St. James Music Press

19/07/2024

It's so great to be together! Aren't summer conferences the best? They're just full of good people and inspiration!

17/07/2024

Hot off the presses comes "Saints Rejoice!" by William Allen Pasch! This setting, for 5-octave handbells, celebrates two beloved "saints hymns."

The first is "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God," by Lesbia Scott (1898-1986), associated with the tune GRAND ISLE, by John Henry Hopkins, Jr.
(1861-1945). The other is "Rejoice in God's Saints," by Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000), often sung to LAUDA DOMINUM, by C. Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918).

Check it out now - https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/saints-rejoice

11/07/2024

Welcome back, Donis Schweizer! Our beloved Donis, who co-founded St. James Music Press with her husband, Mark, rounds out our first-ever all-woman review panel. She holds a degree in music education from Middle Tennessee State University and is a committed violin teacher. Often the voice on the other end of the phone, no one understands more about the needs of the churches SJMP serves. Thank you, Donis!

10/07/2024

Meet Jessica Nelson! Jessica is a native Mississippian who holds degrees from Millsaps College and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and the Colleague Certificate from the American Guild of Organists. She currently serves as organist/choirmaster of St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson, MS, is the retired director of the Mississippi Conference on Church Music and Liturgy. She is an accomplished composer of sacred music and we are proud to have several of her compositions in the SJMP catalog. We are thrilled she is bringing her expertise to YOU as part of our 2024 Grant reviewers! Thank you, Jessica!

10/07/2024

NEW Music: "The Prayers I Make" by Arlen Clarke is for SATB Choir and Organ. This is a moving setting of the prayer by Michelangelo Buaronotti that builds to a thrilling climax. Appropriate for many days during the church year, this will soon become a standard in your choir rep. Learning tracks are available!

See for yourself and preview for free - https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/prayers-i-make

09/07/2024

Had a lovely reading session in a BEAUTIFUL chapel during the Sewanee Church Music Conference ! Thank you to everyone who came!

09/07/2024

Meet Kelly Abraham! Kelly is the Executive Director of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. She has also served as Director of Youth and Families at First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, KY, and brings extensive experience in strategic planning and management to her ministry. We are delighted to have her as one of our 2024 Revitalization / New Choir Grant Reviewers! Thank you, Kelly!

04/07/2024

An Independence Day poem for you! 😁 (And while it's not Longfellow, we think you'll like it.)

To all of our friends with time to hear
Of the Independence Day music congregations Revere
We wish you all of the red, white, and brass
With flags or descants, it's all done with class
You work and you toil, hear lots of suggestions
And everyone wants to give you direction
Eternal Father, Strong to Save
Or National Hymn and other praise
We Vow to Thee, Our Country
Or something a little more funky
But even if efforts are chancey
May all your Hymns Be Fancy!

Happy Independence Day,
Your friends at SJMP

29/06/2024

PSA: Our collection of "Easy Anthems for Summer Choir" is at your beck and call! - https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/collection/easy-anthems-summer-choirs

20/06/2024

Montreat Reading Sessions!
Thursday, 6/20 @ 4:30 & Monday, 6/24 @ 4:30 in Convocation Hall

To all of you incredible Presbyterian Association of Musicians Presbyterian Association of Musicians attending the 2024 Worship & Music Conference, be sure to come to see us at our reading sessions and exhibit table! Fun and swag await!

19/06/2024

Some beautiful snapshots of Montreat, NC! We'll be enjoying the view until we see you at the exhibits and in our reading session tomorrow! & Presbyterian Association of Musicians

19/06/2024

The High-Carb Sundays (or as we like to call it, "Carbotide") begin July 28! That means several weeks of readings in the Revised Common Lectionary focusing on that bread of life! - Lucky for you, we have many pieces that will fit the readings and are perfect for your summer choir. Bon appetite!

- https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/bread-life
- https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/bread-world-mercy-broken
- https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/when-christ-broke-bread-0
- https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/hour

15/06/2024

Only two weeks left to apply! Now is a great time to meet with your clergy, volunteers, and other ministry leaders. Involving your stakeholders will help you craft an application specific to WHO and HOW this grant will boost your ministry! - www.sjmp.com/grants

13/06/2024

Thanks, right back at ya! We're all in this together. ;-)

11/06/2024

Well... FIVE days out now, but MAN are we looking forward to sharing good music with our Presbyterian Association of Musicians friends at their 2024 conference!!

TEN days out...
Counting down the days until twice a day choir rehearsal! 😉

11/06/2024

SJMP is delighted to have Dr. Carl Haywood among our composers! - Dr. Haywood is recognized as a superb choral conductor and organist. His hymns, spirituals, and service music appear in over a dozen hymnals, and his most recent publication, “Mass for Trinity,” is now available on SJMP!

Learn More and Preview Scores: https://www.sjmp.com/person/carl-haywood

One Membership | Unlimited Downloads | License to Stream | 1800+ Scores

05/06/2024

Your Sunday School favorite is all grown up in this beautifully harmonized SATB arrangement of "Jesus Loves Me" by Bradley Phillips. NOW available with Learning Tracks!

Check out this lovely bit of nostalgia: https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/jesus-loves-me-0

01/06/2024

Could your music ministry use an extra $1000 bucks? There's not time like the present to tell us what you're getting started! Grant applications are due June 30th!

Link: https://www.sjmp.com/grants

SJMP will award a grant to a church starting or revitalizing a music program. The purpose of this grant is to support new programs or established music ministries that are adding a new element by offering resources and professional support.

29/05/2024

A NEW mass setting from Carl Haywood! It's easy for the congregation to learn, and it uses beautiful harmony. If you're considering using new service music, be sure to look!

Link: https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/mass-trinity

27/05/2024

23/05/2024

With SJMP, you can download and print as many copies of a score as you need. And while it seems obvious, two-sided printing can significantly reduce paper consumption!

22/05/2024

What could your music ministry do with an extra $1000? Submit your grant application and let us know! - www.sjmp.com/grants

17/05/2024

With SJMP, you can download and print as many copies of a score as you need. Using recycled and responsibly sourced paper, we can do it AND take care of our world!

14/05/2024

Here's a lovely little gift for you! (Or if you're already a member, a gift you can share with your friends.) Have a look at Mark Schweizer's "Eden Song" for four-part mixed choir and keyboard, available as a free download!

https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/edens-song-0

08/05/2024

Let’s get your congregation singing and put some fancy on your holiday services with excellent intros, interludes, descants, or special instruments. Because there's still lots of pizazz to be had, even if it's just you on the bench! - https://www.sjmp.com/catalog/music/9-national-hymns-made-fancy

02/05/2024

One more shout-out this week to St. Mark's Episcopal Church for a terrific recording of Arlen Clarke's "Love is the Key," led by their music director and fellow SJMP member Westley Art Hodges. Send these guys some kudos with your likes! (link to score in comments) -

Performed on April 28, 2024, in our 10am service. Music from St. James Music Press: www.sjmp.comText:Love is the key of life and death, of hidden heavenly my...

02/05/2024

THANK YOU to Arts Saginaw and Saginaw Arts & Enrichment Commission for honoring Kevin Simons with a 2024 "All Area Arts Award" and acknowledging him as a "hand of support" to so many singing institutions in our community.

Special thanks also goes to Marsha Braun, Melanie Hollman, St. John's Episcopal Church - Saginaw, MI, Saginaw Choral Society, Saginaw Valley State University Choirs, and all of those who are unnamed but work for the greater good.