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Introducing A New Music Webinar Series!

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A FREE Music Webinar Series from Augsburg Fortress Publishers! Join us for a journey through hymnody, improvisation, the church music community, and so much more! Serving through Song is a webinar series born from the requests and interests of our cherished customers. Thank you for submitting your ideas and questions!

Registration below!

1. January

With David Cherwien
CherwienHeadshot

Venturing Beyond the Page: Hymn Improvisation to Enliven the Assembly’s Song 

Jan. 27, 2026, 11 am CST 

David Cherwien will share practical tools for easy hymn improvisation along with creative organ registrations that add contrast and interest to assembly singing. He’ll also offer suggestions on how to introduce new hymnody and craft memorable hymn festivals. 

About David Cherwien

David Cherwien is a church musician, conductor, organist, composer and workshop/worship leader, living in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. He has a special passion for congregational song and maintains a travel schedule presenting hymn festivals and workshops in many parts of the country each year. He is the third person to be called as Cantor at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, a congregation known for its liturgical worship and love of hymnody (Mark Sedio and Paul Manz are Cherwien’s predecessors with the same title). From 2002 to 2023 he served as Artistic Director for the National Lutheran Choir, a 60 voice professional choir also based in the Twin Cities.

Dr. Cherwien holds graduate and under graduate degrees in organ performance, theory / composition, and music education (choral) from the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College. He has also studied organ, composition and conducting in Europe (at the Berlin Church Music School, and in Aix-en-Provence, France), and is a Fellow of Melodious Accord, studying with Alice Parker. Cherwien has over 150 published works for choir and organ with nine publishers, and edited the National Lutheran Choir series with Morningstar, which included many pieces he composed for the choir. He has recorded many CD’s, including the “Hymns We Love to Sing” series, which are available through the National Lutheran Choir www.nlca.com, or at Mount Olive Lutheran Church www.mountolivechurch.org. He is past president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and in October 2000 was named distinguished alumni of Augsburg College, Minneapolis.

2. February

With Anne Krentz Organ
Anne Krentz Organ_publicity photo

Loaves and Fishes: Expanding the Reach of Music Ministry in Your Congregation 

Feb. 26, 2026, 11 am CST 

As leaders of the church’s song, are we making the most of the loaves and fishes available in our respective congregations? Rather than lamenting the fact that we don’t have a variety of instrumentalists or an established handbell choir, can we celebrate the resources that we do have? A high school trombone player? Excellent! An eighth-grade percussionist? A retired clarinetist? Yes! We can definitely incorporate their talents in worship. This webinar will provide tips and strategies on expanding the reach of your congregation’s music ministry, utilizing the resources on hand, encouraging people to share their gifts. 

About Anne Krentz Organ

Anne Krentz Organ is a composer and church musician serving as the Director of Music Ministries at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, IL. Along with worship planning and service playing, she oversees the choral and instrumental music program. 

Anne is the primary composer of the Setting 12 liturgy in All Creation Sings. Additional compositions for choir, handbells, organ, and piano are published by Abingdon Press, Augsburg Fortress, Choristers Guild, Concordia Publishing House, Hope Publishing Company, and MorningStar Music. 

Anne holds degrees from Valparaiso University, the University of Illinois, and Concordia University, River Forest, IL. She serves on the faculty of the Lutheran Summer Music Program, teaching church music and serving as liturgical composer-in-residence.

Anne is a past president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. 

3. June

With Tom Trenney
Tom Trenney Publicity Photo 2025

Sacred Collaboration: The Holy Ground of Doing Ministry Together 

June 2, 2026, 11 am CST

Scripture assures us that whenever two or more are gathered, Christ is in our midst.  But often when two or more worship leaders are gathered, conflict and concern can be in our midst as well. Tom Trenney shares stories and ideas to help us nurture and sustain positive relationships with pastors, choir members, congregants, and colleagues as we live into our calling to music ministry. 

About Tom Trenny

Composer, conductor, organist, preacher, and teacher Tom Trenney has been blessed to serve as Minister of Music to First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, since 2009.  Since 2019, he has been Director of Choirs at Nebraska Wesleyan University where he holds the Susan Sehnert Stuart Professorship in Choral Music.  Tom’s choirs have been honored to perform for state, regional, and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and they have been award winners in the American Prize for choral ensembles.  He was named Music Educator of the Year by the Nebraska Music Education Association in 2024. 

Tom has been a featured performer at churches, colleges, and concert halls across the country including Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, Kansas City’s Kauffman Center, DC's Kennedy Center, and NYC's Carnegie Hall.  His choral compositions are published by Augsburg Fortress, Beckenhorst Press, Choristers Guild, E.C. Schirmer/Galaxy, Gentry, Morningstar, Musicspoke, Pavane, and G. Schirmer.  His piece “From Generation to Generation” won the Raabe Prize from the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians in 2023. 

A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music, Tom is grateful for the inspiration of his teachers and mentors – especially Anton Armstrong, David Davidson, Craig Hella Johnson, (Mister) Fred Rogers, William Weinert, Anne Wilson and Todd Wilson.  

Registration Form

After filling out this form, look for an email by which you can register for any and all of the sessions above. Join live or watch the recording after! Links will be sent out following each session to those registered, and will be available on Youtube in the days following.
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