As I think about how everything lined up for this trip, I can trace God's hand back to 2008. It would be easy to write it off as pure coincidence but I believe like an intricate piece of music every note and rest is placed purposely on the page by the hand of the Composer. In 2008 my sister, who directs a youth choir, asked if I had an arrangement she could use that year for her choir tour. I agreed to write an arrangement of "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." I have always been drawn to the song and was excited to work on a new setting for SATB choir, piano and cello. About a year later I made a connection with Mark Hayes when he came to my church to do a choral festival. Mark took me on as a student and we worked on several pieces to submit to different publishing companies. I never thought that my arrangement of "I Have Decided" would ever get picked up. There have been numerous arrangements of that piece and what would make mine stand out? In 2010 Lorenz accepted the arrangement for publication and it was released in 2011. This was the first of many I would get published in the years to come. The piece has had a major significance to me as I felt this was God's way of affirming my writing and also reminding me of the purpose for my music. The youth choir my sister directs, Esprit de corps from Lincoln Berean Church, used the piece again last year as part of their tour. Check out the Youtube video of one of the performances. The same year this arrangement came out I saw a post on a Church Music Discussion board I belong to from Chris Monroe. He was asking for recommendations for a composer who he could commission to write a piece for the retirement of the organist at his church. I felt this prodding from God to email Chris. Since I only had one piece in print I never thought Chris would even know who I was. His response caught me totally off guard. He had used "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" and was familiar with my writing. I could have never imagined this would be the first connection I would have with the Asian Christian College of Music. Chris was one of the founders and patrons of the college which started.... you guessed it in 2011.
Well like any good story, here is where I will leave you for the time being, a bit of a cliff hanger. There is more to the story but I have promised myself I will not make these posts too long so you will have to come back to get "the rest of the story" to borrow a phrase from Paul Harvey. Until next time! Kevin
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It is official. I am headed to India this summer. I booked an airline ticket to a city I had never heard of and could not begin to pronounce. No kidding, I literally googled "how to pronounce Thiruvananthapuram" and spent 30 minutes trying to parrot what I heard. The good news, I can now say the name with only one or two stumbles. The goal is to speak it fluently by the time I fly out on July 14th. I am excited, nervous and a little scared to embark on what I know will be an amazing experience. I am humbled that God has given me this opportunity. In the months leading up to my departure, I will share how God orchestrated it all and the process I will go through to prepare. Once I am India bound, I will use this blog to keep everyone update on what I am up to and also to create a permanent record of my time there. For the 5 or 6 of you that will be following this blog, I will try to keep it entertaining as well as informative. I should start by explaining exactly what I will be doing in India. For three weeks (from July 18th to August 5th) I will be teaching music classes and meeting with students one on one at the Asian Christian College of Music. The college offers a Bachelors, Associates and one year Diploma in music performance. I will be teaching western music to Indian students. Thrivananthapuram is a modern city and capital of Kerala. I will have classrooms equipped the same as you would find at any college here in the states. That's right... I won't be teaching in a mud hut somewhere in the middle of India. I will be on the coast in the southern tip of the country. Check out the map. I am looking forward to meeting the students and the colleagues I will work alongside. A trip like this was never on my radar but I know this is exactly where God would have me this summer and that is enough for me!
The next step: Apply for a visa and get the required shots for the journey. Until next time! Kevin |
INDIA 2016
This blog will journal my experiences as I prepare to go overseas this July and teach at the Asian Christian College of Music in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in India. Archives
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