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Jean Sibelius

1865 - 1957 Composer of "FINLANDIA" in The Cyber Hymnal Johann Julius Christian [Jean] Sibelius DM Finland 1865-1957. Born at Hameenlinna, Finland, the son of a Swedish-speaking medical doctor, he lost his father to typhoid in 1868, leaving the family in substantial debt. His mother, again pregnant, had to sell their property and move in with her widowed mother. His aunt Julia gave him piano lessons when he was seven on the family upright piano, wrapping him on the knuckles when he played a wrong note. He learned to improvise as he played. His uncle, Pehr Ferdinand Sibelius, was interested in music, especially the violin, and gave Jean a violin when he was 10. As his musical advisor his uncle encouraged him to play and compose music. He played music with sister on piano, brother on cello, and himself on violin. He attended a Finnish-speaking prep school in 1874 and continued his education at the Hameenlinna Normal Lyceum thereafter. Jean also showed a strong interest in nature, frequently walking around the countryside when the family moved to the Loviisa coast for the summer months. In 1881 he took violin lessons from the local bandmaster, and developed a strong interest in violin. He became an accomplished player, and thought of becoming a virtuoso, but realizing he began study too late in life for that, instead opted to compose. He often played music in quartets with neighboring families, adding to his chamber music experience. He took the French form of his name, Jean. He studied law at the Imperial Alexander University in Finland, but showed far more interest in music. He then studied music at the Helsinki Music Institute (now Sibelius Academy) from 1885-1889. The school’s founder, Martin Wegelius, did much to support education development in Finland and gave Sibelius his first lessons in composition. Another teacher,,Ferruccio Busoni, a pianist-composer, helped him as well and became a life-long friend. Other friends, pianist Adolf Paul, and conductor-to-be, Armas Jarnefelt, also helped him. In 1892 he married Armas ‘s sister, Aino Jarnefelt, daughter of General Alexander Jarnefelt, governor of Vaasa. They had six daughters, Eva, Ruth, Kirsti, Katarina, Margareta, and Heidi. He continued his musical studies in Berlin (1889-1890) with Albert Becker, and in Vienna (1890-1891) with Robert Fuchs and Karl Goldmark. In Berlin he had opportunity to attend concerts and operas. In Vienna he turned to orchestral composition and had much success, although he had gallstone surgery during that period. He also traveled to the UK, France, Germany, and the USA during this time in his life, composing, conducting, and socializing. In 1892 he took on teaching assignments at the Music Institute and at Kajanus’s conducting school, but this left him with little time for composing. Sibelius’ works were more and more appreciated in Helsinki concert halls as he composed and conducted symphonies in the mid-1890s. In 1898 he was awarded a substantial grant, initially for 10 years, and later extended for life, allowing him to concentrate on composition. Much of his music became popular in Finland and in Germany. In 1899 he began work on his first symphony. It went well, but other patriotic music hehad composed did even better, since Russia was trying to restrict the powers of the Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1900 Sibelius went on an international tour with Kajanus and his orchestra, presenting his recent works. In 1901 he wrote his second symphony, which received rave reviews. He continued to compose as he became popular and well-known. In 1903 he had a new home built near Lake Tuusula north of Helsinki, calleed Ainola (after his wife). He gave concerts in and around Finland, spending more and more time away from home, to the chagrin of his wife. After a time he returned home and composed from there. He spent much time wining and dining in Helsinki, and it had a disastrous effect on his wife, who finally entered a sanitorium. He resolved again to give up drinking and concentrate on composing his 3rd symphony. He met Gustav Mahler in Helsinki and they became friends. He performed his 3rd symphony in St Petersburg, Russia. In 1907 he underwent a serious operation for suspected throat cancer, and spent time in the hospital in 1908. His smoking and drinking had now become life-threatening. He cancelled concerts for Rome, Warsaw, and Berlin, but kept one in London. His health deteriorated further, And his brush with death inspired him to compose his 4th symphony. In 1909 his successful throat operation resulted in renewed happiness for him and his wife, Aino. He continued conducting concerts, and met Claude Debussy, who further encouraged his musical efforts. He began working on his 4th symphony in 1910, but had to write other music to compensate for dwindling funds. He finished his 4th symphony in Berlin and conducted concerts in Sweden in 1911. In 1912 he completed short orchestral works. Over the next several years he continued producing a variety of pieces of music, well-received, especially in America. He was given an honorary DM degree from Yale University and also another from the University of Helsinki about the same time. WW1 interrupted his music royalties in 1915, and he was forced to compose smaller works for publication to make ends meet. He completed his 5th symphony at age 50, but he was dissatisfied with it and reworked it three times In 1917 he starting drinking again, triggering arguments with his wife. The Russian Revolution in 1917 caused an improvement in their personal relationship, and he wrote his ‘Jager March’ to celebrate Finnish independence from Russia. The next year the Finnish Civil War began, putting a damper on his march. In 1919, after the war, he completed his 6th symphony. In 1920 George Eastman , of Eastman Kodak, asked him to teach for a year in New York, but he declined. He did enjoy a trip conducting several concerts in England in 1921. He premiered his 6th symphony in 1923. In 1924 he completed his 7th symphony. The next year he composed a number of small pieces. He began drinking again. He did write a few more major works, but for the last thirty years of his life he avoided publicly talking about his music. He tried to write an 8th symphony, but was unsatisfied with it and burned the scores. In fact, he burned a laundry basket full of music he had written, to the chagrin of his wife. But, afterward, he became calmer and gradually had a lighter mood. In 1935 he was awarded the Goethe-Metal, with a certificate signed by Adolf Hitler. A Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939 was repelled, but Finland gave up territory to Russia as a result. In 1941 Sibelius and his wife returned to their Finland home, Ainola, after a long absence. He did not compose much the last few years, and died at Ainola. His wife outlived him by 12 years. John Perry

