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I Know That My Redeemer Lives
This has always been one of my favorite hymns. One of my favorite things to do in the evening is turn out the lights and let my hands do what they want. This song is a result of one of those sessions. I turned on the recorder and enjoyed writing it. I’ve played it at several funerals lately. It is very comforting.
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Our Savior’s Love
The music for this arrangement was rearranged from a number I wrote for the Alpine Stake play, “Children of The Dream”, which was inspired by Marvin Payne. After twenty plus years, I revisited the song and discovered it would work with the lyrics to the hymn, “Our Savior’s Love”. With some modification, this arrangement of a favorite hymn was born. Our ward choir sang it in October 2017, and it was so beautiful. COVID has brought new inspiration and it now has a C-instrument duet. I’ve recorded it with flute and oboe, although strings work beautifully as well. You use what you have access to.
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I Stand All Amazed
I was given the blessing of accompanying the son of a dear friend’s funeral. They requested organ accompany for this song, and I was unable to find an arrangement that fit our needs. This was the end result of my search. Matt Gifford is the voice you’re hearing. He was out of his comfort zone, but he did a beautiful job.
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Thy Will, O Lord, Be Done
Another piece of inspiration while I was the choir director. When I discovered how much fun it was to use the lyrics from one hymn to another, I was constantly on the lookout for matching possibilities. This was one of them.
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Where Can I Turn for Peace?
Leave me alone with a Hymnal for very long and I’ll find a way to play with a hymn. Our choir enjoyed singing this after they adapted to the synchronization. When this hymn first hit the streets, I always heard the close harmony and syncopation in my mind. It was a delight to have our choir sing this.
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Prayer of Thanksgiving
Being the director of our ward choir was so fun for me. This arrangement almost started out jokingly. We were nearing November, and I was thinking hard about the outcome of our presidential election. Either way, it was going to be a tough pill to swallow for me. (This is not a political statement.) At any rate, I was playing around with this piece and this is what resulted. The choir got the “tongue-in-cheek” connection when I handed it to them. It turned out to be a really nice change to a traditional Thanksgiving hymn.
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Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee
This arrangement was for an Easter program in 2016. It’s preservation is miraculous. Thank goodness for backup discs. Ugh! As I got it ready for this Website, I realized again that I was working with a spectacular group of people as we performed. They just did it. It’s simple enough, but I see things that might have been different. Suffice it to say, it’s safe now. I can’t guarantee I didn’t get inspiration on the narration from someone else’s effort. I apologize I don’t have the name of that person or even where it came from. I don’t have that original narration either, but my experience has been that what…
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As I Search the Holy Scriptures
When I was at UVU, I was on fire with the things I was being taught. This started out as a practice piece. The more I played it, the more I liked it. I would play it each morning before reading my scriptures. It finally needed to be put to paper.
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Abide With Me ‘Tis Eventide – SATB
Another favorite hymn of mine. If I haven’t said it before, the Hymnal is my “playground”. This SATB arrangement came from the piano solo that I wrote in 2010. Our ward choir performed this several years later and it was beautiful. Finale generates the sound, and unfortunately blows through my fermatas. It’s still better than nothing.
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In Thy Holy Name
This hymn was a work in progress. Lyrics sat in my scriptures with musical scribbles for several years. One day I decided to write it out and see if it really evolved into a hymn as I heard it in my head. The first and third verses came easily. This in itself was quite an accomplishment for me. I studied the second verse for what seemed forever sitting at my piano. Then my eyes looked up at the picture on my wall of the Savior holding a lamb. It was an inspired and instant fit, and the song was complete.
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As We Bow Our Heads – Hymn
I was blessed to attend a couple of college courses after our children “launched”. It was an exciting time for me, but life got busy again and it was short lived. This “hymn” is the result of an assignment in one of my music classes. Oh, how I loved that class! The assignment was to write a 4-part song using the “rules” we had been taught during the semester. I initially wrote it with the first verse. The instructor asked me where the lyrics came from. They are my own. When I walked away with my “A”, I added the other two verses. For curious minds who want to know:…
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Joseph Smith Medley
I arranged this piano solo in 1991 amidst the chaotic atmosphere of moving from Orem to Alpine. I’m not so certain what made me drawn to this at the time, but I found myself frequently at the piano playing parts of this arrangement (in between packing boxes) until it came together as a whole.
Music by Connie Stauffer