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This blog post is third in a series focusing on music for school & community. In 2015 I was honored to be the first Composer-in-Residence for the historic Washington Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Washington was founded in 1923 as the first public African American Graded and High School in Raleigh. The school is now a diverse "gifted and talented" elementary magnet school in the Wake County Public School System. In 2023 and 2025, Washington was named top magnet elementary school in the country by the Magnet Schools of America. My friend, Bo Reece, was the school's long-time and beloved music teacher.  I was commissioned to compose a flexibly-voiced school song with piano accompaniment and accessible parts for student orchestra and band. I began by getting to know the school through conversation with the students and faculty, asking them what makes their school special. I received hundreds of index cards on which they provided their responses. After reading them all, three things were clear: Washington Elementary, (and "school" in general) could be thought of as a place to be honored, a people who make a difference, and a time that's meaningful. These ideas gave form to the lyrics and inspired the music for the resulting piece: Sing of Our School.  The premiere of Sing of Our School was performed by student and faculty choir with piano, student band and orchestra. Providing a performance opportunity for the entire school community, the piece works well for school commencements, graduations, anniversaries, or any time school is celebrated. 2016 Premiere Performance Bo Reece, Conductor (video with lyrics below)  95th Anniversary T-Shirt with lyrics from Sing of Our School Because the song offers alternative lyrics and a creative opportunity to include any school's name in the piece, it may be effectively expressed by any school. 100th Anniversary performance
by a select school choir (includes lyrics in video) While the majority of my choral compositions have been created for church, I have also enjoyed opportunities to compose music for school and community choirs, striving to offer educators useful materials that provide enjoyable and effective teaching opportunities. This is the first blog post among several that will highlight some of these creations.  One of my most widely-preformed pieces was conceived for elementary and middle school choirs. "Little Firefly" is a setting of an imaginative poem by Grace Lee Frank. It offers a number of choral technique opportunities (two-part harmony and vocal independence, staccato and legato singing, expressive diction). Because Ms. Frank's poem sings of a firefly that "carries a star," the piece also incorporates the familiar words and tune to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," (but instead of "like a star up in the sky," the children sing: "like a firefly in the sky!"). A performance suggestion invites the singers to use penlights during the performance to simulate fireflies that dance among the choir. The piece is dedicated to my daughter, Kelly, and we've been grateful to hear many expressive performances of this piece in concerts and festivals. It has even been creatively performed as a piece for two woodwinds and piano by music education majors in recital at Shenandoah University. Beyond the USA and Canada, it has also been presented by children's choirs in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It gives me joy to think a child on a playground in a far-away land may be humming a tune I composed. There's something deeply fulfilling about such a thought, reminding how the publication, distribution, and teaching of music can provide meaningful global connections. performance of "Little Firefly" with penlights by Cantabile, Young Voices Toronto  Speaking of playgrounds, the "sequel" to "Little Firefly" was largely created while playing on a playground with my two children years ago. This was appropriate because, "Have You Ever Seen a House Fly?" is a playful piece for elementary and middle-schoolers. At the playground we brainstormed some of the play-on-words lyrics that ended up in the composition. Dedicated in "smiling memory" of my maternal grandfather who enjoyed joke telling, "Have You Ever Seen a House Fly?" is also dedicated to the Wake County Elementary Honors Chorus that premiered it the year I was its guest conductor. The piece sings of "horseflies" and "horses that fly," "houseflies" and "houses that fly," and so on. In trying to imagine "fruits that fly," my son, Ryan, came up with the idea of a "banana half-moon" and instantly became co-lyricist. Even the names printed on the publication are "play-on-words." My composer name listed is "Larry E. Schultz," but I used my full name as lyricist: "Lawrence E. Schultz." I did that because my son's middle name is also "Lawrence," so his lyricist credit underneath mine is: "Ryan Lawrence Schultz." To top it off, the dedication line identifies my grandfather: "Lawrence M. Yarbrough!" I imagine all of the various "Lawrences" give those who see the printed page cause to scratch their heads in wonder! I decided to replicate ideas from the creation of "Little Firefly" in this piece by combining a familiar folk song, "Shoo Fly! Don't Bother Me!" with the song's tune and by providing a performance idea. This idea involves placards on poles designed to picture the various "flies" in the song. At the appropriate time, the placards are lifted high to fly over the choir, allowing the audience to visualize the fun text. Along with the placards, a literal shoe attached to a tall pole is also suggested to represent the "shoe fly." One of the best laughs I've received from a song I've composed is seeing a community children's choir sing this piece in a magnificent cathedral where a young boy was waving a shoe on a tall stick in front of the ornate high altar! I doubt anything of the sort had ever been experienced in that space! Perhaps music-making like this reminds us to put life in perspective and remember to laugh. performance of "Have You Ever Seen a House Fly?" with placards (and shoe) by West Choir, South Hadley, MA, Children's Chorus Both "Little Firefly" and "Have You Ever Seen a House Fly?" are published by Alliance Music Publications. I hope both pieces offer educational opportunities along with some fun with flies!
In 2005 I was asked by the choral editor at Choristers Guild to provide two anthems based on particular scripture passages. Perusing a list of possible choices, I quickly found interest in setting the ideas from the 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel: “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” and “just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” Inspiration from these passages resulted in: Whoever Welcomes You Welcomes Me – a composition consisting of four questions and a theological statement. Question #1: Where will we find you? Where will we find you, Christ, who is coming? Where will we welcome you? Where will you be? Will you be feasting with friends at a banquet, or will you hunger alone in the street? Where will we find you? Where will we welcome you? While writing this piece, I was cognizant of scriptural and experiential paradoxes related to how Christ is encountered. On one hand, the Gospels depict Jesus attending celebratory meals with friends, from the wedding banquet at Cana to breakfast by the Sea of Galilee. On the other hand, the Christ figure is portrayed in scripture as a stranger who is hungry and thirsty. For many years the congregation I serve as minister of music has fed the hungry and those experiencing homelessness. Witnessing the lines of people who come weekly for food and fellowship gave further instruction for this stanza and the next. Question #2: What will you look like? What will you look like, Christ, who is coming? What will we recognize? What will we see? Will you be wearing the finest apparel, or will we see you in rags and in need? What will you look like? What will we recognize? I sometimes compose texts or music in my head while driving. One day while driving and thinking on the words for this second stanza, I turned a corner into a McDonald’s drive-through. At that corner was a shabbily dressed woman inviting donations of money or food. Waiting in the car line for my own breakfast, I thought of the how her experience paralleled the teaching from Matthew 25, that she was the embodiment of Christ in need. Conversely, I also knew I had experienced the Christ-presence in persons of wealth and resources. These contrasting thoughts converged in this stanza. Question #3: When will you get here? When will you get here, Christ, who is coming? When will your advent be? Will you arrive when we're least expecting, or with fanfare and pageantry? When will it be? This crying out of “When (and how) will you get here?!” is expressed with a sudden change in the mood and music of the anthem. This portion of the piece takes on a frustrated tone as it continues to respond to scriptural discrepancies. The stories of Jesus riding into town with great pageantry, and the coming of Christ announced with celestial trumpets are found in the same Bible that reveals a Christ who arrives unexpectedly without preparation or fanfare. Question #4: Who will you visit? Who will you visit, Christ, who is coming? Who will you visit here? Who will you see? Will you be laughing and playing with children, or stay with prisoners who long to be free? Who will you visit? Who will you visit here? The beloved story of Jesus welcoming children and the teaching of the Christ being known in prisoners are both alluded to in this stanza describing diverse people in whom the divine is known. Another influence was the knowledge that my congregation includes persons who fight against the death penalty. Through the years this has included picketing outside of the state prison, visiting with death row inmates and holding congregational vigils before an execution. A line