Lifeway Worship Unveils Songmap, The Next Technology in Digital Music

Music News

Cairo Music Festival News Photos

www.semissourian.com/story/1163879.html

Summer project results in Cairo festival
Sunday, August 13, 2006
MATT SANDERS ~ Southeast Missourian

(Photo)
People enjoyed themselves as a local dance group performed during the Cairo Music Festival held Saturday at Box Field in Cairo, Ill. Musicians from as far away as Chicago, Ill., were scheduled to perform.
(Photos by Don Frazier)
[Click to enlarge]
CAIRO, Ill. — While the adult leadership of Cairo was busy bickering about the balance of power and city finances this summer, a group of 44 youths was working toward a common goal.

They wanted to create something that would bring the people of the city together for fun and celebration.

What they made was a music festival.

Saturday night those young people hosted the Cairo Music Festival at the city’s Box Field — an event featuring eight music and dance performances for a crowd of hundreds.

The festival was a culmination of a summerlong program overseen by Kevin Schraer of the Delta Center — a substance abuse and mental health treatment facility in Cairo. The program gave the students summer jobs through a grant provided by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

The job was to organize a music festival. Schraer said the suggestion of having the festival came from him, but it was the youths who chose to act on it.

In the days when Cairo was a thriving riverboat town and commercial center, several blues clubs populated the waterfront in the city. Musicians like Muddy Waters, Ike Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Johnson all had ties to the city.

Jared Stacy, 17, is a walking example of Cairo’s musical heritage. His grandfather is a blues keyboardist. Jared plays keyboard, organ, piano and drums, while his brother, Joseph, 21, has perfected the art form of "beat boxing," or mimicking drums and record scratches.

"It’s great for the community," Jared said just before the music started to flow Saturday. "We normally don’t do big things like this, so this is something exciting."

(Photo)
Local beat box artist Joseph Stacy, right, was a crowd favorite as he performed with backup by Chemistry’s Francis "Franchise the Mic Rippa" Williams during Saturday’s music festival in Cairo, Ill.
[Click to enlarge]
Joseph Stacy’s performance created excitement among the crowd of hundreds assembled at Box Field. Some in the audience danced along to the beats.

After his performance Joseph said events like the music festival are important for a community that has seen better days.

"This town, it’s not bad because of the people," he said. "But things need to change. If it’s going to change, the government is going to have to do something."

The festival drew more people than just the youth who organized the event and their friends. Gary Tillman, director of the Two Rivers Ministry outreach program in Cairo, attended to show his support for the positive work undertaken by the community’s youths.

"It’s a positive thing that we’re able to get together tonight and listen to music and have a good time," Tillman said. "It’s a much-needed thing.

"For the most part these are good kids, and we’re out here to support them and have a good time with them."

People from outside Cairo also attended, like Sue Doctorman of Ullin, Ill. Doctorman said she’s loved the city for years, and events like the music festival help take the negative attention away from the city.

"I just wanted to see people come together and have a good time," she said.

For musician Stace England, who recently recorded and released an album inspired by the city’s history, the event showed that Cairo still has a chance at a happy future, despite the bickering among the city’s leadership.

"Here’s the future of Cairo. These kids have put this together and showed us what they can do," England said.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182

Lifeway Worship Unveils Songmap, The Next Technology in Digital Music

Largest Known Recording Project in Nashville History

LifeWay Worship made music news today when it announced it will release SongMap, the latest technology in digital music, on Monday, February 9, 2009.  SongMap is an new internet application that users will be able to use to create custom arrangements of songs to make their own audio files as well as sheet music. The SongMap technology was unveiled today at the LifeWay corporate headquarters in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

SongMap is exciting because it is the first web-based technology of its kind. With SongMap, users can pick and choose each section of songs they want: verses, choruses, transitions, etc., in the keys they want to use. Then they will be able to download the SongMap sheet music and audio files that go with the arrangements they put together.

SongMap technology is unique in that it comes from the church to help music ministers have more flexibility arranging songs in a church setting. But SongMap technology will not just be limited to churches. It can be used by anyone with an Internet browser.

“SongMap is the first technology that gives users the ability to change songs on the Internet to meet their own tastes,” said director of LifeWay Worship, Mike Harland. “Some churches need sheet music for a full rock band each week, while others rely solely on accompaniment tracks. We set out to find a way to help these churches create music that suits their congregations. In doing so, we created a new music technology that does what none other has done before.”

LifeWay Worship will have over 100 songs available through SongMap. The SongMap selections will range from traditional hymns to contemporary worship songs.

It took a team of software engineers and music professionals three years to develop SongMap. Nearly 1,000 songs and 8,000 mixes were recorded by over 150 professional musicians, vocalists and engineers in just 10 months for SongMap. The SongMap project was the largest recording project in Nashville history, and that is saying a lot for the city known as Music City, USA.

SOURCES

LifeWay Worship Unveils SongMap – New Innovation in Digital Music

ChristianActivities.com/industryinsider/

This article is copyrighted and is NOT available for copying. Please do not copy this article to websites, forums, groups, blogs, Facebook or elsewhere.

Legendary Gospel Soloist George Beverly Shea Celebrates 100th Birthday – In a private gathering of friends and family, renowned gospel soloist George Beverly Shea celebrated his 100th birthday Monday night, February 1, 2009.

February Birthdays of Gospel Artists – A list of gospel artists who are celebrating their birthday in February

Top Ten Christian Love Songs – These are songs that were all recorded by artists who have recorded gospel albums. I have selected each song for the beauty of the music and the romance of the lyrics.

January Birthdays of Gospel Artists – A list of gospel artists who are celebrating their birthday in January

2009 New Year’s Resolutions of Gospel Artists – Featuring: DecembeRadio, Bob Halligan, Stephen Hinkle, Joanne Cash, Lyrycyst, Carried Away, Beloved, Kevin Levar, Mission Six, After Edmund, and Eliot Sloan (Blessid Union of Souls)

Favorite Christmas Traditions of Gospel Artists – A look at some of the favorite Christmas traditions of popular gospel artists and entertainers

Favorite Christmas Albums of the Gospel Artists – Kevin Max, Lyracist, Tammy Trent, Bonnie Keen, Bob Halligan and 25 other gospel artists share their Christmas project recommendations.

Favorite Holiday Movies of Gospel Artists & Entertainers – A list of the movies recommended by gospel recording artists and other Christian entertainers including Kevin Max of DC Talk, Dan Meyer (sword swallower), Bob Halligan of Ceili Rain, and 30 more gospel artists.

Christmas Eve Church Services in Nashville, Tennessee
Churches, candlelight, communion, chorals, choirs, carols, Christmas eve services and Nashville, Tennessee. What’s not to love?

More about SongMap at ChristianActivities.com/industryinsider/

Music News

Pulse News

Click on the button for more Music News information and reviews.

Music teacher, 56, caught performing sex act on a doll within view of an …
Music News
BY Lukas I. Alpert Music teacher Daniel Torroll was arrested after being caught performing a sex act on a doll. A Tennessee teacher marching to the beat of a different drummer now has to face the music after being caught in a bizarre sexual …

Music News question by Yes: Is it Good News or Bad News that the Music Industry is going Bankrupt?
I say it’s good news. Music has been getting worse and worse and the only way to make it stop is if the entire music industry collapses and we have to start from scratch.

Music News best answer:

Answer by Juhnu
Good news