Dear Friend,
I am writing to share my excitement about a unique summer program called Music
on the Fly. Now in its fourth year, MOTF exists to promote improvisation
as a fundamental skill for musicians at all levels and styles. The program
is held at the Black Hills Campus of Wheaton College July 31-August
8 where breathtaking scenery only enhances the weeklong experience.
Faculty members from Wheaton and guests like Chris Redgate from London offer
training and performance experience that is borne of their own deep commitment
to this artform.
Like many of the institutions you serve, Wheaton College exists, “to
help build the church.” We have discovered that musicians are continually
expected to improvise in worship contexts, but rarely given the training.
For this reason, MOTF 2004 will focus on strategic preparation of worship
leaders and church musicians to meet this challenge.
In addition to special activities, evening concerts, worship events and recreation,
the daily schedule for MOTF includes Basic Forms of Improvisation, Style and
Improvisation (targeting Jazz and Worship), as well as time for individual
and group practice.
If you have any doubt about the value of attending MOTF or sending a musician
you know, I want to assure you that, without exception, those who have attended
in the past come away from the experience with tangible growth as performing
artists and deepened insight as believers. One student wrote, MOTF, “encouraged
me to explore many areas of music, to see exactly what defines them theoretically,
then put those things into my fingers.”
Please take a minute to visit our website.
Music on the Fly | Wheaton
College Home | Wheaton
Conservatory Home
Tony L. Payne, Director
Wheaton Conservatory of Music
Wheaton, Illinois
