LSM 2010 DATES ARE CHANGING to
JUNE 20 – JULY 18, 2010.

LSM was inadvertently assigned incorrect dates for next summer which created an impossible conflict with the very popular, Decorah-wide annual Nordic Fest. We look forward to returning to Luther College, a campus so wonderfully suited to host our program, and to working with the faculty and staff to create a rich musical and spiritual experience for our students.

Coming soon: 2010 LSM application and financial aid materials. Stay tuned! For information now, call Katie at 888.635.6583 or email her at klane@lutheransummermusic.org.

Well, boys and girls, another LSM has ended.  I’ve been eating a sack lunch at my desk in the CFA while uploading the final round of my photos taken during the Festival Weekend.  I think everyone who joined us on campus this weekend enjoyed what they heard, from the various student recitals to the amazing concerts given by the band, choir and orchestra.  A round of applause goes to all of our talented students for the wonderful music they provided.

Tears were definitely shed and hugs were shared this morning after the final Festival Worship.  I don’t know that anything I say can fully describe the special community we formed this summer, so I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves.

And be sure to work on your own Burma Shave signs!

-Kat, Communications Coordinator

The faculty would stop and stare
at the students running everywhere.
How they ran up and down the halls
answering to their sudden calls.
Their sudden calls to to sing, play and speak
for this is none other than festival week.

Yes, festival week has finally arrived and we are all in a hurry to get everywhere we need to be. Basically, along with our normal ensemble rehearsals and performances we now have recital performances as well. I had my chamber recital Wednesday and it was absolutely amazing. We sang a song by Monte Verdi and the Lord’s Prayer. Not only were they absolutely gorgeous to listen to, but also they were a lot of fun to sing as well. It made for one heck of a concert.

I’m also preparing for my orchestra and choir performances. We are currently working extremely hard trying to make everything absolutely perfect down to the last note. I’m not particularly worried because I know we will pull through. Of course, we won’t know until Friday and Saturday so you better come see for yourself.

Along with those recitals I am also doing two student recitals for festival week. My first is on Saturday at 9am. I will be playing concerto for string bass (for those of you who don’t know, it’s the instrument that’s your height) by Antonio Capuzzi. It’s a wonderful little song filled with a very buoyant melody along with some drama and beauty.

I’m also having a recital on the same day at noon. I will be singing “Bright is the Ring of Words” by Vaughn Williams and “Gia il sole dal Gange” by Alessandro Scarlatti. They are really great pieces and I have been working very diligently on them with my voice instructor here, Dr. Andrew Whitfield.

Unfortunately, that seems to end my time here at LSM. It’s been a wonderful experience full of long hours of practicing along with many hours of fun and enjoyment. Sometimes they even went hand in hand. It has been absolutely amazing and I hope to return next year. So for my final parting I have but this to say,

Music, melody and many more things starting with M
did I manage to find here at LSM.
Burma-Shave

-Colton, voice and string bass student

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the camp,
not a person was stirring except for Greg S.
The shoes were out by the doors with care,
in hopes that Saint Wayne would still be there.

The musicians were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of Bach danced in their heads.
Stef in kerchief, and Sam in his cap
had just settled our brains for a long summer’s nap.

When out on the Dieseth roof there arose such a clatter.
Sam sprang out of bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window Sam flew up like a teleporter,
tore open the shutter and threw up the sash.

The moon the breast of the new-fallen rain
gave the lustre of midday to objects below.
When what to his eyes should appear
a minute golf cart with eight tiny interns and staff.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew for a moment it must be St. Wayne.
More rapid than eagles, his courses they came,
and whistled and shouted them by name.

Now Rick! Now Jubal!
Now Becky and Josh!
On Jesse! On Andrew!
On Tim and Rachel!
To the front of the door now run, run all.

Sam saw St. Wayne in the door with with him dressed in robe,
and tall with black shoes to match his style.

His eyes, how they twinkled!  His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
and the beard on his chin was as white as snow.

He had a broad face and a little round belly
that shook when he laughed like a bowl of Lutheran Caf food.
He was a happy man
and Sam laughed to himself when he saw him.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
soon gave me to know Sam had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word but sang Lutheran morning hymn.
He filled all the shoes and walked out the door.

