Tonight was the last rehersal with Coro Gloria. Many hugs and tears afterwards. It took more than an hour to leave the room because of all the good-byes. Stella and Aina miss their spanish friends already so much. We know that we will come back soon!!!!
A diary that started with our work in Spain 2012, continued with Joakim's work at Lancaster Bible College, PA, USA, 2014, and again continues in St Petersburg, Russia, 2015, y otra vez en España 2016.
tisdag 29 maj 2012
måndag 28 maj 2012
Packing the bags
We leave tomorrow... (and a little tear runs down my cheek...)
Today is packing and cleaning. Tonight we meet Coro Gloria for the last time. Tomorrow we get in the car and we will sleep the following night in France.
Today is packing and cleaning. Tonight we meet Coro Gloria for the last time. Tomorrow we get in the car and we will sleep the following night in France.
Love and marriage
Laura is the woman who has control of the work I have been doing in Spain for the past three months. The schedule has changed many times and I would have been lost without the organizational expertise of Laura's mind. There has always been an email or sms or phone call from Laura to confirm the dates and hours. I don't know if the people I have visited in different cities in Spain know how much Laura has done to make everything work in every city. She has always been one step ahead, and the only time she looked tired was when I took my swedish friend Anna to her apartment at 2.30 in the morning.
Laura was so great at helping me from the very first day, so my first thought was "wow, she really likes me", but then she told me why she really likes to help...
...and the truth was...
...she really likes José.
The first time I was in Spain with my family was at the Camp Toral, a camp for gospel music in a small village where everything smells like cows. At the camp was Laura and it was there that she fell in love with her future husband, José. So whenever I teach a gospel song Laura closes her eyes and remember her first love for her husband. Hmmmm, and I thought my music was the good thing...
Anyway, José gave up his Madrid life to move to Valencia for Laura, and we are so happy for that!
Yesterday me and Thorine sang "All the time" together with Laura and José (who are great singers too) and the church choir from our church in Valencia. It was great and I hope we do it again soon!
Well, when I first got to know José everybody called him "JB", and to my swedish friends who want to call him "JB" it is pronounced "schååååtahweee".
Laura was so great at helping me from the very first day, so my first thought was "wow, she really likes me", but then she told me why she really likes to help...
...and the truth was...
...she really likes José.
The first time I was in Spain with my family was at the Camp Toral, a camp for gospel music in a small village where everything smells like cows. At the camp was Laura and it was there that she fell in love with her future husband, José. So whenever I teach a gospel song Laura closes her eyes and remember her first love for her husband. Hmmmm, and I thought my music was the good thing...
Anyway, José gave up his Madrid life to move to Valencia for Laura, and we are so happy for that!
Yesterday me and Thorine sang "All the time" together with Laura and José (who are great singers too) and the church choir from our church in Valencia. It was great and I hope we do it again soon!
Well, when I first got to know José everybody called him "JB", and to my swedish friends who want to call him "JB" it is pronounced "schååååtahweee".
söndag 27 maj 2012
Gloria a dios
We just came home from a wonderful concert with Coro Gloria in a park in central Valencia. I did "Shabach" in spanish with the choir, and some other songs, and I sat in the sunset together with my family and listened to many songs from Coro Gloria's original repertoire. It was a great evening, but also sad because we feel that it is time to go home soon. We stayed long after the concert, talking, hugging, taking pictures, and Stella and Aina did all kinds of stuff with their spanish friends. Tomorrow we will sing in the church service.
fredag 25 maj 2012
Not ready
I have bought new tires to my car, so it is now ready for the long journey back to Sweden, via Dortmund. Gospelkirchentag next weekend will be great, and I am really inspired! But I don't feel ready to leave Spain yet. On saturday this week we have a concert with Coro Gloria in a park, and I am sure we will have a great time! We will really miss our spanish friends and our life here.
måndag 21 maj 2012
Gospelkirchentag 2012
It is monday and it is less than two weeks to Gospelkirchentag 2012 in Dortmund, Germany.
When I have tried to explain what Gospelkirchentag is to my spanish friends I realize how much this festival has meant to me. I have been at every Gospelkirchentag and it has always made an impact on me.
