Best Years of Our Lives

SKU: GI.G-CD-988

UPC: 785147098829.

I am delighted to share with you these songs that are part of my own liturgical and musical journey.    � � Â Â Â Â Â Â   —Liam Lawton This compilation album from platinum recording artist Liam Lawton contains all of his most inspirational titles composed over the course of the last twenty years. These songs, sung in worship throughout the world, have touched the lives and hearts of so many—providing healing, solace, and hope. Each title is infused with Celtic spirit and illustrates the Liam's sincerity of faith. May the grace and spirit of The Best of Liam Lawton embrace and bless you with peace.

SKU: BC.407051

SKU: CF.SPS71

ISBN 9781491143544. UPC: 680160901043. Key: G minor.

Nordanvind is a tour de force symphonic rhapsody that is built on three Scandinavian folk songs. Composer Carl Strommen has composed these Viking-influenced melodies into a concert setting that brings out all of the history of the Scandinavian people. The piece is at times bold and aggressive, at other times beautiful. Carl employs all of the instrumental colors of the concert band to create a new work for more advanced ensembles.
Modern Scandinavians are descendants of the Vikings, an adventuresome people who were known for their love of the sea, their naval prowess, and as fierce fighters . The Scandinavian Vikings were warriors from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden who traded, raided and settled in various parts of Europe, Russia, the North Atlantic islands, and the northeastern coast of North America .Starting around 1850, over one million Swedes left their homeland for the United States in search of religious freedom and open farm land . Augustana College was founded in 1860 by graduates of Swedish universities and is located on the Mississippi River in Rock Island, Illinois . Home of the “Vikings,” Augustana College is the oldest Swedish- American institution of higher learning in the United States . This powerful and lively piece takes inspiration from Swedish history and from Swedish folk songs and hymns .Havsdrake (Dragon of the Sea)The Nordanvind or “North Wind” blows a cold wind during a journey of a group of courageous Viking rowers . The “Dragon-ship” or long ships designed for raiding and war was a sophisticated, fast ship able to navigate in very shallow water . To musically portray these magnificent seafaring vessels, the director is encouraged to use an Ocean Drum (or a rain stick) during the introduction . Wind players may consider blowing air through their instruments to suggest the North wind . Adding men’s voices to accompany the haunting low brass and percussive “rower” sounds can be helpful in creating the dark and ominous portrayal of Viking adventurers .Slangpolska efter Byss - KalleIn Sweden, a “polska” is a partner dance where the dancers spin each other (släng in Swedish “to sling or toss”) . Slangpolska efter Byss - Kalle is attributed to Byss-Kalle, who was a notable Swedish folk musician, specifically a nyckelharpa player . Slangpolska efter Byss - Kalle is a traditional “polska” dance song most often played on the Nyckelharpa or keyed fiddle and is commonly heard in pubs and at festive events throughout Sweden . Approximately 10,000 nyckelharpa players live in Sweden today, and the Swedish and the American Nyckelharpa Associations are dedicated to this Swedish National instrument . The director is encouraged to share video and audio examples of the nyckelharpa playing the original Slangpolska efter Byss - Kalle .Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara (Children of the Heavenly Father)Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara Is a traditional Swedish melody, possibly of German roots, and was believed to be arranged as a hymn by the Swedish hymn writer, Karolina Wilhelmina Sandell-Berg (1832–1903) . As a daughter of a Swedish Lutheran minister, she began writing poems as a teenager and is said to have written over 1,700 different texts . There are two different accounts as to the inspiration for this hymn . The first story is that Lina (as she was called) wrote the hymn to honor her father and to say thank you to him for raising her and protecting her . A second belief is of her witnessing the tragic death of her father . She and her father were on a boat, when a wave threw her father overboard . It was said that the profound effect of watching her father drown is what caused Lina to write the text to this hymn . Although this is a treasured song to people of Swedish descent everywhere, it speaks to all people about a father tending and nourishing his children, and protecting them from evil .SPS71FThe Augustana College Concert BandFounded in 1874, the Augustana Band program is one of the oldest continuously active collegiate band programs in the country . The Concert Band is one of two bands on campus and was formed more than thirty years ago . The Concert Band attracts students of every skill level and from a wide variety of majors . Students in the ensemble play a large part in choosing their music for performance, which include works from the standard repertoire, orchestral transcriptions, and the latest compositions from leading composers .Rick Jaeschke began his musical career as a clarinet player in the 1st US Army Band . He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Susquehanna University, a Masters of Music from James Madison University, and a doctorate from Columbia University in New York . He was also fortunate to study conducting with Donald Hunsburger and with Frederick Fennell .Dr . Jaeschke taught band and choir at Great Mills High School in Southern Maryland, and for fifteen years, he was the district Music Supervisor in Armonk, New York, where he taught high school concert and jazz bands, beginning band, and music technology . During that time, the music program flourished, and the high school band consistently received Gold Medals in the New York State Festivals, as well as in national, and international festivals . As a clarinet and saxophone player, Dr . Jaeschke performed in the New York metropolitan area with the Rockland Symphony Orchestra, the Putnam Symphony Orchestra, Fine Arts Symphony Orchestra, and served as the concert master for the Hudson Valley Wind Symphony .For several years, Dr . Jaeschke served as the Fine Arts Coordinator for the District 204 schools in Naperville, IL, a district selected as One of the Best 100 Schools in America for Music . Currently, Dr . Jaeschke is an Associate Professor at Augustana College where he teaches music and music education courses, and directs the Concert Band . He has served on various educational boards, is a National edTPA scorer, and has presented at state, national and international music conferences . He lives with his family in Bettendorf Iowa, and enjoys any opportunity to explore the open water in his sea kayak .

