By Greg Asimakoupoulos
COVID-19 plunged our nation into a season of darkness. In addition to locking down and masking up, one of the visible indicators of that unforgettable dark time was seen in the heart of Manhattan. The lights of Broadway went out for a year and a half. Secular artists hoped and prayed for the chance to perform again.
But Christian artists prayed and hoped for the same thing. I know. I’m the father of a classical musician whose attempts to cobble a career through performing and teaching were severely impacted by the pandemic.
My daughter is a thirty-year old professional flutist who offers her gift on Sundays at Emmanuel Covenant Church near Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Although Lauren has opportunity to perform with the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra from time to time, her income is primarily derived from contract work as a flute coach with a handful of public schools and her private instruction studio. When schools were forced into virtual instruction, Lauren’s coaching was impacted.
Lauren’s flute students were no longer allowed to have lessons in person. The majority opted to try ZOOM lessons from home. But after months trying to navigate virtual learning, most called it quits. In an effort to pay her bills, my daughter took a parttime job at a local Starbucks as a barista. While pulling espresso shots behind a face mask, Lauren pondered God’s purpose in her life during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, a professional violinist by the name of Heather Bixler was struggling with similar thoughts. Out of the blue this point person in New York City for Crescendo North America, a consortium of Christian classical and jazz artists, had an idea. What if Crescendo could find a way to pay some musicians for rehearsing and performing while sharing and praying about their struggles during COVID?
Heather shared her idea with David Gier, the director of Crescendo North America. Gier loved the idea. It was consistent with Crescendo’s vision first birthed in Europe in 1985 by Campus Crusade for Christ missionaries. From the beginning Crescendo sought to find creative ways to encourage the arts and extend the boundaries of God’s Kingdom. Gier offered to find the funding.
When a generous anonymous donor stepped forward, Crescendo’s Chamber Music Project was born. Three U.S. cities with active Crescendo chapters were chosen: New York, Chicago and Seattle. The initiative called for finding gifted artists lacking for performance opportunities and providing them a stipend for rehearsing together, talking about their faith, reaching out in service projects and joining together in a culminating concert. A total of thirty-five musicians were selected.
Of the thirteen performers selected by Seattle hub leader Anthony Spain, conductor of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, three were members of area Covenant churches. The thirteen were divided into four performing ensembles with whom they would rehearse and perform over a period of eight to fifteen weeks. In addition to my daughter Lauren, the Seattle Crescendo musicians with Covenant connections were clarinetist Brian Schappals and violinist Cherlyn Johnson.
Brian, also a member of Emmanuel Covenant and part of their worship team, was grateful for the opportunity. Having recently become engaged, the promised money provided by the Crescendo initiative was welcomed. The pandemic had negatively impacted Brian’s income stream. But it was more than the money. After more than a year of feeling on the shelf, the opportunity to perform again was life-giving.
“It was getting to the point where practicing was very difficult,” Brian recalls. “There was no real goal to be working towards. Having a chance to play with and before people was truly energizing.”
Cherlyn echoes Brian’s thoughts. Her longings for performance opportunities were palpable. As the wife of a Covenant hospice chaplain, Cherlyn was understandably pleased that the Seattle Crescendo initiative included performing at nursing homes.
“I was especially drawn to the fact that Crescendo wanted to send us out to be a blessing to churches and retirement centers where people were stuck during the pandemic,” Cherlyn observed. “I was also grateful for the chance to connect with fellow Christian performers who were experiencing the same isolation that I was.”
For my daughter Lauren, the Crescendo experience was an affirmation that God had not forgotten her. In addition to receiving her two Pfizer vaccines, the summer music project was an unexpected shot in the arm.
“For much of the last year it seemed like God was wearing a face mask along with the rest of us,” Lauren mused. “It felt like God was hiding his face from me. But when I was contacted by Anthony Spain to practice, perform and get paid, I realized the Lord still knew where I lived.”
Eight weeks of rehearsals, spiritual discussions and serving in the community culminated on July 6. On a warm iconic summer evening in the Pacific Northwest, the long-awaited concert of the Seattle Crescendo initiative was held at West Side Presbyterian Church where Anthony Spain is minister of music. David Gier, the executive director of Crescendo North America, was in attendance to witness the fulfillment of Heather Bixler’s dream.
The brilliance of the evening sky over the Emerald City was most appropriate. A night of music penetrated the darkness of the pandemic with a beam of God’s presence and joy. But that is not the end of the story. These three Covenanters continue to bless others with their talents.
Now that COVID restrictions have lessened, Lauren and Brian continue to perform in person at Emmanuel Covenant Church. They also rehearse regularly with a woodwind quintet called Winds5 they assembled just before the pandemic. In addition, Lauren and Cherlyn (along with a harpist friend) recently performed at a worship service at Covenant Living at the Shores (a Covenant retirement community on Mercer Island). Although Lauren and Cherlyn first met at the culminating concert of the Crescendo initiative in July, they both believe the Lord has brought them together for an ongoing purpose.
The entire Seattle Crescendo concert can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6c1wHlj2q0&feature=youtu.be
More information on Crescendo North America can be accessed at https://www.crescendonorthamerica.org/