Reflections on the Sing Conference 2023
A month ago I had no idea I’d be meeting Mr. Keith Getty in the flesh! EEEEK!!!
The Sing Conference 2023 was a life changing event. Let me tell you about it!
Earlier this month I hopped on a plane and went to Nashville for a few days. The day before my flight I was having my usual doubts: “Will this be worth it? What if I get awkward around people? What if I get lost in the city? What if I can’t find FOOD???” Thankfully, the moment I got on that plane, all these doubts went away and I started feeling like a teenager on her way to summer camp.
As soon as I landed in Nashville, I could smell it in the air – this was indeed Music City, USA. For example, there were numerous musical instruments on display in all airport hallways. And when I arrived in downtown Nashville, there were live performances in every restaurant near my hotel! The city was vibrant to say the least! (and sometimes too loud for my sensitive ears, ha!)
But the real excitement was yet to start. The main purpose of my Nashville trip was to attend the Sing Conference hosted by modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty.
The Sing Conference was truly life changing. Check out this video to get a quick taste! For three whole days we sang, we sang, and then we sang some more. It was a glimpse of heaven when we will be singing God’s praise forevermore in perfect harmony. I want you to close your eyes and imagine all of God’s children singing your favorite hymn before God’s throne. Oh, what a day that will be! Here I am, three weeks later, and I’m still singing the music from the conference. I can’t wait to write piano arrangements to all these new hymns!
Ok, we didn’t just sing for three days straight 😂 We also had the opportunity to hear speakers share their wisdom, singers share their latest original music, and poets delighting our ears with their words. Some of my favorite speakers included Jeremy Begbie and Andy Crouch. I was already familiar with their work, having read many of their books in college and grad school. But seeing them speak and perform in person was a million times better than highlighting memorable quotes in a printed book.
As far as congregational singing goes, the Getty songwriting team (Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Matt Merker, Matt Papa, and Matt Boswell) introduced us to their brand new repertoire of modern hymns, including Come Unto Jesus, All My Boast Is In Jesus, Our God Will Go Before Us (my favorite!) and God of Every Grace. Moreover, they featured many other Christian artists such as Laura Story, Sandra McCraken, Chris Tomlin, Shane and Shane.
Here are my main take-aways from this year’s Sing conference:
1. People still love to sing hymns! It was so encouraging to come together with over 8000 people, singing our hearts out on classics such as “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” and brand new hymns written by members of the Getty songwriting team. Check out their latest releases here (this is not an ad, I’m just super duper excited about this new music!)
2. Children should memorize hymns (alongside scripture, of course). But why also focus on hymns and not just stick to scripture? What’s the value of poetry and music in the context of raising the next generation of faithful servants? In the words of Phil Vischer (quoted by someone at the conference, but I don’t remember who exactly) – “Music makes truth sticky.”
3. Our primary job is to carefully curate the existing repertoire of hymns. In other words, when we choose hymns to sing with our congregation and with our families, we ought to be very careful in how we make those selections. How can these hymns serve my congregation or my family? How will they encounter God in the present moment and in the future when their memory will bring this hymn to the forefront? In a world where you can find anything you want at the tap of a button, we ought to improve on our ability to discern and curate our church’s and our family’s singing repertoire.
Will I see you at next year’s conference? I surely hope so! :)
Thank you for taking the time to read!
In Christ,
Raluca
👇 PIANO ALBUM 👇
Track Listing:
1. In Christ Alone
2. As the Deer
3. How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
4. Because He Lives
5. The Power of the Cross
6. He Will Hold Me Fast
7. There Is a Redeemer
8. Christ Our Hope In Life and Death
9. Before the Throne of God Above
10. Wonderful, Merciful Savior
👇 PIANO SHEET MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS – ADVANCED AND EARLY INTERMEDIATE👇
Speaking of modern hymns, I have a number of piano arrangement sheet music available for digital download, both early-intermediate and advanced. You won’t find me here on my website because the process of obtaining the necessary licenses is… quite difficult, to say the least. BUT!!! You can find them on musicnotes.com (they conveniently handle all licenses on our behalf, woohoo!!)
Check out these musicnotes listings by yours truly:
ADVANCED PIANO SHEET MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS
• In Christ Alone
• Christ Our Hope In Life and Death
• He Will Hold Me Fast
• Speak, O Lord
• How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
• The Power of the Cross
EARLY INTERMEDIATE PIANO SHEET MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS
• In Christ Alone
• Christ Our Hope In Life and Death
• He Will Hold Me Fast
• The Lord Is My Salvation