from this stanza originally expressed: “Will you be laughing and playing with children, or be a prisoner who longs to be free? Though I think this original line more closely communicates the teaching from Matthew of Christ being the prisoner, the publisher’s editors conversed with me about altering this line to the one above that is perhaps more poetic to sing. A Theological Statement And Jesus says: "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, so, wherever you will go, I will be; and, whatever you look like, I will look like, too; I will speak in your words and in everything you do. Whenever – my advent is whenever – my advent is whenever you discover I am in you; when you discover I AM in you!" The beauty and strength of the Gospels is that they present different and even contradictory descriptions of Jesus. This understanding supports the anthem’s paradoxical questions: Does Christ feast at banquets or starve in the streets? Is Christ wealthy or in need? Does Christ visit children on the playground or prisoners in jail? The concluding theological statement seeks to affirm the Christ-presence in all of these and more. Taking Jesus’ statement from Matthew 10:40 (“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me”) to its ultimate conclusion, the final section exclaims that every person of every description speaks and acts as Christ. This reveals that the coming (advent) of Christ happens whenever humankind discovers their divinity within. A theological play-on-words in the last few lines reinforces this concept. It occurs when Jesus’ proclamation: “I am in you” is repeated but transformed into “I AM in you.” In all caps, “I AM” is a name for the divine found in the Hebrew Scriptures and expresses the divine in all.  Whoever Welcomes You Welcomes Me is dedicated to my mother, Opal Lee Schultz, who was active in Woman’s Missionary Union, and involved me in missions education from an early age. That formative experience taught me that I was part of a global community and engaged my thinking on “who” was my neighbor, “what” they might look like, “when” I would encounter them, and “where” they might be. This anthem published by Choristers Guild (CGA1067) for unison or two-part voices with piano and optional flute accompaniment has been presented by choirs of all ages as well as vocal duets. The piece is meaningfully sung in the season of Advent or on any occasion when the divine is discovered. Whoever Welcomes You Welcomes Me is expressed by alto and tenor duet, piano and flute in worship at First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Before I knew it was one of the most historic and identifying characteristics of Baptists, my parents taught me what it meant to be a Separatist. In the mid-1970’s my family separated from our local Baptist church after it was strategically overtaken and controlled by a large group of new members who enforced outlandish theologies and unreasonable practices. This separation was not done lightly nor without grief as my parents had invested 30 years of their lives in this congregation. They made the decision to move from Tulsa’s Phoenix Avenue Baptist Church, to nearby Red Fork Baptist Church, in order to provide a positive experience for me as I entered junior high school. This change impacted my life for the better and demonstrated there would be occasions when being a Separatist was the best choice. As I grew and prepared for ministry, this understanding continued to guide my church and denominational life. The Southern Baptist Convention taught me what it meant to be Fundamentalist. In the 1980’s the SBC (a denomination whose history includes the endorsement of slavery) shamefully pronounced the inequality of women, the depravity of homosexuals and a disregard for Biblical scholarship. During this time, I was receiving excellent training for music ministry at Oklahoma Baptist University where I experienced the exact opposite: gifted women who were professors and church ministers, upstanding gay friends, and a responsible, thoughtful approach to the Bible. While continuing my education at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I witnessed the Convention’s fundamentalist takeover that resulted in hurtful actions bombarded upon professors and students. In response, I wrote a hymn in 1988 that was published in The Baptist Hymnal, 1991: “O God, We Ask for Strength.” At best, the hymn was my protest; naively, I thought the SBC might sing its words and repent. But it didn’t work, and I became a Separatist again, not wanting to be associated with a denominational group that weaponized the Bible to harm and abuse others. The national Cooperative Baptist Fellowship taught me what it meant to be Moderate. In the year 2000, the national CBF Coordinating Council voted to affirm policies that would communicate a position of being “Welcoming but Not Affirming” of LGBTQIA+ people. (If that’s not a moderate stance, I don’ t know what is.) At the time I was the youngest member of the national CBF