And he sprang to the golf cart,
to his team, gave a pitch and they ran.
They all flew like the down of a thistle,
but I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

Berma Shave to all and Merry Christmas LSM!

-Cameron, voice student

Hi everyone!  My name is Ellen and I serve as Development Coordinator here at LSM.  As a member of the national staff, I work year-round from our offices in the Twin Cities.  I’ve been working here since last August, but this is my very first LSM.  I have to say that I’m having an absolutely fantastic time so far.  I have wonderful colleagues, and the enthusiasm the students have for the music they are making together is truly inspirational.

Yesterday was a pretty special day at LSM—CHRISTMAS EVE!  Since our theme is “Always Advent” we decided to celebrate the Christmas holiday twice this year.  Yesterday’s festivities included the LSM Festival of Hymns, which was held in Luther’s beautiful Center for Faith and Life.  The Chapel Choir did an incredible job putting together several pieces of seasonal music, including “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning”—my personal favorite.

One of the best parts of my job here is connecting with the local community to invite them to our many concerts and recitals.  We’ve had lots of guests over the last three weeks, and the Festival of Hymns was no different.  Around 80 people joined us last night, many of them from Decorah.  One woman shared with me that she had been travelling for three days, and the music the students made was “just what she needed.”  It reminded me of a reflection Chaplain Wayne gave a couple weeks ago about the capacity of music to heal and inspire.  I saw that in the faces of our many guests as they sang Christmas hymns and listened to the students perform—it was a powerful reminder of what makes LSM such a special place.

The students continued their Christmas Eve celebrations back in the dorm after the Festival of Hymns.  Each of them left a shoe outside their door for St. Nick and when they woke up this morning, the shoes were filled with candy!  I was worried Santa might have forgotten about the staff, but when I arrived at the office this morning I found TWO bags of M&Ms in my mailbox.  Whew!  I think there is a special party happening tonight, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about that.  Merry Christmas!

Well the fourth week is finally here and I am having mixed emotions. I am happy that it is festival week because we get to share our God-given talents with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but at the same time, I am not ready to leave the amazing people I have met here. To this day, I can’t believe that is has already been three weeks since our arrival here at LSM and I wish it was longer!

Yesterday was Bach Cantata Sunday. During our normal Sunday morning worship, led by the wonderful Chaplain Wayne, a select choir performs a cantata written with an advent theme. Yes, J.S. Bach wrote many cantatas but because our theme for LSM ‘09 is “Always Advent,” our magnificent choir director, Sandra Peter, decided to use an advent cantata. It was a gorgeous piece of music, and I think that we could not have performed it any better.

After our long church service, we headed over to the “caf” (dining hall) for lunch. After that, we decided to go lay by the pool for the afternoon until I had to leave for my 3:30 choir rehearsal. I forgot to put sunscreen on and someone told me, “oh you don’t look burnt, don’t worry about it.” HA! Let me just say that I have never been this red in my entire life!

Anyway, the day was brought to a close with a fabulous recital given by our spectacular and portentous faculty and yes, I do know what that means! I am looking forward to a great festival week and for all of you guys who are coming out, I hope you enjoy your time out here and I know you are in for a treat!

-Dietrich; organ, voice, piano student

On Saturday, I woke up at the crack of 7:30. While still unbearably early, this was a welcome change from the normal routine of somewhere in the 6 o’clock hour. I went to breakfast (french toast sticks was a major plus in my book) and sat in the cafeteria for about 45 minutes drinking coffee and chatting with my friends.

Unlike the majority of students here at LSM, my Saturday mornings are free until 10:30. Instead of spending my time in an elective class such as class guitar, conducting, or jazz band, I usually spend my Saturdays doing really productive things like sleeping. Yes, I am being sarcastic. This morning was different, however, and after getting to see the organ studio in Jenson-Noble (which is really cool by the way) I got a good hour-and-a-half of practicing before my small ensemble rehearsal. As a voice student, I got to go to the CFA and do a workshop with Dr. Whitfield and the rest of the voice faculty about the performance aspect of singing. Our last Saturday workshop, tear tear.