The first one in Essen, 2002, I was there with Joybells and we opened for Edwin Hawkins and other artists. It was the first time I met Helmut, Hanjo, and the team of musicians I have made many great concerts with since then. It was the first time I met Martin, the man with the loud laughter, who always introduces the whole festival.
Martin had faith in me and invited me as mass choir director for the festival in Bochum, 2004. Me, Helmut, Tore Aas and Andrae Crouch worked with the mass choir and I think it was the first time that I met a really large audience in Germany. Some people remember me from Bochum because I carried my two year old daughter Stella on my shoulders when we did the final song at the final concert.
In 2006 me and Praise Unit had our first concert in Germany in Düsseldorf and our first CD was brand new. We were surprised to see that so many people had already bought our CD and knew the songs, although it was so new so we hardly knew them ourselves. This was also the first year for German Gospel Choir, the choir of choirleaders, that I directed during the first years. I often meet people who were in that first choir and we speak of those times as a little bit confusing, but very inspiring and good times.
Kirk Franklin came to Hannover in 2008, and Praise Unit was the opening act at the concert. That was of course a great moment for me to share the stage with him. But it was also great to feel that over the years I had gotten a close relationship to so many people who were at the festival. When the audience was singing "It's a good life" and jumping around in that crazy gospel praise style it was really that kind of party that I love so much.
I was not an official person in Karlsruhe in 2010, so this year was much more relaxed for me. I introduced the Oslo Soul Teens from Norway, who I had been working with for some time, and after this the Soul Teens movement started in Germany. That is one of new exciting things that is starting to spread over Germany now.
Gospelkirchentag 2012 starts in a few days. This year I will direct "Inspired" from the new songbook with songs written especially for my workshop weekends. I will also direct two songs for the Soul Teens choir. Praise Unit will be at the opening concert, and then again perform at night at the teens festival. My wife and daughters will be with me, because we go home from Spain in our car, and we stop in Dortmund on the way to Sweden. To show my family the beautiful people of Germany and introduce them to the friends who have helped me become a part of the german choir family is the best thing of all!
I thank God for all the festivals that have been, I pray for many more to come, and I know that this year will be one of the best!
Amen?
When I have tried to explain what Gospelkirchentag is to my spanish friends I realize how much this festival has meant to me. I have been at every Gospelkirchentag and it has always made an impact on me.
The first one in Essen, 2002, I was there with Joybells and we opened for Edwin Hawkins and other artists. It was the first time I met Helmut, Hanjo, and the team of musicians I have made many great concerts with since then. It was the first time I met Martin, the man with the loud laughter, who always introduces the whole festival.
Martin had faith in me and invited me as mass choir director for the festival in Bochum, 2004. Me, Helmut, Tore Aas and Andrae Crouch worked with the mass choir and I think it was the first time that I met a really large audience in Germany. Some people remember me from Bochum because I carried my two year old daughter Stella on my shoulders when we did the final song at the final concert.
In 2006 me and Praise Unit had our first concert in Germany in Düsseldorf and our first CD was brand new. We were surprised to see that so many people had already bought our CD and knew the songs, although it was so new so we hardly knew them ourselves. This was also the first year for German Gospel Choir, the choir of choirleaders, that I directed during the first years. I often meet people who were in that first choir and we speak of those times as a little bit confusing, but very inspiring and good times.
Kirk Franklin came to Hannover in 2008, and Praise Unit was the opening act at the concert. That was of course a great moment for me to share the stage with him. But it was also great to feel that over the years I had gotten a close relationship to so many people who were at the festival. When the audience was singing "It's a good life" and jumping around in that crazy gospel praise style it was really that kind of party that I love so much.
I was not an official person in Karlsruhe in 2010, so this year was much more relaxed for me. I introduced the Oslo Soul Teens from Norway, who I had been working with for some time, and after this the Soul Teens movement started in Germany. That is one of new exciting things that is starting to spread over Germany now.
Gospelkirchentag 2012 starts in a few days. This year I will direct "Inspired" from the new songbook with songs written especially for my workshop weekends. I will also direct two songs for the Soul Teens choir. Praise Unit will be at the opening concert, and then again perform at night at the teens festival. My wife and daughters will be with me, because we go home from Spain in our car, and we stop in Dortmund on the way to Sweden. To show my family the beautiful people of Germany and introduce them to the friends who have helped me become a part of the german choir family is the best thing of all!
