June, 2010
The Foresingers presented a sampling of martyr and early American songs in German and English at the annual meeting of the Boehms Chapel, Willow Street, Pa. Recently restored, the oldest Methodist meetinghouse in Pennsylvania was built in 1791.
The Foresingers presented six songs, two new ones added on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the Martyr’s Mirror.
The featured speaker was Bishop Peggy Johnson, the spiritual head of some 1,000 Methodist churches in eastern Penna.
Singing in costume under the direction of Glenn Lehman were Laura Metzler, Lynn Sommer, Gretchen Thomas,
Stephanie Horst, Sarah Shrock, Sandi Harnish, Stu Metzler, and David Sauder.
June 9, 2010
The Foresingers presented music from the 16th century martyr era at “Martyrs Mirror:
Reflections Across Time,” a conference commemorating the 350th anniversary of the
Dutch first edition of the Martyr’s Mirror. The conference, held at the Young Center for
Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, located on the campus of Elizabethtown College,
explored various dimensions of an ancient book that is still important in some Anabaptist
communities and still a publishing achievement in colonial American history.
The Foresingers is an ensemble of singers, including on the photo, left to right, Glenn
Lehman, Joel Alderfer, Leon Miller, David Sauder, Lynn Sommer, Stephanie Horst, Pat
Martin, and Sarah Schrock at the keyboard. The full concert includes representational
skits of worship and family life of the early 1800s. The Foresingers most recently
appeared on a PBS documentary, “Destination America.”
Says Director Lehman, “We do the 16th century music the pioneers brought with them
from Europe in the early 18th century. That music was acappella and mostly unison,
passed orally from generation to generation.”
March, 2010
With 235 persons packing the church, Jim Baer and his singing boys from Lancaster Mennonite School, Kraybill Campus, sang at the Harmonies Spring Sing on March 28 at Blossom Hill Mennonite Church.
The annual singing, sponsored by the musical ministry, Harmonies, featured vigorous acappella hymnal singing and showcased a group which is keeping the singing of hymns alive.
Marcy Hostetler |
The singing portion of the evening was led by Marcy Hostetler, director of choral music at Lancaster Mennonite High School. She graduated with honors from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, N.J. and has led Campus Chorale to distinction at several regional festivals.
Besides leading popular favorites of various styles, she lead the top ten hymns from a survey Harmonies has circulated this year.
As a fund raiser for the ministries of Harmonies, the offering goes entirely to support music. Board members covered the expenses of the meeting. |
December, 2009
Harmonies has released the Harmonies Christmas Special to stations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio, where it had been requested. This year the half-hour of Table Singers Christmas songs is being released free to stations who want to use it as religious content.
November, 2009
Harmonies Workshop has released a CD of early German hymns sung in Lutheran, Reformed, Mennonite and other churches in the 1700s and early 1800s. Called “Meetinghouse Treasures,” the recording includes 21 hymns, a few of which are translated and known today, such as “Sleepers, Awake” and “Out of the Depths.” All the hymns are still used by several old order Mennonite groups. An informal anonymous old order ensemble sings them on this CD to slow tunes derived from German chorales, ancient folk tunes, or from later tunes of American hymnody.“
At first I thought we had a classic rendition of hymns from an 1804 Mennonite hymnal,” said Glenn Lehman, producer of the CD. “In fact, we do; but research confirmed my suspicion that these hymns were widely circulated among German speakers in the American colonies.” Nine come from an 1803 Lutheran hymnal. Nine are found in a 1797 Reformed book, and all are found in Mennonite hymnals.
“Meetinghouse Treasures” retails at $14.95 and is on Amazon.com. This collection was released in 1999 as a cassette.
August, 2009
Marie Leasa asked the Foresingers to present two songs at her husband’s funeral at Frazer Mennonite Church on Saturday, August 8. Here is the group that was able to be present: (l to r), Jessica Landes Spieser, Lynn Sommer, Sandy Harnish, Patricia Martin, Glenn Lehman, Dennis Kauffman (holding the retired hat of Varden’s character, Jonas), and Reuben Miller. Here the group stands after the service, outside of the church on Maple Linden Lane in Frazer, Pa.
Marie requested the group sing “Jesu, Jesu,” and “Wer Jesum.” The retired Jonas hat was placed near the singers, close to the casket, while the Foresingers sang during the funeral service. Varden joined the Foresingers just two years after the group was formed in the early 1990s and quickly developed the role of the elder brother, Jonas. Varden also made the unique contribution of writing Pennsylvania German script for several spoken parts.
August, 2009
While hundreds of tourists and local history buffs converged on the 1719 Herr House on Saturday, August 1, for its annual outdoor festival, music was among the options to choose from.
“I’m always amazed that people sing,” said Glenn Lehman, who offered the session in the stube, the family room, of the oldest building in Lancaster County. “We have people from all parts of the country and they sing songs Hans Herr would have known.
”This is the second time this year Harmonies assisted in program activities at the historic house close to Willow Street, Pa.
