Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Nov 2, 2012
Don’t worry, I’m not planning to post re: US presidential politics here… but I did think I would appropriate Obama’s 2008 rallying cry (which he, in turn, appropriated from someone else – eg: Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers and, I’m sure, others – as a good songwriter/communicator should)… since it so perfectly reflects what many would feel to be an “audaciously hopeful” claim – that “small and tall” really can worship together. Long-time readers of this blog will know that this is at the core of “what I do,” and that, by a “long and winding road” (to quote yet another songwriter/communicator), I have a particular vocation for writing “songs of faith for small and tall,” helping families and congregations find ways to sing our faith together. I have become so used to this that I sometimes don’t realize just how “audacious” this really is for many people. This was brought home to me a couple of weeks ago, when Julie and I led some sessions (including Sunday morning worship) at a congregational retreat. We have been married for (dare I say it?) 20 years, and have done many things together, but it has been quite a while since we have worked together intensively as co-leaders of sessions like this. Julie is a gifted teacher, with years of experience in Christian education settings, primary classrooms, and now running a piano studio with students ranging from 4 to 74 years old. While we have very different personalities and planning/leading styles, we very much enjoyed the experience of working together and leading these sessions. Judging from the enthusiastic feedback (we’ve already been invited to a similar role at next year’s retreat), the congregation enjoyed it too. Can we worship together, in ways that engage and speak meaningfully to “small and tall” alike? Yes we can! (I’m going to add this as a new offering and “performance option” from SmallTall Music – for Julie and I to jointly lead all-ages, interactive sessions for congregational retreats. We’re looking forward to doing this more often – if this is something that you and your congregation has been looking for, please give us a call or send us a...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Oct 2, 2012
Last week I went into Barnside Studios just outside of town to record a couple of songs for a documentary film that is being made about a number of doctors who have been practicing family medicine in Stouffville for many, many years. It was an honour to be asked to contribute to this project by Jane Philpott, who is one of the “driving forces” behind the initiative. I wrote one new song, from the perspective of one of the doctors interviewed for the film, and the other song is an instrumental acoustic guitar piece. It was a pleasure working with the guys at “Fine Enough Records” (who run Barnside Studios) – they’ve put together a really nice facility. and do a good job. I’m looking forward to seeing (and hearing) the documentary once it’s...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Sep 27, 2012
It’s a new season for SmallTall Music. For the first time in half a dozen years or so I am not planning an extended fall tour. What’s going on? Over the past while we have come to the conclusion that I should go back to the original vision for SmallTall Music as a sustainable, long-term, “part-time” ministry. This means seeking other part-time work to supplement our family income, while continuing the musical vocation on a more part-time basis. Bi-vocational ministry, in other words. As a result, I will not be touring at the same rhythm as I have been for the past 6 years or so (when I have typically done a month-long tour each spring and fall, as well as shorter ones here and there). I will still do some long-distance touring, but not at the same pace. My closer-to-home musical involvements and availability remains unchanged – I expect that the shift from “full-time” to “part-time” will mostly affect the long-distance touring schedule, and a somewhat slower pace for ongoing writing and recording projects. You can see my fall performance schedule (so far) here – and feel free, of course, to contact me if you’d like to explore setting up a visit to your community! So what about the other “part-time?” Well – for the month of August I was driving a corn-delivery truck for Rouge River Farms, delivering local corn to grocery stores in the Greater Toronto Area. And as of the beginning of September I’ve been working at the Reesor Farm Kitchen here in Stouffville as… get this… a baker! That’s right – I get up in the morning and typically make 24 dozen muffins or so by 8:30 am… and then it’s on to cookies and pies, sometimes brownies or rhubarb coffee cake… (they haven’t started me on the bread-making yet, but that will come…) “A little bit of yeast makes the whole dough rise…” So I find myself revising the old nursery rhyme to fit my current bi-vocational status… “a driver, a baker, a songs-of-faith maker”… In many ways this feels like another mode of “community supported music” – folks in the community prepared to give me a job (and who are flexible and understanding regarding scheduling, as I combine this work with my ongoing music ministry). I am grateful. Just to be clear – this is not a “turning away” from my musical vocation. If anything, I believe this transition is a way to make it stable and sustainable, hopefully for a long time to come. There continue to be plenty of musical projects on the go… Keep checking this space (and/or join the SmallTall Music e-mail list on the right-hand column of this website), and I’ll be keeping you...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Aug 30, 2012