I thank God for all the festivals that have been, I pray for many more to come, and I know that this year will be one of the best!
Amen?
My superheroes
If you are my Facebook friend you will find one photo album from our first month in Spain and another one from our second month. An album for the month of May will come in a few weeks.
Hamburgers
My wife and daughters have not tried any of the weird food that I tried (and enjoyed) in Madrid this weekend. But they did enjoy some hamburgers and from what I understand they enjoyed the company of many nice friends.
We are still apart (I go back to Valencia tomorow), but Thorine just told me via Skype about the concert last Saturday, where she played the flute, and all the people they met and all the places they visited over the weekend. They seem to have enjoyed our spanish home while I was in Madrid.
We are still apart (I go back to Valencia tomorow), but Thorine just told me via Skype about the concert last Saturday, where she played the flute, and all the people they met and all the places they visited over the weekend. They seem to have enjoyed our spanish home while I was in Madrid.
lördag 19 maj 2012
Smile
A whole day of singing and playing with the worship team from Lacy church in Madrid is over. We had a great time, as always! We did Kirk Franklin's "Smile" in spanish (Rio), and we also practised the swedish song "Blott en dag" (Dia en dia), which we will sing tomorrow.
For dinner Juan Marcos took me to a nice tapas-place (which was not tapas, but I did not understand why), and I tasted octopus that has one bone. Yes, there is an octopus that has a bone, the size of a toothpick in its body. The food is different here in Spain, but still very good!
For dinner Juan Marcos took me to a nice tapas-place (which was not tapas, but I did not understand why), and I tasted octopus that has one bone. Yes, there is an octopus that has a bone, the size of a toothpick in its body. The food is different here in Spain, but still very good!
fredag 18 maj 2012
Countdown
In a few minutes I will start working with the singers and musicians in the church of Juan Marcos in Madrid. This is my last weekend away from Valencia. Then there is only more rehearsals and a concert with Coro Gloria in Valencia, and after that get in our car and drive to Dortmund for Gospel Kirchentag. It is sad to feel that this wonderful time in Spain is soon coming to an end, but it will be good to meet our friends in Germany and Sweden soon.
torsdag 17 maj 2012
Shabach
"Ensayo" with Coro Gloria tonight. We did "Shabach" with a lot of fiestaaaa-feeling. My girls were there too, dancing and singing with me and the choir.
Tomorrow it's Madrid again. Unfortunately I go alone this time, but I think Juan Marcos will keep me pretty busy. :)
Tomorrow it's Madrid again. Unfortunately I go alone this time, but I think Juan Marcos will keep me pretty busy. :)
onsdag 16 maj 2012
Frozen coffee
Swedish people drink a lot of coffee. I like to do it more when I am working with something. The other day when I came to Sergio's house he asked if I wanted a cup of coffee and I said yes, of course. But instead of going for a pot on the stove, he opened the freezer and took out two glasses of frozen coffee. My first thought was "what have you done to my coffee?!?!?!?!?!?!?", and I felt like I just saw the train leaving and I was left alone on the station. But we mixed it the spanish way with some milk and/or other stuff and it tasted very good. Better than that frappucino they have at Starbucks. Maybe I will bring that habit to Sweden?
Un paso mas
Yesterday my GPS took me on a cruise for almost 90 minutes when I tried to go to Sergio's house, which is really only 15 minutes away from us. Then we spent two hours on three measures of an accapella song that he is working on. That's life as a musician!
Today more people from Coro Gloria met at Sergio's house to work on new songs. Sometimes the room was full of inspiration and the energy was kicking in! Sometimes we worked slowly and tried to find the best idea for a certain part of a song. That's life as a musician!
Trouble in paradise
Sometimes we think that we are doing something wrong here in Spain. All the people we meet are wonderful and all the adventures we have though my job are exciting. Should it not be painful and miserable to do missionary work? Finally we came to some little trouble this week, which I think was good for us.
The first problem was a leak of water in the house where we live. Thorine was able to locate what was wrong, but the whole basement was flooded and it could have been a disaster. Fortunately the heat makes the water go away quick and I think the damage was very little. It seems ok now.
