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Studio Trivia |
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For trivia lovers, here are some facts about my writing and the studio:
- Number of things plugged into electrical outlets in the studio: 65! (When the studio was first built, I asked the electrician to install some extra outlets because "I might eventually have 15-20 things plugged in here." He nor I would ever have guessed how many power conditioners, surge suppressors and power strips have been run from those outlets!)
- The date and title of my first published arrangement: An organ arrangement of "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" in The Church Musician, October, 1974. Since then, over 375 anthems, children's songs, and organ and piano selections have been published.
- My first piano collection:Quiet Moments, published by Broadman Press in 1977.
- World Instruments and “conversation pieces” in the Back Porch
Studio:
Most of the items below have been given to us by friends who traveled to other countries. I went to Russia with Johnny Carr in 1997, and Janis and I went on a tour of the Holy Land in 2000. Jonathan went on several mission trips to Mexico with the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship while he was at the University of Evansville, and Mark has taken youth groups on trips to England and recently went to Africa on a construction mission. trip
- Maracas, and other small rhythm instruments from Mexico
- Balalaika brought to me by Johnny Carr on his first trip to Russia
- Small child’s accordion from China
- Small kalimba from Botswana, Africa
- Pottery bells wind chimes from Nicaragua
- Small shofar (ram’s horn) purchased in Israel
- Hand-painted copper wall plaques with musical scenes from Chile
- Hand-painted gusli (lap harp) from Russia
- Shepherd’s flute from Bethlehem
- Hand-carved and waxed figure of Christ with crown of thorns made from
olive wood that is over 100 years old
- Olive-wood Communion cups that Janis and I used in the Observance of the Lord’s Supper at the Garden Tomb
- Hand-painted and glazed Jerusalem drum
- Small stained-glass cross sun-catcher – purchased at Westminster Abby, London
- Amber “painting” with crushed amber from the Baltic
Sea, Russia – supposed to be the very best amber in the world.
- This "painting" was given to me in 1997 by the SAAS "Marina" School in Moscow at the "Russian premiere" of Children of the King.
- Antique copper engraving plate used in printing of late 1800s hymnal
- Rock picked up at the top of Masada, Israel (Janis and I hiked from the top of Masada all the way to the bottom on our trip to the Holy
- Land!)
- Necklace made from chunks of amber, Russia
- Hand-made Indian “dreamcatcher,” Oklahoma
- Small chunk of stone from the Berlin Wall
- Painted eagle feather by feather artist from the Choctaw Tribe, Oklahoma
- Figurine of Jewish rabbi with shofar, Israel
- Small plate and figurine, Spain
- Small figurine of a teddy bear playing bagpipes, Scotland
- Balalaika jazz recording, Russia
- Tape of authentic Israeli folk songs from Israel
- Psalms of Scotland CD, Scotland
- Small Gilde angel figurine from France -- and the angel is playing an accordion!
- Miniature gourd-like laouto with an enclosed music box, Greece
- I also have a collection in my office at church of old hymnals, including an original edition of the Harmonium Sacra (bought used and abused! and a small book of words only that was used in the late 1800s in a small country church nearby.
- One of the books of which I'm most proud is a privately-released collection of hymns and poems by T.O. Chisholm, a Franklin, KY native who wrote "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and many other well-known hymns. He compiled and published this little book as a gift to family and friends, and there is an inscription with T.O. Chisholm's signature in the front.
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