With much appreciation to all the BCA Music Committee participants on the many subcommittees, the first issue of the BCA Music Newsletter has become a reality and summarizes the accomplishments to date.
At the BCA Music Committee organizing meetings in 2020, Cynthia Mee (Midwest Buddhist Temple) and Amy Peterson (Oregon Buddhist Temple) expressed interest in helping with a newsletter publication. For various technical reasons the newsletter launch was stalled, but the idea remained. We are grateful to Dennis Akizuki (San Jose Betsuin) for editorial guidance and to Pam Matsuoka (Berkeley Buddhist Temple) for actually creating the newsletter for publication.
As the BCA Music Committee looks ahead to the BCA 125th anniversary celebration throughout 2024, we are brainstorming proposed projects and welcome additional volunteers to join the efforts on any subcommittees of interest.
Please also note the initial announcement of the BCA Music gatha lyric-writing contest. We are commissioning composers to set the chosen lyrics to music with arrangements, recordings, and performances intended to be presented in 2024. We encourage participation to submit lyrics or to spread the word about the lyric contest to others for both the youth and adult categories prior to the deadline on June 4, 2023.
Details for the gatha lyric-writing contest as well as the BCA Music Newsletter are posted on the BCA Music webpage at: https://www.buddhistchurchesofamerica.org/music
After reading the newsletter, we invite you to contribute articles related to music at your temple. If you are not already involved, please consider joining the BCA Music Committee to bolster plans across all BCA districts for the 125th anniversary celebration.
We are also developing a list of future projects for which directed sponsorship donations can be made. The “Contact Us” button at the bottom of the BCA Music webpage is the easiest way to contact me with questions, suggestions, other comments, or to facilitate your involvement.