The second problem was some financial things that we need to work out for the spanish people who wish to travel to Dortmund to experience German gospel music in June. I hope we can work that out too, and I know that life is full of worse things to worry about. We are working on fixing this too.
The third problem was that we met some very rude people at the restaurant of the museum at the city if science and arts today. But I guess the problem is more in myself if I actually have the energy to bother about rude people in a restaurant. I should just let it go, shouldn't I? :)
Well, at the end of the day I am still so grateful for the things we learn here, the people we meet and things we are able to give to the music ministry here.
The first problem was a leak of water in the house where we live. Thorine was able to locate what was wrong, but the whole basement was flooded and it could have been a disaster. Fortunately the heat makes the water go away quick and I think the damage was very little. It seems ok now.
The second problem was some financial things that we need to work out for the spanish people who wish to travel to Dortmund to experience German gospel music in June. I hope we can work that out too, and I know that life is full of worse things to worry about. We are working on fixing this too.
The third problem was that we met some very rude people at the restaurant of the museum at the city if science and arts today. But I guess the problem is more in myself if I actually have the energy to bother about rude people in a restaurant. I should just let it go, shouldn't I? :)
Well, at the end of the day I am still so grateful for the things we learn here, the people we meet and things we are able to give to the music ministry here.
tisdag 15 maj 2012
Warming up with Praise Unit
New clothes and new coreography while I am here in Spain. I have no idea how Praise Unit is rehearsing right now, but it seems to be pretty interesting. I will meet my PU friends again in Dortmund in June. They have emailed me some movies of the new coreography. When I look at it I miss them a lot! It is such a blessing to me to work with the talented people of Praise Unit and I am glad that we meet soon to do concerts at Gospel Kirchentag and other places in Germany and Slovakia. I hope you will be there too!
måndag 14 maj 2012
Four brothers
In Albacete I was unfortunately without my family, because they needed to rest in Valencia after lots of travelling. But I got to know an interesting family who plays a big part in the Coro Gospel de Castilla La Mancha. They are four brothers, who all play in the band for the choir. Their father, Pedro, is a kind of administrational leader for the choir, or at least for the band and I think that's a great idea to have a person, besides the director, who does a lot of planning and organization. In many choirs the director has to do all the job and often works too hard and too much. The director in this choir is also named Pedro, and he is a man with a vision and great plans for the choir.
We had a concert last saturday, north of Albacete, in a theatre. It was hot in the auditorium, and the choir made the temperature rise the whole evening. The audience seemed to love every minute of it!
We had a concert last saturday, north of Albacete, in a theatre. It was hot in the auditorium, and the choir made the temperature rise the whole evening. The audience seemed to love every minute of it!
söndag 13 maj 2012
No!
Many people ask me if I ever get tired of music, or gospel music in particular, or working with christians, or travelling, or working with amateur choirs, or other questions that start with "do you ever get tired of...", and the truth is "no"!
No, I don't get tired of doing what I do. Sometimes I get tired of my own personality, because I have some kind of extreme desire to always do things that nobody else did before me, and that is often bad for myself, my family and my closest work buddies. But even if I have this desire to explore new things and new music, I have not forgotten the love for my roots. "Oh happy day" is a gospel classic that people outside of church always want to listen to, and gospel choirs always are tired of singing. With "Gospel Coro de Castilla La Mancha" I was priviliged to direct "Oh happy day" and I loved every minute of it. I did not have much time to get to know this choir, so when I was directing them in concert I had to look into their eyes to see if they were up to doing something fun with the song.... and I was glad to see that they were! We had a great time with "Oh happy day"! I am so glad that there are choirs who like to bring their energy into this song, and I am glad that I still have the love for this song!
No, I am not tired of doing the classic songs. How could I be?
No, I don't get tired of doing what I do. Sometimes I get tired of my own personality, because I have some kind of extreme desire to always do things that nobody else did before me, and that is often bad for myself, my family and my closest work buddies. But even if I have this desire to explore new things and new music, I have not forgotten the love for my roots. "Oh happy day" is a gospel classic that people outside of church always want to listen to, and gospel choirs always are tired of singing. With "Gospel Coro de Castilla La Mancha" I was priviliged to direct "Oh happy day" and I loved every minute of it. I did not have much time to get to know this choir, so when I was directing them in concert I had to look into their eyes to see if they were up to doing something fun with the song.... and I was glad to see that they were! We had a great time with "Oh happy day"! I am so glad that there are choirs who like to bring their energy into this song, and I am glad that I still have the love for this song!
