kids when things are getting tough for them.

This list is not intended to be all-inclusive. The fact of the matter is that my requirements will change depending upon the congregation with which I'm working. As you prayerfully review the options, you'll find the show that is right for you.

*If you are looking for a Christmas show, make sure you don't miss this budget helper! Lifeway Stores have an offer of 5 preview paks for $25. You'll want to take a look at the choral catalog in the store and find the full page ad before making your selections. Sadly, the offer is limited to titles that are on the shelves and doesn't apply to all the paks. My experience yesterday was that the associates were unaware of the offer, so take the choral catalog with you to the register; once you show it to them, they are happy to help.

Let the holidays begin!

Kennith