New Dad Speer Songbook available

After 3 years, my new songbook, "Heaven's Jubilee: the songs of G.T. "Dad" Speer and the Speer Family" is now available! It was released this past January and has been selling very well. Ben Speer said it was one of the fastest moving product he remembered since they recorded "Peace in the Valley." Gaither Music has also picked up this book and is carrying it in their catalogs. You can order through me by e-mailing me at degenmusic@gmail.com. They are $10 each ($12 for spiral binding).

The photos below were taken by Aaron Crisler for the Judy Nelon Group. This is Bill Gaither & Ben Speer holding and talking about the songbook at a Homecoming concert in Nashville earlier this year. Thanks for the photos Aaron!

This year's GospelFest will be June 14th at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria. We're excited to be joined by Reggie & Ladye Love Smith and Stephen Hill, all regulars on the Gaither Homecoming videos. This is our 10th annual GospelFest and we're very excited about it!

I returned from Nashville a couple weeks ago after attending and presenting at the "Farther Along Conference" hosted by MTSU's Center for Popular Music in Murfreesboro, TN. What a great time of discussion and learning about the varying facets of the singing convention world.

long time

Long time, no blog. Quick updates:

Eliza Rose was born September 16th, 5:50pm. She was 7lb 5oz and 19in long. Clara loves being a big sister!

Summertime GospelFest was a big success...program was set up like an old-fashioned radio show.

Gospel Music of Elvis Presley...premiered on the September RiverLife cruise. We've had an encore presentation and are getting more bookings.

Christmastime GospelFest tickets are now available. We'll be at the Gateway Building in Peoria Friday, December 14th for a dinner concert and at Grace Church in Morton on Saturday, December 15th for a concert only with their choir.

Tracking in Nashville

Hello! Scott Kramer and I just returned from Nashville from a 2-day session recording rhythm tracks for this year's Summertime GospelFest. We had an awesome time and made a lot of great music. All of our musicians play or have played on the Gaither homecoming videos and were wonderful to work with:

Tommy Cooper, engineer
Tracey Phillips, piano
Kevin Williams, guitar
Jimmy Carter, drums
Jerry Kroon, bass

We recorded 15 songs in 2 days. Each day had a morning and afternoon session. We also got some new Christmas songs recorded that we'll be using for Christmastime GospelFest. We'll definitely be going back to do more. It's amazing the talent God has given all of them.

Ben Speer also stopped by the studio to look over a rough copy of the Dad Speer songbook I'm publishing. He really liked the pictures that had been included and while we were down there, I received the foreword that Bill Gaither wrote for this book--very exciting! I hope to have it to the printer by the end of March, so it should be available by early May.

I'll be posting some pictures from the session, hopefully later today.

Shawn

Christmastime GospelFest

Well, it's been a while!

We had a BLAST with Ben & Allison Durham Speer at the Summertime GospelFest. I got to sing a couple songs with them and they really enjoyed themselves as well. Allison also did a great job on the RiverLife cruise the next evening.

Last month, we had the first annual HarvestTime GospelFest at the Zion Oaks Tabernacle. The week prior had been nice and warm, but the day of the concert was nice and nippy--about 45 or 50 degrees outside. It was still a great concert and we had about 150 people there--all bundled up in coats and blankets. Lots of fun.

Christmastime GospelFest is in less than a month and we've sold quite a few tickets so far. We'll be doing some great southern gospel and traditional Christmas music as well. We'll even throw in a couple of "original" songs--one written by me and the other co-written with Scott Kramer.

I've almost sold out of my third printing of the "Convention Hallelujahs!" songbook and am considering printing a new book next year--either a 2nd book of convention favorites or a bok featuring the songs of Dad Speer--a work that's been in progress for a couple years now. Not sure yet which we'll do.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

GospelFest is coming

Well, I had a great time in Nashville teaching at Ben Speer's Stamps-Baxter School of Music. We heard from guest artists such as Gordon Mote, the Florida Boys, Lori Apple, Stephen Hill, Reggie & Ladye Love Smith and Bill & Gloria Gaither.

I had 8 students in my theory class and we studied advanced partwriting, as well as ear training, dication, and sight-singing.