No, I am not tired of doing the classic songs. How could I be?
Snails and pigs
I have been away from the Internet over the weekend, so I could not write about my experience with the singers and musicians in Albacete, Castilla La Mancha. I will write about it tomorrow, and leave no details.
There is lots to say, of course, but before I forget it I want to share my first meal with the Albacetians with you!
Pedro and Pedro is kind of the central figures in this choir. Last Friday, after Pedro, Pedro and I had picked up the new drum kit for the concert, we had a meal in some restaurant in a suburb of Albacete. We had "tapas", which means that everybody around the table share the same plates. Something unusual for a swedish person could be that one of the plates was full of snails (I counted and estimated between 80-100 snails on the plate) and another plate had pieces of the tail of a pig ("knorr" for my swedish friends). I am not sure how big the tail of a pig really is, but I ate five pieces and ackording to my spanish friends I probably ate almost a complete tail. It tasted, well, it was kind of... pigtailish.
The snails were ok. I have eaten snails before. The difference this time was that they were smaller and the eyes were still pointing out at me. So every snail was kind of looking at me with that typical "why me"-look that only a snail can give you. But I ate them anyway and tried to not look them in the eyes before introducing them to the pigtails.
After this interesting meal started my weekend in Albacete which included a talented piano player that I had already worked with in Alcoi and four brothers who I have heard stories about in every city I visited in Spain. Stay tuned...
There is lots to say, of course, but before I forget it I want to share my first meal with the Albacetians with you!
Pedro and Pedro is kind of the central figures in this choir. Last Friday, after Pedro, Pedro and I had picked up the new drum kit for the concert, we had a meal in some restaurant in a suburb of Albacete. We had "tapas", which means that everybody around the table share the same plates. Something unusual for a swedish person could be that one of the plates was full of snails (I counted and estimated between 80-100 snails on the plate) and another plate had pieces of the tail of a pig ("knorr" for my swedish friends). I am not sure how big the tail of a pig really is, but I ate five pieces and ackording to my spanish friends I probably ate almost a complete tail. It tasted, well, it was kind of... pigtailish.
The snails were ok. I have eaten snails before. The difference this time was that they were smaller and the eyes were still pointing out at me. So every snail was kind of looking at me with that typical "why me"-look that only a snail can give you. But I ate them anyway and tried to not look them in the eyes before introducing them to the pigtails.
After this interesting meal started my weekend in Albacete which included a talented piano player that I had already worked with in Alcoi and four brothers who I have heard stories about in every city I visited in Spain. Stay tuned...
fredag 11 maj 2012
Deutschland? Sverige?
As we have just a few weeks left in Spain, and we are going to the festival in Dortmund, I feel the need to write some thoughts on my other "home" -Germany.
When I started with gospel music in the 90's I had no idea that Germany would be such a big part of my work and take such a big place in my heart. Thanks to Creative Kirche and Gospel Kirchentag I made many new friends quickly, and today I feel like I have a german family too.
When I started travelling to Germany I was talking to Thorine about doing what we are doing in Spain right now -stay there for a longer period to get to know the country and share my music ministry with some choirs for more than a weekend. But I was nervous about that, because the german language was then, and is still, difficult for me. I don't know what would have happened if I lived in Germany for a while, but even if I have not (yet) done it, I have still followed the development of music and gospel music in particular.
In my opinion many of the most exciting things in gospel music happens in Germany these days. There are many well organized festivals with a clear vision and great ideas. New choirs pop up here and there like they used to in sweden in the 90's. There is the full spectrum from advanced and creative singers and musicians to amateurs who create a better atmosphere in their neighborhood through their music.
I have already criticized Swedish church music in my blog, and I don't have to write the same thing again. But I need to mention one more thing that has made the german gospel scene more interesting than the swedish. Sweden (and often also the other nordic countries and some other countries as well) like to invite african american artists to teach gospel music, and nobody else. In Germany there is an interest in other european artists, not only african american, which has given character to the german gospel sound. While many swedish choirs aim for the american sound, many german choirs aim for their own sound, and I think it makes them strong as a group and interesting for the listener.
