Friday, August 2, 2013

Story in @Urban Magazine - Sacred Harp Singing on Aug 11th

It's good to be back from vacation but it takes a little longer each time to recover from trips "further west" and then get my biological clock running on Arkansas time again. This trip was no different and my schedule for the past week looked like it had been shredded and reassembled by hand. While it's not quite time for a reminder about the August 11th Sunday singing at the Shiloh Museum, there was certainly enough good news to justify an early newsletter this month.

I got a note from Marla Cantrell, Managing Editor of @Urban magazine that the story she had started a couple of months ago had been posted on the Internet and published in the August issue now on the newsstands. Marla took the time to distill what she saw and heard into an article that I think captured what Sacred Harp Singing and the Shiloh Singers are about and how a cross section of our singers feel about it. The final result in print was well worth the wait.

Thanks to Marla, Mark Mundorff, who took the pictures, and @Urban for telling our story and putting the Shiloh Singers into the printed record and online. Preserving our history is important and the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History also deserves recognition for their efforts to preserve our traditional form of singing. The museum has been a tremendous help to the singers over the years.

Photo: If you live in the area, look for a rooster on the August cover of @Urban. If you live out of their distribution area, you can just click on the link below and read the article at: http://www.aturbanmagazine.com/home/AtUrbanArticles/tabid/73/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/730/inside-the-sacred-harp.aspx

Gail Cowart noted that Syd Caldwell discussed some of the plans for the Fall NWA Singing Convention and he also recorded the attendance at the July singing as, "Ten people singing today, 4 bass, 2 alto, 1 treble and 3 tenors.  Totally beautiful day and beautiful singing."

I missed my chicken and dumplings last month so we'll plan on being at AQ's Chicken House around noon on August 11th. If you let us know you plan to join us, we'll save you a seat or we'll find a chair if you just walk in. We'll start singing at the Shiloh Museum's general store at 1:30 P.M. and adjourn for dessert after the singing. As you can see from the July head count, we always appreciate new singers, we have openings for additional singers in all sections, and welcome your participation.

I've also made a note to bring fans for additional cooling. Hope to see you August 11th.