My relaxed morning was abruptly interrupted by a long afternoon of Bach. I am a member of the Bach Cantata choir, which performed one of Bach’s canatas at Sunday worship. I had an hour-long rehearsal, a brief lunch, and another two-hour rehearsal. It was tiring but worthwhile. Finally, a break! …or not.

Back to the dorms to throw a load of laundry in before heading to dorm devotions and dinner. Then, the most exciting part of the day–the talent show and dance! After have a pre-dance dance party in my room with my friends, we all headed down to Marty’s cafe in the Union for the talent show. I think my favorite was Austin L’s song about LSM based on the Holden Evening Prayer song. “God of mercy, hold us in love!” With the talent show over, it was time to bust the grooves. The Decades Dance was full of music that crossed many decades (hm, wonder why… ). It was so nice to just have fun for an evening and let loose before festival week (dun dun dunnn…). Seeing everyone dancing was great, especially Chaplain Wayne, Mark and Becky, and Karen Wilkerson. The dance concluded far too soon and we all headed back to the dorm, practically falling asleep on the way. I stayed up way too late talking and crashed into bed. Too bad I had to be up early for church on Sunday . All in all, a good Saturday. The dance was definitely the best part, and in the words of Dr. Sandra Peter: Bach Cantata Choir, you guys sang my pants off.And I lost the game…

-Emily, voice and violin student

Brita (middle) during orchestra rehearsal

My name is Brita, and I am a cello and vocal student here at LSM. I have been extremely busy balancing orchestra, choir, jazz band, small ensembles, and spending time with my friends. July 7 was no exception. However, on this particular day, we were in for a treat. The Omega String Quartet, made up of four string faculty, gave a recital. The group played two extremely difficult pieces by Prokofiev and Schubert, respectively. I appreciated it as a string player – they demonstrated an excellent understanding of playing in a quartet. I have begun to apply what I learned to my own quartet. The music itself was also very cool to hear. I loved the harmonies and themes. In any case, this was my favorite concert of the past few weeks. I hope that the remainder of my time at LSM will yield the same standard of musical excellence.

Well I hate to say  it but the 2009 LSM is coming to an end.   This was one of the best experiences in my life. I have learned so much within these past few weeks. Who new all the cool things that can be done with the flute. I can’t wait to show my band director everything I’ve learned here. In Chapel Choir we learned this song called “Praise His Holy Name”; it is such a uplifting song.

-Chelsea, flute student

It is my distinct pleasure to take a moment to write today’s entry for the Online Daily Journal! My name is Stefanie Fiser and I am the Dean of Students.  I have the privilege of overseeing student life and interacting with our students in almost every aspect of LSM.  I supervise the counseling staff and plan for student activities, but I also sing in the Concert Choir and Chapel Choir.  It is through rehearsal, worship, and dorm time that I have gotten to know and love our wonderful students.

Wednesday was a pretty typical day in the life of Lutheran Summer Music.  In addition to usual rehearsals and classes, there were several afternoon activities taking place, some planned and some spontaneous.  A few of our counselors led an intellectual and fun Geography Bee, and many students enjoyed a session of tinikling, a Philippine folk dance taught by Kat Singer and her mom.  As I walked through the dorm I also saw a hilarious game of “Go Fish” being played Grandma Style!

About one-third of the students ended their afternoon in an informal session with Admissions Director Sue and Chaplain Wayne as part of the Young Musicians Partnership program.  We had a brief discussion about youth involvement in music and worship, both in our students’ home congregations and here at LSM.  I am always amazed to learn of the gifts our students bring to the church – some serve as organist or choir director in their congregations, and many of them share their musical talents in worship as well.

The day ended with a rehearsal of this year’s Bach Cantata and a low-key All-Hall activity for students – a showing of the movie Ratatouille.  As we near the end of Week Three, it was nice to spend a quiet evening at the dorm.  Chaplain Wayne led us in a brief devotion about John the Baptist (in preparation for this Sunday’s Gospel story), and then it was “floor time” and “lights out” for all.

We keep busy here at LSM, but we have a lot of fun, too.  So much happens in the span of four weeks, and I love watching the students grow personally, musically, and spiritually.  They are a joy to be around and I can’t help but smile when I hear them whistling and humming tunes from morning or evening prayer as they walk through the dorm.