Prayers from me

Brenda is a member of our church who teaches at Paradise Valley Community College. She told me that her favorite hymn in our hymnal is "Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore", or "Tu Has Venido a la Orilla", and our hymnal has the lyrics in both Spanish and English. She also has a very favorite hymn that isn't in our hymnal. It's "We Have An Anchor", and I found that in my library at home. So I'm playing a couple versus of each for her, because she is much appreciated.

We are all praying for Rodolfo Tan Senior. He was hospitalized last week and is still trying to recover. Much love and positive energy to Rodolfo and the family. This is a favorite song of his, and it is a piece I played at my son's wedding, when our families united. I hope you enjoy it.

As the new year begins, this hymn can serve as a reminder that even through all the bad times, conflict, turmoil and suffering, we should take time to count our blessings. My kids have heard me play this many times when they were growing up, and they suggested I should play it again.

This is a popular Christmas song, addressing Mary, mother of Jesus. Mark Lowry inspired by some things his mother Bev told him, came up with the idea for this piece, put together some lyrics, and pitched it to Buddy Greene. Buddy came up with the tune that fit the lyrics perfectly, and this is how "Mary, Did you Know?" was born. Mark Lowry's mother brought up the point that if anyone knew Jesus was virgin born, it was Mary, and her silence at the cross is proof. It is a wonderful reminder of who Jesus is and the great responsibility that Mary had raising him. Playing it is a way that I hope others are reminded of how awesome that was. It is also a tribute to the responsibilities and importance of a mother. Much love and many prayers for all the mothers of the world.

This is a piece that my piano teacher gave me when I was 10 years old. He used to write the date at the top of the first page, and mine says 11-23-48. One of his granddaughters also lives here in Scottsdale. She plays the violin, and played with me in the last church that I was in.

The pieces include 3 Christmas carols, arranged by Dudley Ryder, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", "Adeste Fideles" (O Come, All Ye Faithful), and "Christmas Tree". There's just one verse for each piece.

There's a long history to the hymn, "Joy to the World". It is based on Psalm 98, 96:11–12 and Genesis 3:17–18, and there are older versions created as early as 1832. This is an arrangement that I created quite some time ago. Typically I do not write my own arrangements, but the Director of Music at the First Evangelical Free Church in Moline, Illinois requested that I create a music arrangement. This was someone I taught how to sing as a child, so I couldn't say no. I'm happy to still be able to play it fairly well for you. It was never completely written out and I still haven't finalized the whole thing, but it's still a fun piece to play. Maybe one day I can have it officially released, so others may try to play it. I wish you all many blessings throughout the holiday season.

When I was in high school, my piano teacher had me learn Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu." It's a fun piece where the left hand plays triplets while the right hand plays sixteenth notes. It may be what enabled me to be the youngest student ever accepted into the Eastman School of Music. There's a recording of me playing this in the "music" section of my website. So it's been especially meaningful for me to play this arrangement of "Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus". The original song was written by Rowland H. Prichard. This arrangement was written by Carolyne M. Taylor "For a special friend, Violet Gail Tobey."

Andrae Crouch served for many years as the Senior Pastor at a church founded by his parents, the New Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ, located in San Fernando, California. He passed sadly in 2015 after having been hospitalized for a heart attack. God has been so good to me, that these lyrics fit me so well, and Dino is such a great arranger. How can this not be one of my very favorite pieces? Millions of blessings to you!