We're now just a few weeks away from GospelFest and it's going to be great. I was able to sit down with Allison a couple times at Stamps-Baxter and work through the concert order. I'm very excited about this concert.

The radio show continues to do very well...I hope you get a chance to listen: M-F 7:00pm on WBNH 88.5FM or at www.handsoflove.org. Just click on the "GospelFest Productions" link.

Have a great day!

Stamps-Baxter School of Music

Well, we finally got moved and our house sold...now two and a half months later, we'll still trying to find things in boxes!

We just got back yesterday from a week-long vacation in Hayward, WI, with my family. We had a great time. Clara loved her boat-ride and even the pool.

Today, I flew to Nashville for the beginning of the Stamps-Baxter School of Music, which starts tomorrow. Eric Walker picked me up, and the airlines only lost one of my bags...wait, that's 50% of my luggage!!! Hopefully it will get here tonight or tomorrow.

Eric and I and a friend from school went to Cracker Barrel for dinner after picking me up at the airport. While we were eating, in walks all of the Gaither Vocal Band and their spouses and some of Guy Penrod's kids. Then, some of the Isaacs stopped in as well. It was the place to be.

I'll keep updating about what's going on at the school.

Only five more weeks til GospelFest!

Summertime GospelFest

Happy Memorial Day! We've been very busy for the past six weeks packing up the house. We placed an offer on a home the day before Easter and it was accepted that next week. We then put our house on the market and sold it ten days later! Praise the Lord! We've been up to our ears in home inspections, contracts, repair amendments, packing, etc. We close on both of our homes on June 1st (my grandpa's 80th birthday!), and immediately take possession of our new home. Our buyer will take possession of our current home on June 3rd, so we have about a day and a half to get moved. Can't wait.

We start rehearsals for the 8th Annual Summertime GospelFest this Wednesday. It's going to be very exciting having Ben, Faye and Allison Durham Speer with us. Still getting the music together and figuring out what we'll be doing. The concert is August 25th at Grace Presbyterian Church.

The GospelFest Singers will be singing for the RiverLife Father's Day Cruise on June 18th aboard the Spirit of Peoria. The next day, Anne and I, along with Scott & Rachel, will be going on an overnight excursion on the Spirit of Peoria up to Starved Rock State Park. Should be a great couple of days.

"An Evening with Fanny Crosby" will be at Dayton Avenue Baptist in Peoria on June 11th at 6:00pm. Come on out for a great evening! We'll also be in Rock Island, IL, on June 25th at 6:00pm.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Shawn

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! What a wonderful time of year--made even more appreciable by the beautiful weather, blooming forscythia, lilacs, daffodils, green grass, warm temps...

The Radio Time GospelFest Hour has been in full swing now for two weeks and is being received very graciously. Be sure to listen every weeknight at 7:00 on WBNH 88.5FM or on the web at www.wbnh.org. This week's programs have been all about the Cross, the Blood, and Calvary.

Hands of Love is working on a new look to their website and it's really starting to take shape. You can check out the GospelFest Productions section and find out about all of our GospelFest concerts, pictures of the singers, listening samples from our soon-to-be-released CD, songbook orders, etc. Check it out!

Clara's finally walking--she' so cute watching her toddle, fall over, get back up while laughing, etc. How exciting!

Happy Easter!
Shawn

Ministry Updates

Hello all. Wanted to let you know about the start date for Radio Time GospelFest Hour. The past couple weeks have truly been a learning experience as we've been putting shows together. I certainly hope it gets quicker as I get more used to it. I've completed almost two weeks' worth of shows and hope to be three weeks ahead by the time the show starts airing on April 3rd... Yes, the Radio Time GospelFest Hour begins April 3rd and 7:00pm and will run Monday through Fridays on WBNH 88.5 FM or on the web at www.wbnh.org. We're very excited about this ministry opportunity. We're also putting together a program for our ministry events as well as a poster/flier for the GospelFest concerts.

A couple weeks ago, we presented "An Evening with Fanny Crosby" at Highview Church of God in Washington, IL, and at Grace Evangelical Church in Morton, IL. This is a great presentation on Fanny Crosby's life and many of her hymns she wrote.