Again I make generalizations that are not always true, of course. And I know some people say that I am the most americanized song writer you can find in Sweden, so who am I to talk? Well, I like to talk about it, and you are free to comment on this blog or email me. ;-)
When I started with gospel music in the 90's I had no idea that Germany would be such a big part of my work and take such a big place in my heart. Thanks to Creative Kirche and Gospel Kirchentag I made many new friends quickly, and today I feel like I have a german family too.
When I started travelling to Germany I was talking to Thorine about doing what we are doing in Spain right now -stay there for a longer period to get to know the country and share my music ministry with some choirs for more than a weekend. But I was nervous about that, because the german language was then, and is still, difficult for me. I don't know what would have happened if I lived in Germany for a while, but even if I have not (yet) done it, I have still followed the development of music and gospel music in particular.
In my opinion many of the most exciting things in gospel music happens in Germany these days. There are many well organized festivals with a clear vision and great ideas. New choirs pop up here and there like they used to in sweden in the 90's. There is the full spectrum from advanced and creative singers and musicians to amateurs who create a better atmosphere in their neighborhood through their music.
I have already criticized Swedish church music in my blog, and I don't have to write the same thing again. But I need to mention one more thing that has made the german gospel scene more interesting than the swedish. Sweden (and often also the other nordic countries and some other countries as well) like to invite african american artists to teach gospel music, and nobody else. In Germany there is an interest in other european artists, not only african american, which has given character to the german gospel sound. While many swedish choirs aim for the american sound, many german choirs aim for their own sound, and I think it makes them strong as a group and interesting for the listener.
Again I make generalizations that are not always true, of course. And I know some people say that I am the most americanized song writer you can find in Sweden, so who am I to talk? Well, I like to talk about it, and you are free to comment on this blog or email me. ;-)
Desafinado
I forgot to mention that Jon brought his mandolin and ukulele yesterday. So I grabbed my bandurria and we had a little jam session. We sang some of the old american folk songs. We all tried to sing and sometimes Stella could join us on the ukulele. Thorine, Anna and me tried to sing something swedish. We did 12 seconds from "Uti vår hage" and then I messed it up with my unreliable tenor voice.
The guitar was used too, but the D-string is actually constantly out of tune, or "siempre desafinado".
The guitar was used too, but the D-string is actually constantly out of tune, or "siempre desafinado".
torsdag 10 maj 2012
Family
Today my sister Josefine and her husband Johan shared the hot Valencia weather with us in the swimming pool. Stella and Aina loves to have new friends to play with in the water and it seems like the visitors from Sweden appreciate the sun and the heat.
We had friends over for lunch. Jon, Meta and Alena came all the way from Zaragoza to pick up Anna who will be working with them for the next few days and we all ate salmon that Thorine had cooked. When the cities come together like this (in this case Zaragoza and Valencia) it is encouraging for me who travel from one place to another, because I get the feeling that we are family too. Hopefully Juan Marcos from Madrid will visit us next week, and last weekend Laura and José from Valencia showed up in Madrid. It is fun and inspiring to remember friends in different cities.
It is good to be mindful of your family!
We had friends over for lunch. Jon, Meta and Alena came all the way from Zaragoza to pick up Anna who will be working with them for the next few days and we all ate salmon that Thorine had cooked. When the cities come together like this (in this case Zaragoza and Valencia) it is encouraging for me who travel from one place to another, because I get the feeling that we are family too. Hopefully Juan Marcos from Madrid will visit us next week, and last weekend Laura and José from Valencia showed up in Madrid. It is fun and inspiring to remember friends in different cities.
It is good to be mindful of your family!
onsdag 9 maj 2012
More visitors
Tonight Anna came to the Coro Gloria choir practise and taught some of her vocal techniques. I think in the beginning the choir looked like Anna was saying something like "if you pour a glass of lemon juice over your head you will be rich and happy forever", and by that I mean that they did not seem to connect with Anna at first. But I think after just a few minutes everybody was inspired and ready for the advanced vocal class that Anna gave. The choir sounded great and I think Anna came through with her message!
