Spiritsong
From Sawiki
During 2005, the National Songsters were rebranded as 'SpiritSong', reflecting the broader vocal ministry of The Salvation Army within New Zealand. At the same time, Denise Hewitt took over as musical director, stepping into the shoes of Phil Hawkey, who had led the National Songsters since its inception 10 years earlier.
In this decade the National Songsters have sung at home and overseas, and their segments are still screened regularly on Television New Zealand's 'Praise Be' on Sunday mornings. They've performed in a variety of settings, including Salvation Army congress meetings. Sometimes their ministry has been in the form of a traditional concert, but it has also included leading Sunday worship in small and large corps where singing was just one aspect of their role. As well, the group's members have enjoyed singing in more relaxed settings, such as coffee and dessert evenings.
Phil recalls when the National Songsters first started and says some people (including himself) thought the group would be primarily about 'encouraging the saints'. There was great satisfaction from engaging Salvationists in the act of worship, but he says he was more and more excited by the groups evangelical potential. 'We moved from worrying about putting on a concert that would be about entertainment towards a focused ministry for the non-believer.'
New musical director Denise Hewitt was an inaugural member of the National Songsters. She's also a long time choral group leader at her home corps of Palmerston North where she established a group called 'Music Unlimited' for early high schoolers. With some of that group's original members now running Music Unlimited, Denise has spent the past three years as songster leader at Palmerston North.
Commenting on the changes, Executive Officer Michelle Collins (Captain), explains that one of the early ideals for the National Songsters was to set a benchmark for New Zealand songster brigades. But with the changing focus of songster brigades, a growth in music teams and with some Salvationist singers not yet wearing Salvation Army uniform, territorial leadership felt it was time the national vocal group reflected these changing realities.
Michelle describes 2005 as a time of transition for this talented choral group. 'The National Songsters have had 10 years of God glorifying ministry,' she said, 'but the question for us has become how to broaden our musical expression, and how to make a space for those who are committed Salvationists in worship teams and singing groups who may not be uniformed Salvationists.'
SpiritSong will increasingly reflect the multi-faceted musicianship of The Salvation Army, which is wider than singing alone and includes great potential for worship and performing arts. 'So we're on the lookout for singers who can do more than just sing,' says Michelle. 'We've a place for people who just want to sing, but we're also interested in people with additional talents, such as in brass, contemporary music, drama and dance.' She and Denise hope to tap into some of the wider creative resources of the territory too, such as in script writing.
Denise is excited about the group's changes. 'We've moved more intentionally toward "ministry",' she says. 'That's always been part of our heritage, but now we've become more intentional in it. We need to be relevant, but more than that we want to be the flagship of Salvation Army music and show musical groups what is possible.' She believes songster brigades have to move in a new direction if they're to survive.
With the growing prominence of music teams across the territory, SpiritSong is keen to set a benchmark for what is proving a vital part Salvation Army musical expression. Comments Michelle, 'We want to help people understand that worship teams and songster-style ministry do fit together. We're trying to look for ways to close the divide, so that it's not either-or but both.'
The group has led workshops for songster brigades and music teams in the past, but plans to include more resourcing of music teams in the future.
They're particularly on the lookout for younger people to be involved in the group, to nurture them and thereby secure Salvation Army worship and vocal expertise for the future. Older members of the group are most welcoming, according to Michelle, who says, 'They want to see young people experience the ministry they have been exposed to.'
Hugh McCready from Hamilton City Corps, has been singing with the group for five years. Although he plays in the brass band at his home corps, there is no songster brigade there. Hugh says it's given him great satisfaction to take an unknown song 'and produce it in such a way that it blesses people, taking it from the raw to the finished product and offering it to God for him to use.'
