Author: Jeff Hampton

For Wilshire Baptist Church

It’s been almost two years since our Wilshire friend George Gagliardi passed away, but he continues to reveal his vast musical talent and love for others in amazing ways. Most recently, his gifts had me searching for a Pearl.

Off and on over the past 18 months I’ve been going through boxes full of George’s papers, extracting everything related to his lifelong career as a musician and composer: finished sheet music, lyric sheets, hand-written notations. Most recently, I’ve done the same with his computer files that were retrieved by one of his many friends with technical expertise. The result is a spreadsheet with almost 1,300 original songs and 140 arrangements of other people’s music. The compositions span the full range of music genres and instrumentation – from church solos and anthems to pop ballads, jazzy torch songs and lively dance tunes.

Continue reading “A Pearl of Great Price”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

I was upstairs working at my desk when one of my favorite pieces of classical music came on the radio station we like to stream. I ran to the top of the stairs and shouted down to LeAnn because it’s one of her favorites too. A moment later, I heard it coming from her computer at the kitchen table and I went downstairs where I pulled her out of her chair briefly for a sort of slow dance, and then we sat and listened together with our eyes closed.

The piece is “Nimrod” from Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” It’s four minutes of musical splendor. We hear it occasionally at Wilshire played by Jeff Brummel on the organ or even by the organ with the Carillon Ringers. But I like it best when Wilshire Winds plays it, because as a member of that group, I get to sit in the middle of it and experience it from the inside out. More than that, I get to be a small part of it.

Continue reading “Every Part Matters”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

A friend asked recently where I get ideas for these weekly writings, and the answer is they’re just out there happening all around us. If we keep our eyes and ears open, they come into view, but then the question is: What do we do with them?

A few examples come from an afternoon drive we took to Farmersville on Saturday. LeAnn and I were needing a brief escape from our daily routines and patterns, and we picked Farmersville because it’s only about 25 miles up Texas 78 from home. I’ve been meeting my buddy Ken there for lunch every month for the past few years, and while I’ve tried all the eateries, I’ve never visited any of the shops, so this was the day to go.

Continue reading “Random Snapshots of Life”