SKU: GI.G-10054

ISBN 9781622774548.

We all need creativity in our lives. It is key to our happiness. Music, according to author Clint Randles, is one of the best ways to feed our longing for self-growth through engagement in creative processes. And music brings us together for the purpose of making beauty with sound. It provides us with a pathway to the good life. In To Create, Randles answers the critical question: What can I do with my time that will give me the best chance at achieving daily happiness? This amazing book unpacks what it means to engage in creative processes. Since story is the best way of feeding our imagination, the book unfolds by way of life stories that express the author’s unique perspective of the hero’s journey. Along the way, Randles inspires us to think about creativity and music as a pursuit that is not only truly worthy, but accessible. He addresses rules for creative performance, what we can learn from exceptional musicians and teachers, the link between spirituality and creativity, understanding our own stories in light of the meta-story, and the art of trust and starting small. To Create is a book that is unlike anything written on the topic—entertaining , wise, inspiring, and layered. It is for anyone who is interested in pursuing creativity through music but can’t quite figure out how or where to start. States Randles: “It is my hope that you will be able to imagine the good life through music, that you will be inspired To Create!” Clint Randles, PhD, is Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of South Florida, husband, father, multi-instrumentalist, and passionate lover of music.   Full of resonating stories, To Create is a profoundly pedagogical book about potential pathways into life’s learnings through and in music. To Create seeks and embraces the value embodied in the multiple, individual, and sociocultural authoring of diverse creativities. By analogising the good life (‘eidaimonia� �), with lived-through experiences by which our desire (and drive) to create, to grow, to navigate, and to achieve extraordinary things in life is inextricably linked, Clint Randles stories his own journey of being awakened ‘To Create,’ by creating and living ‘the good life’ in and through the symbiotic domains of music and music education. —Pamela Burnard, Professor of Arts, Creativities and Educations     University of Cambridge, UK To Create is the rare achievement that seamlessly blends how-to curriculum with why-so philosophy, making the case that creative activity is an essential right that all children deserve from an education in music. Randles’ vivid illustrations prod us to think differently about teaching when well-being—when the good life—is both destination and design. —Randall Everett Allsup, Professor of Music Education     Teachers College Columbia University Randles takes readers on a real and figurative road trip during which he demonstrates how to live life to its fullest by embracing creativity and repeating a mantra of possibility. He shows us how the good life is achievable, walking readers through deeply personal accounts of creativity in everyday situations over a lifetime. This book binds the individual and cultural, imaginative and practical, tangible and intangible, light and dark, yin and yang. It’s all about the power of three, weaving through everything the vital, intangible element of spirituality, energy, chi to achieve eudaimonia. Through the lens of his experiences as a musician and teacher, the author celebrates relentlessness and hard work, providing a window into what it means to engage in the good life. Open that window to hear life’s call to adventure! —Gareth Dylan Smith, Assistant Professor of Music Education     Boston University Professor Randles’ stimulating book prompts memory of the seminal work of Joseph Schumpeter who suggested the importance of creative deconstruction in a democracy. Both authors focus on attaining the good life through a fuller understanding of the logic of the process of change—change that is driven by knowledgeable and innovative entrepreneurs. The immediate application of Randles’ suggested dynamic creativity processes applies to both teacher education and professional development, although both he and Schumpeter advance general ideas in creativity designed to achieve the highest level of human growth. —Richard Colwell, Professor Emeritus of Music Education     University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign In recent years, Aristotle’s concept of ‘Eudaimonia’ —meaning Happiness in the robust sense of full human flourishing (a life of joy, fellowship, self-growth, meaningfulness, ethical ‘good work,’ and more)—has entered and transformed the philosophy and practice of music education. To Create: Imagining the Good Life through Music is a highly original, emotional, practical, and exciting journey through the natures and values of creativity in/for music education and life itself. —David J. Elliott, Professor of Music and Music Education     New York University.