About the Conference

The Conference for Church Musicians is held each summer at the beautiful Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin. For one week during the month of July (12-19, 2008) church musicians involve themselves in all types of music making. Nationally known clinicians are brought in to work with our conferees in the following areas: Adult Choral, Young Adult Choral (ages 18 to 25), Youth Choral (grades 8 - 12), Handbells (beginning, intermediate and advanced), Children (entering grades 3 - 7, choral and handbell), Instrumental (Orchestra, brass ensemble, woodwinds, flute ensemble, fretted instruments), Piano & Organ (technique and literature), and Worship.

The Adult Choir is usually made up of around 250 voices and sings choral literature ranging from classical settings to more contemporary styles. The Adult Choir is featured in concert during Friday evenings closing musical celebration. The Youth Choir generally has around 120 voices, and it is an inspiration to hear them perform. It is a thrill to hear young people from all over the nation join together in singing music to the Glory of God. The Handbell program is always exciting and it offers a tremendous learning opportunity for those who wish to learn more about the art of ringing handbells. "Hands-on" instruction and help with the newest bell techniques are offered in the bell program. The Children's Chorus and Handbell Ensembles are always exciting to hear. The choir usually numbers around 50 singers, and they sing a wide variety of children's literature. Our Instrumental program has been expanding during the past few years and is a very exciting part of our conference. You are heartily encouraged to bring your instrument(s) with you to the conference and are encouraged to play in the conference orchestra. There are instrumental ensembles for almost any type of interest, and you will find that some ensembles simply "evolve" during the week. Concentrated study in Organ technique and literature are offered throughout the week. There is ample opportunity for "hands-on" instruction in this area including organ registration and service playing. Most importantly, our study of Worship and how it impacts our lives and the lives of our churches is a very important aspect of the Conference for Church Musicians. We bring in a clinician with the sole responsibility of challenging us in the area of worship. New thoughts, trends, and current directions in contemporary worship are discussed in thoughtful detail with the aim of creating a better understanding and practice of worship in our churches. For a listing of the performances and their times, check out the Celebration web page.

Conferees are encouraged to sign up for a number of other training workshops designed to further educate and train those involved in church music leadership. An example of some workshops we have offered before are as follows: Choral conducting (beginning through advanced), Worship planning and preparation, Children’s Choir observation, Youth Choir observation, Current directions in worship for the 21st Century, Midi and the church, Piano Literature Repertoire, Vocal Literature, Musicals and Collections, Solving Choral Problems, as well as many others.

There are a number of music publisher reading sessions offered throughout the week. These sessions offer our conferees a wide cross section of newly printed choral music. Some of the recent publishers represented are: Hinshaw, Hope, Beckenhorst, and Hal Leonard.

The Conference for Church Musicians is one of the outstanding music conferences held in North America. And the Green Lake Conference Center grounds are a setting that is unmatched in its beauty and peacefulness. We hope you will consider making the Conference for Church Musicians a part of your musical experience for the summer of 2008 and beyond.