Dear fellow musician,
The leaves have begun to fall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and soon colder temperatures and inches (feet?) of snow will begin to accumulate. But as the natural world goes into winter’s hibernation, NPH is already looking ahead to next spring and our 2018 music releases. NPH focuses on five main areas of new music annually:
- Keyboard Collections
- Children’s Choral Music
- Adult Choral Music
- Christmas and Lent Kits
- Hymn Settings for Contemporary Liturgical Ensemble
Three main principles guide what we produce. First, everything we publish supports Christ-centered worship that brings glory to God and remains true to his Word. Seasonal worship kits and choral music are thus focused on Jesus and are true to the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions.
Second is excellence. NPH engages talented composers and arrangers to bring you music that not only serves your worship needs, but is also excellent in musical art and form.
Third is breadth. WELS—and indeed all of Christendom—is a diverse body. Resources, ability, and preferences vary widely. Unique worship blessings and challenges abound. Whether large or small, professional or amateur, “traditional” or “contemporary,” we want to serve as many congregations as possible with excellent and doctrinally sound worship resources.
2018 looks to be an exciting year with the release of two new organ hymn prelude collections in our numbered organ series, a new hymn-based piano collection, children’s and adult choral pieces that span the church year, thought-provoking Christmas and Lent kits, and another installment in our Liturgical Ensemble series. Watch for these products to be released in spring 2018.
We always appreciate your feedback on and suggestions for music and worship resources! Email me, Jeremy Bakken, at bakkenj@nph.wels.net anytime.
To the composers and arrangers out there: If you have written music or worship resources that you feel fit the above principles, we want to review it! Visit http://www.nph.net/manuscript-submission for instructions on how to submit materials to NPH for consideration.
May God bless your Christmas season with the joy of Jesus coming to us in weakness to display his amazing power over sin, death, and the devil. Together, we worship the Lord with gladness!
Your fellow servant in Christ,
Jeremy Bakken
Director of Worship and Sacred Music, Northwestern Publishing House
Image credit: Reiner Knudsen (used under Creative Commons CC0)