The Music Director of a congregation where I’ve shared my music and led services is planning a Hymn Sing,
featuring the music of UU composers. She asked me to write something about my music, to share in the program:
“Singing is my spiritual practice, an intentional response to Life. Sometimes the response is silence, listening for what needs to be sung, to recreate harmony. Song-writing is an act of love, a collaboration with the mystery, always yearning to be known.
“All my songs arise in their own way from this conversation with the Deep Self. Sometimes I ask for something specific, like a song that will see me safely through (e.g., “Safe Passage” or the new “Metta,” Loving Kindness song). When I asked for a song for my own memorial service, I heard ‘I Know This Rose.’
“When my discursive analytical mind tries to shape a song, it sounds pedantic. My task is to listen, record what I hear and then translate it into time signatures, keys, tempo, piano arrangement.
“I never know when a song will come through. And my deepest intention is to keep open to the One that sings through me.”
Thanks for asking!