Coordinating Council, and after standing with those who opposed this position, I immediately resigned from the council, becoming a Separatist once again. Having lived through the exclusionary trauma of the SBC, and after giving much time and energy to both state and national CBF bodies, I was physically sick to experience the national CBF’s acts of oppression. (Because of Baptist polity I make a distinction between the actions of the “national” and “state” CBF organizations, as each body is autonomous). It was not lost to me that the CBF, an organization whose membership was comprised of outcasts from the SBC, was now continuing the same cycle of exclusion. I knew that some members would remain in an effort to bring about change from within, but I also knew that individual and institutional advancement would take time. After personally witnessing the deeply injurious actions of the SBC, I didn’t want to spend my time in ministry trying to convince another ecclesiastical organization that it should be inclusive. I simply did not have the patience or desire. The Alliance of Baptists, my church congregation and others are teaching me what it means to be Liberal and “beyond.” During my seminary years I heard about the formation of the Alliance of Baptists, and the first two churches I served were minimally associated with this fledgling Baptist network. After my resignation from CBF, I became much more involved in the Alliance and read in its newsletter about the search for a Minister of Music at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC (which I became in 2001). I had previously learned about Pullen through national news articles that revealed the church’s commitment to fully include LGBTQUIA+ people. Because of this stance, in 1992 the SBC ousted Pullen from its membership, but a supportive community was already in place as five years earlier members of Pullen joined others in forming the Alliance. After becoming Pullen’s Minister of Music, I learned that the church never connected to the moderate CBF because it suspected from the beginning that the CBF would not be as open and inclusive as the Alliance. From my experience, this prediction was accurate. While no congregation or denominational organization is perfect, the liberalism expressed through Pullen and the Alliance of Baptists resonates with me and seems to have put an end to my Separatist ways. A liberalism that continues to progress encourages life-long learning, the willingness to venture out, and the equal willingness to change course as new wisdom emerges. Compared to the mental restraints of fundamentalism, progressive liberalism allows the freedom of inquiry essential for this post-theistic century. But liberalism also has limits. There are times when liberalism is inadequate and invites the search for what is “beyond." Perhaps even more descriptive for me than the term, “Liberal,” are words I suggested for a sanctuary art installation at Pullen: “Ever Embracing” and “Ever Becoming.” These active phrases express how I desire to be identified – “Ever Embracing,” as I participate with my church and other groups in welcoming and including all, and “Ever Becoming” as I evolve, explore new insights, and discover who continues to be excluded. Interestingly, it is by being a Separatist that I have been able in good conscience to remain both Christian and Baptist – two worlds in which I was born, have grown, was educated, and continue to offer my ministry of music. Songs Born Out of |
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Welcome to LarryESchultz.com and Resonate! – a site offering downloadable and published music for church, school and community groups, and a blog that offers notes on the music and other items of interest related to communal music and music-making.
I describe my work as “communal,” because both my ministry and compositions seek to assist groups (choirs, congregations, orchestras, bands) whose individual participants make music together. I also use the word “communal” to communicate that all persons are musicians and are welcomed into the experience of music-making. It is a part of what makes us human, and is not an exclusive opportunity for the “trained.”
A seminary course on “The Philosophy of Music Ministry,” taught by gifted educator, Milburn Price, instilled within me the importance of developing and communicating a philosophy that supports and meaningfully directs my work. Though my initial philosophy of music ministry was bound to church history, church tradition and the Hebrew/Christian scriptures, it has evolved through the years to include more.
Ever since reading John Shelby Spong’s book, “A New Christianity for a New World,” I have been on a quest to provide a music ministry and creative works that break down religious and social barriers. Spong encourages all to walk so deeply through their own tradition and into their humanity that the tribalistic boundaries fall away. We then discover our connections with other people, and the oneness of all.