With Degenhart Music, I've also been very busy with a variety of things. I'm doing the typesetting for a book that will be published by Harold Timmons later this spring. It's a compilation (the first of several volumes) honoring the Chuck Wagon Gang. Harold played for the Chucks and is now putting together songbooks featuring many of the songs they're known for. I've also been doing some typesetting for a songwriter from Chicago, IL, and am working on a songbook project for the Ruppes, a women's family trio from North Carolina.

Busy, busy, busy...

Radio-Time GospelFest Hour

Hello and Happy Valentine's Day!

Hands of Love was approached by WBNH 88.5 FM (Peoria's Moody affiliate) to take over production of their hour-long southern gospel radio program "Southern Gospel Moments" which airs five times a week. We have always had a great relationship with WBNH and are thrilled with this new ministry partnership.

I will be hosting the program and it will now be called "Radio-Time GospelFest Hour." In addition to the great current southern gospel hits, we'll also be featuring many of the older pioneer groups, such as the Goodmans, Speers, Blackwoods and Statesmen, in many of their classic recordings. We also hope to do interviews with artists and other special features.

We're currently working on the pilot episode, which hopefully will air sometime in March. We're very excited about this new venture for Hands of Love and WBNH!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everybody! Exciting things are happening for Hands of Love Ministry this year. For our 8th Annual Summertime GospelFest, I'm pleased to announce that the concert will be a special tribute celebrating the Speer Family's 85th anniversary. For the occasion, we'll be featuring special guests Allison Durham-Speer, Ben Speer and Faye Speer. We're very excited about having these living legends with us to celebrate Mom & Dad Speer's legacy of the past 85 years. Ben is the music director for the Gaither Homecoming videos and has sung with the Speer Family since age 3. He also has a studio in Nashville and serves as a producer for many recording artists. Allison Durham-Speer is married to Brian Speer, son of Faye and the late Brock Speer. Her solo career has taken her all over the world and is a featured singer on the Gaither Homecoming videos. Faye Speer joined the group when she married Brock in 1948. Her sweet spirit and smooth alto voice became an integral part of the Speer Family for the better part of the past 58 years.

The date for the concert will be August 25th at Grace Presbyterian Church. Along with our special guests will be the GospelFest Singers, Choir and Band, as well as pianist Tracey Phillips from Nashville and bass singer Eric Walker from Missouri. Stay tuned for information regarding tickets.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all. This afternoon we'll stop by my grandparent's house to say hello, then off to Anne's parents' for the evening. We'll be joined by Anne's sister's family as well as their aunt & uncle and cousins. After returning home, we'll open our presents and look to the sky for Rudolph's nose. Tomorrow morning, after Clara opens presents from Santa Claus, we'll head to my aunt's house for Christmas with the Degenhart side of the family. Tomorrow evening we'll go to my parent's house to celebrate with my siblings and parents.

If you care to track Santa's journey, you can check out www.noradsanta.org. The North American Air Defense command in Colorado tracks Santa and posts updates on his location.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 4 year anniversary! We had a beautiful wedding four years ago on this date. I proposed a year earlier while decorating the Christmas tree at my apartment. The ring was inside a special gold ball ornament. Our first "unofficial" date was Anne helping me decorate the tree in my apartment the year before that, so this time of year is extra special for us.

Our wedding was at Highview Church of God, my home church, in Washington, IL and we had three pastors officiating: Ed Beasley (my pastor growing up), Ben Johnston (our pastor from Grace), and Father Reese (Anne's pastor from St. Mark's). We had the River City String Quartet playing for the ceremony and I arranged the processionals and recessional. Our bridesmaids walked in to the theme from "Legends of the Fall," Anne's processional was the bridal march from "The Sound of Music" and the recessional was an arrangement of "Joy to the World" that began with the "Throne Room" fanfare from "Star Wars" and ended with a quote of "White Christmas." Her attendants were her sister Gina, her friend Holly and our friend Jenny. My attendants were Nathan, and my brothers Jason and Chad. The flower girls were Emilee, Hannah, Liesl and Tessa. Amber and Jeremy did the guest book and Isaac helped pass out bells.
Pastor Beasley performed the majority of the ceremony with Ben leading the unity candle portion and Father Reese providing a special blessing at the end of the ceremony.

