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Annual Meeting MinutesJune 28-29, 2002 PSALM's second Annual Meeting took place on Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29, at St. Vladimir's Seminary directly following the Summer Institute. St. Vladimir's was a very gracious host for the second year in a row, providing housing, meals and meeting rooms for PSALM's board members, members and guests. Twenty people from around the U.S. participated in the sessions, held in the auditorium of the new Rangos Building. The following board and staff members were present: V. Rev. Fr. Sergei Glagolev, Honorary Chairman OPENING REMARKS Bishop BASIL (Essey) Falling under the topic of Administration, President Morosan introduced PSALM's new Honorary Chairman, The Very Rev. Fr. Sergei Glagolev, and Executive Director, Valerie Yova Sheets. Valerie was hired on June 1, 2002, after a six-month professional search. In his remarks, Fr. Sergei reminded those assembled that PSALM's roots are in the past. He showed us an all-English prayer book that was published in the early 1940s for Orthodox servicemen through a pan-Orthodox effort. His remarks paid tribute to those who were committed to Orthodox unity, especially those who made the first efforts to bring Orthodox musicians together in the last half of the 20th Century. PSALM Executive Director, Valerie Yova Sheets, spoke about her vision for PSALM and Orthodox music in America. Below are several excerpts from her remarks: "I envision a time when the music in every parish, no matter how large or small, is as important as it should be; a time when liturgical music sung beautifully, prayerfully, appropriately, and accurately is the norm rather than the exception, and when the bar is set high. I envision a time when the priest and the musicians in every parish work together as a team, combining their professional expertise and skills in leading worship and proclaiming the Gospel. I envision a time when the music of the Church is SO important, that the person who is leading and teaching that music is expected to be highly trained in music AND the typikon, and this training is accessible in many forms. I envision a time when choir directors have quick and easy access to a huge variety of Orthodox music from all ethnic traditions in a form that is actually legible! I envision a time when an Orthodox choir director knows every other Orthodox choir director in his or her town, and perhaps even region, and feels connected to these people in a way that provides moral support, information, resources and perhaps mentoring. I envision a time when the choir director is considered a professional and a staff member, whether he or she is donating the huge amount of time and talent that it takes to do a good job, or being paid a salary." Valerie outlined her administrative goals for the coming 12-24 months, which include the following:
REPORTS Following the opening remarks, PSALM Co-founder and Treasurer, Alice Hughes, gave status reports on finance, membership, PSALM Notes and PSALM Note Press. FINANCE Total Income $ 4,500.97 Total Expenses $ 2,950.09 Cash on hand MEMBERSHIP Current Membership Statistics: 81 Associate Members Membership Goals for this year
PSALM Notes
Due to an unprecedented demand for copies of the Spring 2002 issue on Church Readers, the PSALM Notes Executive Committee has decided that the newsletter would better serve the Orthodox community if it focused primarily on practical parish issues. To address more complex issues, a new publication of scholarly articles will be published annually. This publication will provide increased visibility and stature to PSALM and can be marketed to Orthodox and non-Orthodox seminaries, libraries, monasteries, and bookstores, as well as to PSALM's membership base. The first issue of the PSALM Notes Journal (working title) will be published in the winter of 2003. Mark Bailey will be the editor of this new publication. PSALM Music Press Valerie Yova Sheets gave a brief presentation on the history of the pan-Orthodox music ministry in the metropolitan Detroit area, and shared information on how local Orthodox musicians can join forces and support each other. She emphasized that it only takes a few committed people to get something started. She encouraged participants to start thinking about uniting with other Orthodox musicians in their area to sponsor a workshop or form a pan-Orthodox choir. Valerie shared sample organizational materials with the participants, including brochures, publicity flyers, press releases, letters to potential sponsors, concert programs, and project evaluations. She urged the attendees to allow PSALM to assist them with the planning of a workshop and to take advantage of PSALM's resources, including access to a newly formed Advisory Council comprised of renowned Orthodox musicians and theologians who could serve as workshop speakers/clinicians. VESPERS for Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul ORTHODOX MUSIC ON-LINE: Developing an Inter-active Music Data Base A web-based database would also make it possible for PSALM to post thousands of pieces of music which will be made available to members and non-members for downloading. The cost structure of this service has not yet been established. Vladimir outlined the following ways that this music would be categorized in the Music Index:
In addition to PSALM's permanent music database, individuals will also have the opportunity to post music on a temporary site, or "music lending library." After a limited period of time, (perhaps one month) their piece would be removed from the library and referred to one of PSALM's music editors for possible revisions, editing and approval for the permanent music database. At this point in the meeting, Mike Farrow of the Antiochian Archdiocese Department of Music gave a presentation on Guidelines for Computerizing Music. He shared with the members of PSALM the guidelines used by the Antiochian Archdiocese for formatting and titling computerized music. With so many individuals across the United States now setting music on computer, developing unified guidelines would make the sharing of music across jurisdictions more feasible. Publishing such guidelines would also simplify the process for composers and arrangers who wish to submit works for posting on PSALM's permanent database. LITURGY for the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul New PSALM Website and Music Data Base
Group Discussion: Challenges Facing Orthodox Church Musicians Some of the issues discussed were:
The participants agreed that the opportunity to share information, experience and advice was a valuable part of the weekend, and they recommended that this practice be continued in the future. EVALUATION The session concluded at 2:15 p.m. with the singing of the Tropar for Sts. Peter and Paul. |
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