Like the efforts of present-day scientists who are seeking a “theory of everything,” I’ve been seeking such a theory related to communal music-making, and have borrowed three words that I hope for now succinctly state my ideas: Resonance, Transcendence and Relevance. So far, I find that these three words encompass the goals and outcomes of communal music-making, whether it be in church, other faith groups, school or community settings. (Though sometimes needed for clarity, I hesitate to use the words “sacred” or “secular” as I find them to be inadequate descriptions that can bring further division.) I’ll speak to Transcendence and Relevance in future posts, but want to briefly express my thinking on Resonance (and therefore, the name of this blog: Resonate!).
Though science cannot yet empirically prove it, “String Theory” as posited by quantum physicists is a beautiful description that I think can pertain to a philosophy of music-making and music ministry. String Theory suggests that the smallest elements of literally everything are tiny vibrating “strings.” Smaller than other sub-atomic particles, these vibrations make up all that is – from the computer keyboard on which I am typing to my own human cells. These vibrating strings may indeed turn out to be the common denominator of all things.
Not only are the smallest elements of life thought to be vibrations, but in 2003, astronomers discovered that a supermassive black hole in space was producing sound waves that created the deepest note yet detected from any object in the known universe!
Human biology and anthropology come in next. We humans have evolved with lungs to fill with air and a larynx through which to pass that air causing vibrations of sound. As humanity grew, we developed language out of that sound – words that convey meaning.
After considering all of this, I then am in awe, and wonder as I think: “If the tiniest quantum element as well as one of the largest known objects both vibrate with sound (music), and if humans ‘in the middle,’ also have the capacity to resonate sound…then there must be something very formational and primal to the experience of music-making. It must be foundational to our humanity, it must connect us with ‘everything,’ and there must then be benefits to music therapy, music ministry and communal music-making of any kind!”
I'm not alone in these scientific ponderings. I know of at least two other hymn writers, Brian Wren and Jann Aldredge-Clanton, who have included the specific idea of String Theory in hymns, and others like Shirley Erena Murray, William L. Wallace, and Thomas Troeger express ideas from science in their hymn poetry. I have connected scientific reality with faith-language metaphor in my hymn, Spirit of God, Spark of Creation.
When groups gather to make music, sound waves from one individual are produced and carried through the air until they are detected in the ear cells of other individuals. There is then an instant and physical connection! Music-making literally unifies and connects individuals into one community – a good foundation on which to build a more peaceful world. (For choral expressions that connect to this idea, see my compositions: Where Two or Three, May a Song Remain, Gathered Here to Share Our Music, Tear Down the Walls and others.)
And so, the name of this blog, Resonate!, refers to our human capacity to make music with all that is, and the exclamation point reminds us to do so with joy and energy. The name also reminds us that when we add words to our music, we can give emphasis and meaning to important ideas and philosophies with which we “resonate.” (Several congregational hymns I hope assist progressive communities in resonating their ideas are: We Are a People on a Journey, From Wisdom Emerging, and A Stranger, Starving on the Street).
Not all of the words to every composition I’ve written are as progressive as I’d desire them to be, but even these creations represent a part of my journey and can reveal an ever-evolving progression – one that continues and is life-long. I hope on this site you find a choral anthem, congregational hymn or instrumental selection that is useful in your community, and I look forward to offering additional works in the days to come.
I describe my work as “communal,” because both my ministry and compositions seek to assist groups (choirs, congregations, orchestras, bands) whose individual participants make music together. I also use the word “communal” to communicate that all persons are musicians and are welcomed into the experience of music-making. It is a part of what makes us human, and is not an exclusive opportunity for the “trained.”
A seminary course on “The Philosophy of Music Ministry,” taught by gifted educator, Milburn Price, instilled within me the importance of developing and communicating a philosophy that supports and meaningfully directs my work. Though my initial philosophy of music ministry was bound to church history, church tradition and the Hebrew/Christian scriptures, it has evolved through the years to include more.
