Seasons Change!
December 2003 was my last month of employment with corporate America. I remember that season. It was scary. I had a nice job with a pretty solid company. My position was Recruiter and Trainer for the region, covering Hampton Roads, Richmond and Raleigh. I spent a lot of time on the road between the cities, recruiting employees and training them to work for our company. It was a season of testing for me. My manager was in Connecticut so I had to work autonomously. My integrity was tested. Of course, when no one is there to watch you it can be very easy to come to work late and leave early. It can be easy to cheat and find shortcuts. But by the grace of God I made it through those testing times. It all proved to have a lot to do with my future.
Anyway, as that December rolled around I had made the decision to launch out into the deep water of self-employment. I decided to start giving private piano lessons. That January, I started with just a handful of students. By that March, I had as many as I could handle. That was the beginning of a new season - the birth of Hayah Sounds. Having never studied music myself, I was only proficient in playing by ear. So my curriculum was based on what I knew. After the first few months of teaching, I saw the need to expand the curriculum. So, I picked up a few books by which to study the fundamentals of music theory. Shortly thereafter, I started including some music theory in my curriculum. The more I taught it, the more I learned it.
In March of 2004 when I knew that it was time for me to record my first project, I was well on my way to understanding music theory. As we got closer to the recording date, I saw how that theory was necessary in my communication with the band. After the recording session was done and we got into the post-production studio work, there was even more need for my understanding of music theory. I had no idea that I would need to understand tempo, time signatures, scales, accidentals, etc., while mixing the project. But working with one of the greatest engineers in the country taught me a whole lot! Thank God for Robert Ulsh.
Enter the next season – the marketing of the project. We started pulling together a group of singers and musicians that would travel with me to do engagements. The band has been consistent since the live recording session, with the addition of one more keyboardist. They are very tight!! But it took a while to get the singers I needed. I started with an audition session that produced a nice group of nine singers. Over the course of the next two years that group has changed faces and sounds a few times. But I believe I’ve got the right mix now. The group of singers that God has blessed me to work with now is amazing! We’ve gone in the studio a few times to work on some of the projects I’ve produced for other artists. They sound really good together. The vocal quality is fantastic. So we’ve done several concerts – long and short – near and far.
But I see a new season unfolding before my eyes. I believe that this is the season of open doors. The precursor of this season was the placement of my wife and I into a church where we could serve and grow. Now that we are planted it appears that we are starting to bloom. She’d have to tell you about all of her new wonderful ministry opportunities. But as for me, I’ve been blessed with the chance to minister on INSP (look for it on your TV in December). I’ll be headed to Nashville, TN in October to study with some of the nations greatest songwriters. This past Sunday I had my first engagement as director of Ebony Impact Gospel Choir of Old Dominion University. And – now get this – in December, my singers and I will be performing on a 10-city tour in Italy. And, I don’t mean opening for someone else’s tour. We will be the headliners in 10 cities in Europe with possible stops in Sicily and France. WOW!!
So, regardless of how long one season lasts… just remember that seasons change.