Today we also got a visit from my baby sister Josefine and her baby boy Johan (her husband) to our house. We enjoyed the sun (that we did not see so much in Madrid) together with them, and enjoyed the spanish siesta techniques.
Today we also got a visit from my baby sister Josefine and her baby boy Johan (her husband) to our house. We enjoyed the sun (that we did not see so much in Madrid) together with them, and enjoyed the spanish siesta techniques.
Last night in Madrid
Nancy invited me and my family, and the Madrid choir to her house last night (monday), and it was a special moment for many of us. After the party we had to drive during the night back home to Valencia, so we should not really stay long in Madrid. But it was such a blessed time at Nancy's place and so many important things that had to be said, so we had to stay late anyway.
On the way home Stella and Aina watched "Trassel" together with Anna who followed us to Valencia. When my daughters fell asleep Anna, Thorine and I talked about music, Spain, God and kind of the meaning of it all. It is not many people who work in a similar way that we do, so it is nice to talk with someone who have similar experiences.
On the way home Stella and Aina watched "Trassel" together with Anna who followed us to Valencia. When my daughters fell asleep Anna, Thorine and I talked about music, Spain, God and kind of the meaning of it all. It is not many people who work in a similar way that we do, so it is nice to talk with someone who have similar experiences.
måndag 7 maj 2012
Wild...
...and crazy, was the concert last night! I don't have time to write about it now, but I can say that most white people are not used to the extra hour of party praise music at the end of the concert with Coro Gospel de Madrid, their director Nancy, Anna from Sweden, Amos the pastor of the nigerian church, the great singers and musicians of the choir and all the people who had come to join us in this celebration!.
söndag 6 maj 2012
Christian parking
I know that many people who read this blog don't share my faith, and because of this I get interesting responses to some of the things I write. I like it and hope it continues!
Yesterday my faith came to a whole new level. It was one of those times when I had been looking for a place to park my car for over 20 minutes. My patience diminished and my ego grew -"ME needs a place to park MY car NOW!"
I followed my spanish intuition and made up a parking place where I thought I deserved it. When I got out of the car and looked at my parking I realized that I was blocking two other cars, plus a garage door, and 80% of the car was on the sidewalk. I looked it for ten seconds, then I thought "nah, this is not how a christian should park". So I got in my car and moved it, and in that same moment another car drove out from its parking space so that I could go there and be comfortably and legally parked.
Alright, this is blog is not to be taken as a serious testimony. It was just a glimpse of life in Madrid.
Yesterday my faith came to a whole new level. It was one of those times when I had been looking for a place to park my car for over 20 minutes. My patience diminished and my ego grew -"ME needs a place to park MY car NOW!"
I followed my spanish intuition and made up a parking place where I thought I deserved it. When I got out of the car and looked at my parking I realized that I was blocking two other cars, plus a garage door, and 80% of the car was on the sidewalk. I looked it for ten seconds, then I thought "nah, this is not how a christian should park". So I got in my car and moved it, and in that same moment another car drove out from its parking space so that I could go there and be comfortably and legally parked.
Alright, this is blog is not to be taken as a serious testimony. It was just a glimpse of life in Madrid.
The New York of Spain
Tonight Coro Gospel de Madrid has a concert in a nigerian church here in Madrid. We rehearsed for the concert during the past days and I am pretty sure it will be an intense experience. Madrids gospel choir is directed by Nancy from the USA, the singers are spanish, the church is nigerian and I am from Sweden. You never know what happens when people from many parts of the world come together.
On top of this my friend Anna from Sweden is here right now, giving song classes and also working with Madrids gospelchoir. Anna directed Joybells, the same gospel choir I used to direct, and she has been in Spain many times to inspire singers and choirs. It's great to work together for a weekend! She will also follow us to Valencia for a few days.
Nancy has taught me many things about what it is like to come to Spain from another country and work with music. We have also spoken about how different Madrid is from other cities in Spain. To me it seems a bit like Madrid is like New York in the USA or Berlin in Germany -a huge city which is like a country inside the country, with its own ideas of culture, politics, religion and so on. An example of the difference is that in Madrid most choirs sing in english, but in the other cities almost every choir I meet sings in spanish.