The reception was at Wildlife Prairie Park and was beautiful. We decorated it how we wanted right after Thanksgiving and they used our decorations for the whole season. Anne had just finished student teaching at Richwoods HS, so their madrigal singers came and sang for us, as well as presented the bridal party. We had a small jazz combo playing dinner music (piano, bass, drums, and sax) and the whole evening was enchanting.

The day after Christmas we left for our honeymoon in Asheville, NC. A beautiful place to stay!

Happy Anniversary, honey! I love you!

Season Wrap-up

Well, our busy Christmastime ended yesterday afternoon and now we can REST! After Anne's Christmas concert this past Wednesday, I had a rehearsal and two performances of the musical/oratorio "Saviour" at the First United Methodist Church in Normal, IL. My friend, Janna Peterson, is the choir director there and called me to play when her pianist was unable to continue. We performed the piece (with orchestra and choir) Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning during their worship services.

Friday evening we attended Tremont High School's madrigal dinner. My best friend, Nathan Edwards, is the choir director there and he and the students did a fantastic job! Highlight of the evening for me was the skit "Noah and Joan of Ark," which I performed in when I was in high school 14 years ago--I still remembered most of the lines!

After "Saviour" yesterday morning, Anne and I took Clara to see Santa and one of his reindeer at the Festival of Lights Marketplace. Clara didn't cry and we had our picture taken. Last night Anne and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary with family at my parent's house. Anne's done teaching tomorrow morning, so we're looking forward to some much-needed rest and relaxation!

School Christmas Concert

My wife, Anne, teaches K-8 music at St. Philomena School in Peoria. It's part-time (3 mornings a week) and she sees each class only once during that week.

Last night was her Christmas program and it was fantastic. The gym was filled and overflowing with parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, etc., and everybody loved it! Some of the little kids had costumes (elf hats and reindeer hats) and some had props (little drums and flutes) and all were adorable. In addition to the singing, the 8th grade played choir chimes and she had a group of carolers singing between some of the songs for transition. The beginning band also played transition music and did a great job. The pastor at St. Phil's, Father Greg, said this was the best Christmas concert he'd attended in his 12 years of pastoring! (now would be a good time to ask for a raise!!!)

Because it was in the gym this year, rather than the church, Anne did a lot of decorating to help liven the place up: four Christmas trees, lighted garland hung on the wall to frame the risers, and even a fake fireplace and rocking chair on stage for a Christmas scene during the intermission.

All the kids did a great job with all of their songs!!!

Hands of Love Ministry information

Hands of Love Ministry was created five years ago by Scott & Rachel Kramer as the umbrella ministry for their RiverLife gospel music dinner cruises aboard the Spirit of Peoria riverboat. Out of those concert cruises developed Hands of Love Ministry. This ministry provides a variety of music and audio production services throughout central Illinois.

• RIVERLIFE: we host monthly gospel music cruises aboard the Spirit of Peoria riverboat. These cruises feature an all-you-can-eat prime rib and chick buffet (food is fantastic!) and a concert featuring a variety of musical styles, including southern gospel, black gospel, inspirational and others. Regular performers include the Ed Brothers Quartet from the Chattanooga area, the ministry's own GospelFest Singers, the Gates Family from Bloomington, IL, and next year we'll also be hosting Gaither Homecoming singer Allison Durham Speer.
• GOSPELFEST concert series: a good old-fashioned night of southern gospel singing featuring the GospelFest choir (singers from churches throughout central Illinois), GospelFest Singers (our core group of soloists), and the GospelFest band (headlined by Gaither homecoming pianist Tracey Phillips from Nashville, TN). The evening features great southern gospel convention music including quartets, trios and soloists. In the past we've had guests like Buddy Greene (writer of "Mary Did You Know?") This next year, our 8th year, we'll be having Allison Durham Speer with us for the evening. We also have a presentation entitled "An Evening with Fanny Crosby" that we take to churches throughout the area. This evening shares the life the story of Fanny Crosby through many of her best-known hymns, including "To God be the Glory" and "Blessed Assurance."
• WEST & KRAMER: Scott & his wife, Rachel, minister throughout the midwest sharing music and testimony through a variety of styles. Rachel recently sang in Minnesota for a Minneapolis suburb's annual prayer breakfast.
• AUDIO PRODUCTION: Through Scott Kramer's Electric Station Studios, Hands of Love is able to provide audio services to a variety of churches and ministries in the area. Mixing and Mastering for local radio and TV broadcasts, producing music beds for videos and special projects, and original track production are some of the services offered through this branch of the ministry.