Here are a few recent links that feature my music: You’ll find a new article from the Sojourners blog about my music here. This was based on an interview-and-lunch conversation with Lisa Daughtry-Weiss of Sojourners, just after the “Children, Youth, and a New Kind of Christianity” conference in Washington, D.C. last May, where I co-planned and co-led the worship sessions. There are now several free podcasts posted of some of the plenary speakers from that conference (Brian McLaren, John Westerhoff). My song “New World Coming” (from the “Detectives of Divinity” album, and the “New World Coming” compilation album) is used as the intro and outro “theme music” for the podcasts. There are also some videos from the same conference, featuring words from folks from all over, many of whom I also had the pleasure of meeting (Dave Csinos, Shane Claiborne, Joy Carol Wallis, Melvin Bray, Brian McLaren, Ivy Beckwith, Danielle Shroyer, Joey Mitchell, Rachelle Martin, and others)… with the sounds of “Take Good Care” (from the “My Money Talks” album, and the new compilation as well) weaving in and out… What a time it was… so good to see those faces and hear those voices and know that the conversations are continuing all...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Jul 18, 2012
25 years ago Chuck Neufeld did a concert at my high school, and blew me away, and got me thinking that maybe I could write songs that others could sing along to. I spent countless hours hitting “fast forward” and “re-wind” and wearing out cassette tapes (yes, those), learning to play many of his songs. In the next few years, Chuck Neufeld joined Bruce Cockburn as the two musicians that impacted me the most at that time, as I went to as many concerts as I could, and listened and learned as much as I could, from both of them. Who would have guessed that a quarter century later I’d have a chance to do a series of concerts together with him? (with Chuck, that is… haven’t had a chance yet to perform with Bruce… GRIN…) What an inspirational time it was – not just to play and sing with Chuck, but also to enjoy his and Bonnie’s hospitality, and to hear much wisdom from so many years of ministry-infused-with-music in so many intriguing ways. It was particularly amazing to me to see how, in his current role as “conference minister” in Illinois, the songs he has written (and continues to write) have so obviously been embraced and treasured by the community(ies) that he serves and gently leads. Every concert was different, but in each one we had “solo” sets and then played some songs together. Although we sang different songs each time (and learned some of each other’s newer material), we began each joint set with “My Voice Alone” – an old Pete Seeger song that Chuck adapted (“One Man’s Hands,” by Pete Seeger and Alex Comfort), and that I recorded on my first solo CD. There’s quite a story (many stories, actually) behind that song as well, and its many adaptations (including how it almost had to be dropped from my CD, until I received a hand-written permission note from Pete Seeger himself, just in the nick of time). I may tell that story here sometime as well. But, for now, suffice it to say that it was quite an experience to be able to sing together – and with that song in particular, I felt like I was singing with two of my biggest musical heroes and influences at the same time. Two people who are among the very best at expressing profound things in simple and powerful ways that young and old can sing together. My voice alone can’t sing a song of peace Your voice alone can’t sing a song of peace But if two and two and fifty make a million We’ll see this world come ’round We’ll see this world come...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Jun 27, 2012
How are we formed by the stories we tell and the songs we sing? Do the stories/songs matter? I think they do, and over the past few weeks I’ve seen some vivid examples of this process in action. In fact, seeing “how it’s done” at The Alamo in Texas gave me some new eyes to see “how it’s being done” right here in Stouffville, Ontario. The second-to-last stop on my spring USA tour was in San Antonio – home of “The Alamo.” As a Canadian prairie boy whose first decade of life coincided with the 70s, I have a mental picture from our black and white TV of some guy with a rifle and strange ‘coonskin cap and a little ditty (which I can still sing) “Daveeeey, Davey Crockett, king of the wild frontier!” I’m familiar with the phrase “remember the Alamo!” having something to do with being brave and bracing yourself to face impossible odds in a hopeless situation (“last stand”) of some kind. And that’s about all I knew, until a few weeks ago. Spending a couple of hours at the Alamo site in San Antonio is a tremendous education in how history itself can be enlisted to form identity, character, and behaviour in powerful ways. The Alamo is called a “Shrine” (with a capital “S”) and a “sacred place” (“Welcome to the Alamo, the Shrine of Texas liberty.”) Colonel William Travis’ “Victory or Death” letter from within the besieged Alamo, calling for reinforcements (“I shall never surrender or retreat… the Lord is on our side…” – Feb 24, 1836) Guides in period costume, explaining and demonstrating everything from weapons to medical techniques to games played by soldiers of the time. The (historically uncertain) story of Travis taking his sword and “drawing a line in the sand” has become familiar language denoting bravery and resolve and decisiveness in any conflict. So many ways of drawing us into the story, with the sense that we continue to be not only heirs of this legacy (“freedom vs. tyranny”!) but participants in the ongoing struggle (“When Colonel Travis called for reinforcements, you’re exactly who he had in mind… Cross the line. Join the Allies of The Alamo today…”) I didn’t get a picture of it, but in the gift shop I jotted down over 30 different kinds of “take-home” items commemorating The Alamo – everything from keychains, mugs, and postcards to movies and toys and dolls and cardboard cut-out model sets to re-enact the siege at home. In one corner of the gift shop there was a movie trailer playing (“Alamo: The Price of Freedom”) – another vivid example of what I’m talking about. As a songwriter for the church, who cares deeply about the songs we sing and the stories we tell and how they help to form us, I found all of this fascinating. And having rolled past...
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