If you are in Madrid today come to Iglesia Bride of Christ Alcala at 19.00 and enjoy the concert!
On top of this my friend Anna from Sweden is here right now, giving song classes and also working with Madrids gospelchoir. Anna directed Joybells, the same gospel choir I used to direct, and she has been in Spain many times to inspire singers and choirs. It's great to work together for a weekend! She will also follow us to Valencia for a few days.
Nancy has taught me many things about what it is like to come to Spain from another country and work with music. We have also spoken about how different Madrid is from other cities in Spain. To me it seems a bit like Madrid is like New York in the USA or Berlin in Germany -a huge city which is like a country inside the country, with its own ideas of culture, politics, religion and so on. An example of the difference is that in Madrid most choirs sing in english, but in the other cities almost every choir I meet sings in spanish.
If you are in Madrid today come to Iglesia Bride of Christ Alcala at 19.00 and enjoy the concert!
lördag 5 maj 2012
The world
Here in Madrid we live with Oscar and Christina. They have a large map of the world on the wall, which we have looked at many times and discussed politics, religion and other things. When I grew up we had a large map of the world in our kitchen. In mine and Thorine's house in Sweden there is also a wall with a map. I think my desire to travel has come from looking at that map with curiousity. Growing up with an image of the world on the wall made an impact on me. Maybe I should recommend more people to put a map of the world on a wall in their house?
Maybe she was right, the beauty queen in this classic youtube clip:
We need more maps
Maybe she was right, the beauty queen in this classic youtube clip:
We need more maps
The soul of Spain
Today we had music theory again. We started with listining to some gospel classics that I have recorded in more modern versions and then I answered questions about why I chose certain ideas and we spoke about alternatives that also could work. The workshop was with a group from Coro Gospel de Madrid, and my swedish friends Anna and Jakob was also there. We also spoke about how you define soul and why you sometimes feel it and sometimes you don't.
Earlier today me and my family was at the bull fighting museum in Madrid, where we learned that the soul of Spain is connected to the bull fighting, whether you like it or not. I don't know if that's true, but it was interesting to see that the matadors were once treated like we treat celebrities like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga today.
Earlier today me and my family was at the bull fighting museum in Madrid, where we learned that the soul of Spain is connected to the bull fighting, whether you like it or not. I don't know if that's true, but it was interesting to see that the matadors were once treated like we treat celebrities like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga today.
fredag 4 maj 2012
Bruises
We are now in Madrid and I just finished an evening together with the musicians from Coro Gospel de Madrid. I knew some of the musicians from before, but most of them were new to me. It was a great gang of people and I think we all had fun together. For some reason I started playing on the cymbals with my bare hands, so now my hands are full of bruises. I think there is a reason why drummers play with sticks.
torsdag 3 maj 2012
Death
It is nice to read about what happens to your friends on Facebook. But sometimes Facebook delivers the bad news. I just opened my Facebook page and I realize that I have several friends who are sick and fighting for their lives right now. Life is not fair and I don't understand why there is such pain in this world.
I am grateful for these friends and I pray that death will lose its grip on them.
I am grateful for these friends and I pray that death will lose its grip on them.
tisdag 1 maj 2012
Spain or Sweden?
We have
lived in Spain
A lot of Swedish
musicians, including myself, often think that we can perform music better than
other Europeans. That is not true, of course. Sweden Sweden
A big
difference between Spain Sweden Spain Sweden Spain
The good
side of this is that the music in the churches here are full of soul! Because
what is lacking in education is compensated in enthusiasm and energy. Best of
all is that many singers and musicians turn their lives over to God and let Him
model their lives! It comes natural to many christian spaniards to serve God
with music. Many swedes are more focused on producing a perfect sound, or cool
harmonies, or constantly renewing the repertoire.
I know I
make generalisations now, and I am sorry if I offend anybody. But my point is
that I wish to keep some of the spanish desire to worship that I have seen.
I intended
to compare also with Germany
Still a good life
Yesterday I noticed that I was driving my car without being amazed about all the beautiful mountains around me. I am already used to living in such a beautful country, so I forget to be thankful and enjoy it. Isn't it sad that we forget the good things we have around us so quickly?
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