Sweet Is the Work is one of my favorite hymns. It’s powerful, optimistic message speaks of the joy that we can feel when we serve God and keep his commandments. This arrangement is in trio form. Along with my arrangement of I Need Thee Every Hour, it’s intended to be easier to learn than many of… Read More Sweet Is the Work (Douglass)
Each year the Church sponsors a music submission. The purpose of this submission, according to the Church’s website, is to “encourage the development of musical talent and to bring new musical works to light.” Last year I decided to submit a couple of pieces to the submission and was a little surprised that one of… Read More My Heavenly Father Loves Me
The nation of Wales, part of the United Kingdom, is famous for its love of music. Its music culture has greatly influenced our music as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My wife and I recently visited Wales and heard an excellent Welsh men’s choir perform at a Methodist church. At… Read More Postlude on “Aberystwyth”
I recently attended the national convention of the American Guild of Organists. It was the first time I had attended such a gathering and I looked forward to seeing what I might learn. My busy work schedule did not allow me to attend every day of the convention, but the days I attended were excellent.… Read More Mentorship
Let’s talk about a sensitive subject – failure. Failure is a part of life. All of us have experienced it and, most likely, none of us enjoy it. Failure can hurt at a deep emotional level and, depending on how badly we think we failed, the hurt can take a long time to heal. Failure… Read More Failure Is a Good Thing!
Some people change your life. I’ve been fortunate in that most of those people have changed it for the good. Those people have far outnumbered those who have been a negative influence, thank goodness! Some people have been a positive influence in my life for years. One of these is my first organ teacher, who… Read More I Need Thee Every Hour (Need)
Here is a setting of the well-known hymn tune Duke Street. In my church it is sung to a text by Isaac Watts called “From All That Dwell Below the Skies”. Many other churches use a different poem by Watts called “Jesus Shall Reign” for the same melody. Regardless of the text, the hymn is… Read More From All That Dwell Below the Skies (Duke Street)
Recently we went adventuring. Here’s quick report of our recent travels. Vacation 1: The Stuart family recently went on a vacation. We chose to do a cruise. We sailed out of a dirty, nasty city and had to walk around the trash and the people passed out on the streets. Just getting to our room… Read More A Tale of Two Vacations
This is a fugal setting of the hymn “An Angel from on High” (tune name Cumorah). It’s more advanced than most of my compositions, but it’s doable with good practice techniques. I hope that you can find it useful in your service to the Lord. An Angel from on High — PDF Download the audio… Read More An Angel from on High (Cumorah)
Let me make this clear: the organ is my instrument. That being said, I respectfully (and sometimes begrudgingly) acknowledge that other musical genres exist. One of my favorites is the male chorus. The sound of men singing together can be subtle, powerful, and inspirational. As a lover of church history, I value the early converts… Read More Jesus, Once of Humble Birth (Male Chorus)
The Organ Is Praise 