Tom Colvin

1925 - 2000 Author of "We Worship You Lord" in Fill Us With Your Love Tom Colvin (b. 1925; d. 2000) was trained as an engineer and worked in that profession in Burma and Singapore from 1945 to 1948. After studying theology at Trinity College, Glasgow University, he was ordained in the Church of Scotland in 1954. He served as missionary in Nyasaland (now Malawi) from 1954 to 1958, in Ghana from 1958 to 1964, and again in Nyasaland from 1964 to 1974. His work there included preaching, education, and community development. After completing his missionary work, Colvin became a minister in the United Reformed Church of England and served an inner-city church in London. He returned to Africa in 1984 as a development consultant to the Zimbabwe Christian Council. Colvin's writings include Christ's Work in Free Africa (1964) and three collections of hymns, many written in collaboration with African Christians–Free to Serve (1966), Leap My Soul (1976), and Fill Us with Your Love (1983). Bert Polman

Dennis Allen

b. 1952 Composer of "ADORATION" in Baptist Hymnal 2008

Susan H. Peterson

1950 - 2004 Author of "We Thank You, Lord" in The Cyber Hymnal Born: October 17, 1950, Port Angeles, Washington. Died: July 23, 2004, Peralta, New Mexico. Susan was the second of two girls in the family. Her father worked for the National Park Service, so Susan enjoyed growing up in National Parks and Historic Sites across America. She did her undergraduate work at Stanford University and earned a BS in mathematics in 1972. The next year she took a one-year graduate program at Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon, and received a Certificate of Bible upon completion. She decided not to pursue a career in computer science, as she had originally intended, instead embarking on a series of jobs in which she honed her office skills and gained some missions experience. She spent 1976 in Tanzania under the Africa Inland Mission. Upon her return, she settled in Portland, Oregon, where she learned word processing and did editing and proofreading. In 1990, Susan decided to go back to school to learn how to work with visually impaired and blind adults. She received her MA in rehabilitation teaching of the blind from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1991. She then moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, where she worked as an editor and desktop publishing technician for 10 years and did volunteer rehabilitation teaching in her spare time. Much of Susan’s editing and desktop publishing work was on books produced by the Missions Commission of World Evangelical Alliance, including Working Your Way to the Nations, Too Valuable to Lose, Send Me!, Global Missiology for the 21st Century, and Doing Member Care Well. She also worked part time for Emergency World, a company that produced training materials for emergency response personnel. Susan moved back to Oregon in 2002, where she continued the same work she did in Colorado. For several years, Susan worked with Wycliffe Associates as part of a team that helped keyboard Bibles and New Testaments that were printed before the age of computers and that needed to be put into electronic format, so that they could be updated