Check out our website for a calendar of events: www.handsoflove.org

Hands of Love Ministry is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Our ministry is funded by the support and prayers of believers like you. If you would like more information on Hands of Love or would like to become a financial partner with us in this ministry, please contact us through the Hands of Love website.

Degenhart Music services

Degenhart Music offers a variety of musical services. Hopefully we can be of service to you!

• TYPESETTING--giving your music that professional look. Any style or genre, including full score, piano-vocal, instrument parts, lead sheets, choral scores, hymns. I've been working with the Finale music notation program for 12 years.
• ORCHESTRATION--writing out parts for any combination of instruments for your song from full orchestra to small jazz band. Experience includes arranging and orchestrating for a nationall televised church Christmas production, "A Grace Family Christmas" as well as work for the Cross Music Group publishing company from the Chattanooga area.
• ARRANGING--adding those special touches to your song, writing out choral or instrument parts, adding introductions, bridges, endings
• CONDUCTING--special events and festivals
• ACCOMPANYING--accomplished pianist and accompanist (there is a difference!)
• MUSICAL THEATRE--involvement with over 40 musicals over the past 10 years as either musical director, conductor, rehearsal accompanist and arranger, including several national and world premiers
• CONCERT PRODUCTION/CONSULTATION--I can help you put together your church's Christmas or other concerts from helping with music selection, multi-media usage and administrative/logistics planning.
• SPECIAL EVENTS--weddings, receptions, banquets, funerals

Call or e-mail for rates and to see what we can do for you!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

My name is Shawn Degenhart and I'm part of the Hands of Love Ministry in central Illinois. I've been married to my wife Anne for almost four years and we have a beautiful 14 month old girl, Claralyn Kay. In addition to Hands of Love, I'm also the owner of Degenhart Music, a business that offers a variety of musical services including arranging, orchestrating, typesetting, accompanying, playing for weddings/receptions, etc. I also teach music theory and sight-singing at Ben Speer's Stamps-Baxter School of Music every summer at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN.

Hands of Love Ministry hosts the RiverLife gospel music dinner cruises aboard the Spirit of Peoria riverboat as well as hosting the GospelFest concerts. We held our 7th Annual Summertime GospelFest on August 13th at Grace Presbyterian Church and most recently, the first annual Christmastime GospelFest at the Gateway Building in downtown Peoria.

My title at the ministry is Director of Programming & Development. I not only plan and direct concerts, but also handle some of the administrative duties of the ministry.This blog will help keep you updated as to what's going on with the Degenharts, Hands of Love, and Degenhart Music!

Busy Christmas time

Well, it's been a whirlwind month. Last week we wrapped up Grace Presbyterian Church's "A Grace Family Christmas." I served as a producer of sorts, helping to plan out the concert and coordinating details, and also was the rehearsal accompanist. This concert is attended by over 4,000 people each year, including local politicians and our U.S. Representative.

This past weekend we held our ministry's first annual "Christmastime GospelFest." An off-shoot of the Summertime GospelFest series, this dinner-concert was held at the Gateway Building on Peoria's beautiful riverfront. The GospelFest singers provided the music for the concert portion, featuring a lot of great southern gospel Christmas music. A good time was had by all.

This next week I'll be accompanying the Christmas concert where my wife teaches K-8 music and this weekend will be playing piano/synth for the oratorio "Saviour" for a church in Normal, IL.

Once all this is done, we plan on enjoying the rest of the season: visiting local Christmas sights and events and just RELAXING!

Already starting to plan events for next year!