On the Net: http://www.hansherr.org/
March, 2009
A male acappella ensemble from Harrisonburg, Va., Sons of the Day, regaled a full house at Blossom Hill Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa. The March 28 concert filled all the seats of the house and ushers hurriedly set up 50 additional seats in the rear.
The ensemble, already producing their fourth recording in about as many years, offered repertoire ranging from rhymic contemporary to sacred medieval Kyrie’s to plaintive South African freedom chants.
The concert, billed as a benefit for Harmonies Workshop, bracketed the two Sons of the Day sets with broad swaths of vigorous hymn singing sessions from traditional Gospel classics to contemporary hymns.
September, 2008
Photo by Edie Hess
Harmonies took its music under the tent Sept. 14, 2008. Both the Foresingers and the Table Singers made a rare appearance at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society’s anniversary festival on the banks of the Millstream, along Route 30 in Lancaster.
Although the afternoon heat soared to the high 80s, several Foresingers wore complete costumes. The Table Singers choose songs from the 1927 Church Hymnal. “With vintage 1950s cars outside the tent, with historical dress and household appliances, it was easy to get into character,” said Glenn Lehman, musical director of both choral groups. “That glorious acappella sound comes floating right out when we get together. I was amazed.”
Photo by Edie Hess
July, 2008
A reel to reel recording of the “The Holy City,” an oratorio directed by J. Mark Stauffer at Eastern Mennonite College’s 1963 homecoming, has been released as a CD on the Harmonies label.
“This is one of the golden years of the tradition, with J. Mark Stauffer at the helm and the chapel stage packed and overflowing with singers and not a single piano in sight.” said Glenn Lehman, who produced it. “Audrey Shank, David Augsburger, Earl Maust, Jean Snyder, and others appear as soloists,”
The CD is mastered from a reel to reel tape which was forgotten for 45 years. The audio fidelity is not high, but consistent and enjoyable. This recording includes the complete oratorio written by A. R. Gaul. It was sung at EMU from about 1930 to 1970. It is prefaced by Haydn’s “The Heavens Are Telling” and concluded by the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
The brand new CD is available for $14.95 online at Amazon or call Harmonies at 717.656.2749.
>Purchase CD on Amazon.com
April 2008
The nine-voice acappella vocal ensemble, Shekinah, sang at the annual Harmonies benefit concert, Saturday, 7:00 p.m., April 12, 2008, at the Blossom Hill Mennonite Church. The concert included traditional congregational singing of both old and new songs, including selections from Sing the Story.
Shekinah formed in 2003 to provide music for Eastern Mennonite University’s chapel. Five years later these nine singers are still rehearsing weekly and getting more invitations than they can accept. Their unique blend of women's voices and exciting arrangements has created worship experiences and rave reviews for audiences on many campuses and churches. Shekinah's repertoire includes folk hymns, spirituals, classical sacred, and some secular pieces
"We have grown incredibly as a group and make the music our own,” said Heidi Bowman of the ensemble. “Each woman brings a distinct personality to the group, and each individual contributes in her own way to Shekinah's success and growth. Above all, we raise our voices to give back to God the talents God blessed us with."
Besides Heidi, the vocalists are: Andrea Kniss Stutzman, Eve Knepp, Joanna Showalter, Jenny Hartwig, Sara Gingerich, Katie Derstine, Chris Kniss, and Shannon Blosser, all of Harrisonburg, Virginia.
The April 12 concert was a benefit for the music ministries of Harmonies, which promotes hymn singing.
> Shekinah on the Web
August, 2007
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Harmonies again has been tapped by national media. The NPR show On Point asked for Amish music to illustrate its story about an Amish group in Ohio. |
> Listen Online: Stream the story from On Point
> Amish music in our catalog
May, 2007
Photo by Kenny Pellman
View more photos from the concert on Flickr
Spare Parts (a.k.a. The Akron Quartet) wowed a crowd at Forest Hills church, Leola, Pa., the evening of May 19, 2007. The event was the Harmonies Ascension Benefit Sing, the annual fund-raiser for the music ministry.
After the last applause, Glenn Lehman, director of Harmonies, asked the four men to remain on stage. Board member Rachel Pellman presented each quartet member with a blown up image of the disc. Then Lehman announced the release of the new CD, "Ain't Got Time to Die." The quartet gathered at the sales table to autograph CD as requested. This CD is the first to come out in the digipak format, which Lehman said, "is friendlier to the earth."
Between Spare Part's two sets, the Forest Hills Mens Ensemble sang several pieces and Treasurer Earl Rohrer announced the kick-off of the annual fund. This year the goal is $10,000.00. Said Lehman, "Most of the energy and time in Harmonies administration and products and live events is volunteer. However the board of directors plans a budget every year to keep a simple office functioning and to have a minimum staff time in place to keep all the various parts flowing together.."
March, 2007
Glenn Lehman led hymn singing at the Friday and Saturday sessions of the March 16 and 17, 2007, sessions of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference held on the campus of Lancaster Mennonite High School. Here he is seen leading from the piano. Many of the hymns were led vocally, without accompaniment.
Photo by Jonathan Charles.