or adapted for other languages. Susan’s career as a hymn writer began in 1997, when she set a goal of writing 100 hymns. Her method was to select a passage of Scripture for each song and then find a hymn tune that seemed to fit the passage. She thus combined the enduring Word of God with melodies that have stood the test of time. Her songs were a blessing to her, and she was pleased to be able to share them with others. Lyrics: Alpha, Omega Ascribe to the Lord Our God Be Now Imitators of Your Lord Be Strong in God Behold, These Words Are Trustworthy and True Blest Are the Poor Blest Is the Man Christ a Blind Man Saw One Day Clothe Yourself with Humility Come and Hear the Words of Jesus Come unto Me Count It Joy Cursed Is the One Who Trusts in Man Do Not Be Surprised Do Not Worry Earth Belongs to the Lord, The Everyone Should Be Quick to Listen Faith Means We’re Sure Faith of Our Brothers For unto Us a Child Is Born Give Thanks to God the Lord God, Keep Me Safe God Most High, We Praise You God, the Blessed and Only Ruler God the Lord Does Ask Hallelujah, Praise the Lord! He Has Given Us His Promises Hear Now My Praise, O Lord Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty How Can I, Lord, Keep My Way Pure? How Good It Is, Lord How Great the Love How Many Are Your Works, Lord I Am the Lord, Your God I Am the Vine I Extol You, O Lord I Kneel Before You, Lord I Praise You, Lord If Any Person Is in Christ If You Love Me If You Would Come After Me In You, O Lord, I Put My Trust It Is Good to Praise th’Almighty Jesus, the Good Shepherd Jonah Just Trust in Me Kingdom of Your Heavenly Father, The Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled Let Your Mindset Be the Same Live with Each Other in Love Lord, I Extol Your Name Lord, We Come and Offer Praise Lord, You Have Been Our Dwelling Lord, You Have Searched Me Lord, You’ve Called Us as Your Servants Love Must Be Sincere and Honest Lovely, O Lord, Is Your Dwelling Place Majestic Is Your Name Man Named Nicodemus, A My God, in Whom I Trust My Light and My Salvation My Soul Finds Rest in God Alone Now Let Us Love Each Other Now That You’ve Tasted O Come, Let Us Sing O God, You Are My God O Lord, Life Is Sacred O Lord, You Reign o’er Earth and Sea O Lord, You’re My Shepherd O May All the Peoples Praise You O Shout for Joy Oh, How Majestic and Glorious Oh, the Depth of God’s Wisdom One Day There’ll Be New Earth and Heaven One Named Lazarus Praise Be unto Our God Ephesians Praise Him, Praise Him, Praise Him Praise, O Servants of the Lord Praise the Lord, My Soul Put Off Your Old Self Wholly Rejoice in God Savior, Like a Shepherd Since Through God’s Mercy Since We Are Now Surrounded Since We Have Confidence Sing to the Lord Sing with Joy This God’s Our God Though I Speak To Whom Will You Compare God? Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart Unto You I Lift My Soul Up Up to the Hills I Look We Now Have Peace with God We Thank You, Lord Wedding Took Place, A Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant What Good Can Come? What Shall We Say? Where Can One Look for --www.hymntime.com/tc

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Jean Sibelius

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