Ever since reading John Shelby Spong’s book, “A New Christianity for a New World,” I have been on a quest to provide a music ministry and creative works that break down religious and social barriers. Spong encourages all to walk so deeply through their own tradition and into their humanity that the tribalistic boundaries fall away. We then discover our connections with other people, and the oneness of all.
Like the efforts of present-day scientists who are seeking a “theory of everything,” I’ve been seeking such a theory related to communal music-making, and have borrowed three words that I hope for now succinctly state my ideas: Resonance, Transcendence and Relevance. So far, I find that these three words encompass the goals and outcomes of communal music-making, whether it be in church, other faith groups, school or community settings. (Though sometimes needed for clarity, I hesitate to use the words “sacred” or “secular” as I find them to be inadequate descriptions that can bring further division.) I’ll speak to Transcendence and Relevance in future posts, but want to briefly express my thinking on Resonance (and therefore, the name of this blog: Resonate!).
Though science cannot yet empirically prove it, “String Theory” as posited by quantum physicists is a beautiful description that I think can pertain to a philosophy of music-making and music ministry. String Theory suggests that the smallest elements of literally everything are tiny vibrating “strings.” Smaller than other sub-atomic particles, these vibrations make up all that is – from the computer keyboard on which I am typing to my own human cells. These vibrating strings may indeed turn out to be the common denominator of all things.
Not only are the smallest elements of life thought to be vibrations, but in 2003, astronomers discovered that a supermassive black hole in space was producing sound waves that created the deepest note yet detected from any object in the known universe!
Human biology and anthropology come in next. We humans have evolved with lungs to fill with air and a larynx through which to pass that air causing vibrations of sound. As humanity grew, we developed language out of that sound – words that convey meaning.
After considering all of this, I then am in awe, and wonder as I think: “If the tiniest quantum element as well as one of the largest known objects both vibrate with sound (music), and if humans ‘in the middle,’ also have the capacity to resonate sound…then there must be something very formational and primal to the experience of music-making. It must be foundational to our humanity, it must connect us with ‘everything,’ and there must then be benefits to music therapy, music ministry and communal music-making of any kind!”
I'm not alone in these scientific ponderings. I know of at least two other hymn writers, Brian Wren and Jann Aldredge-Clanton, who have included the specific idea of String Theory in hymns, and others like Shirley Erena Murray, William L. Wallace, and Thomas Troeger express ideas from science in their hymn poetry. I have connected scientific reality with faith-language metaphor in my hymn, Spirit of God, Spark of Creation.
When groups gather to make music, sound waves from one individual are produced and carried through the air until they are detected in the ear cells of other individuals. There is then an instant and physical connection! Music-making literally unifies and connects individuals into one community – a good foundation on which to build a more peaceful world. (For choral expressions that connect to this idea, see my compositions: Where Two or Three, May a Song Remain, Gathered Here to Share Our Music, Tear Down the Walls and others.)
And so, the name of this blog, Resonate!, refers to our human capacity to make music with all that is, and the exclamation point reminds us to do so with joy and energy. The name also reminds us that when we add words to our music, we can give emphasis and meaning to important ideas and philosophies with which we “resonate.” (Several congregational hymns I hope assist progressive communities in resonating their ideas are: We Are a People on a Journey, From Wisdom Emerging, and A Stranger, Starving on the Street).
Not all of the words to every composition I’ve written are as progressive as I’d desire them to be, but even these creations represent a part of my journey and can reveal an ever-evolving progression – one that continues and is life-long. I hope on this site you find a choral anthem, congregational hymn or instrumental selection that is useful in your community, and I look forward to offering additional works in the days to come.
Author
Larry E. Schultz is a Minister of Music, Composer, Hymn Writer, and Music Teacher.
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