"WHERE ARE THEY NOW?" #24 ~ HELEN PARK

 

Next up in my, "Where Are They Now" series is songwriter and PCA alum, Helen Park. 

Helen Park is a South Korean-born composer based in New York City. She is a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award Winner and the recipient of the 2018 Richard Rodgers Award. Best known for her score on the musical KPOP, Park was nominated for Best Original Score at the Tony Awards, as well as three Drama Desk Awards.

Park was born in Busan, South Korea, and moved to Canada in her third year of middle school to attend PCA. She attended New York University where she received her MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from the Tisch School of the Arts. Park is also an alumna of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.

Park is a composer-lyricist, music producer and orchestrator for the Broadway musical KPOP. She is also a songwriter for Over the Moon, a Netflixmusical animated feature film directed by Glen Keane, which was released on October 23, 2020.

(courtesy of Wikipedia)

BOOK UPDATE!

 

Sometimes I am a little slow, but this morning I had a revelation. My promised book, "Memoirs Of A Prairie Boy" can finally become a reality and in a much shorter time frame than anticipated. I will commission CHATGBT to write it and VOILA! Let the orders pour in! It can write it, edit, illustrate and design it and I won't even have to pay a Ghostwriter . . .

"WHERE ARE THEY NOW?" #23 ~ TIMOTHY PAUL MILNER

Next up in my, "Where Are They Now?" series is Prairie College alum, Timothy Paul Milner. Tim got his

 start leading worship in 1996 at Prairie Bible College, when he founded MNW (Monday Night Worship)

 with his good friend Matt Brouwer. Through this ministry he also met his wife, Dorilee. They have three

children, Caleb, Kierra and Gideon. 

Tim holds a masters degree from Liberty University. He is a worship pastor and songwriter/recording artist

 currently stationed just east of Denver, Colorado. Originally from Nova Scotia, and having spent several

 years as a worship pastor, and teaching at a Christian university, his ministry is devoted to raising the

quality of worship and music in the local church by equipping bands and leaders to

intentionally refine and re-think the focus and purpose of worship.

Tim's ministry is aimed at helping churches reclaim worship that is scripture based, Spirit

aware and Christ focused. He does this by running worship workshops, consulting and

coaching worship leaders. He has written a book called “How Right Worship Changes us,”

available on Amazon. He and Dorilee have also co-authored a book called “Popular Music

Theory,” aimed at helping worship bands. Tim has released 3 albums, 3 EP's and a single

called “My Heart is Open,” his latest release, which can be found on Spotify and

YouTube. 

Tim plans to record a new EP of original music in early 2023.

Discography:

2006 Form and Essence

2008 Kiss the Son

2010 The Epic Hymns

2015 Hope For Every Nation (EP)

2017 Nashville sessions (Salvation Song, Mercy Covers Me, In Every Season)

2021 Nashville session 2 (Every Nation, Psalm 97)

2022 Single: My Heart is Open

"WHERE ARE THEY NOW?" #22 ~ REV MYRON BRADLEY PENNER, PhD

 

Rev Myron Bradley Penner, PhD

Next up in my, "Where Are They Now?" series is former staff kid and Prairie College Alum, the Rev Myron Bradley Penner, PhD. 

Myron is Rector of St Paul’s Anglican Church in Edmonton, AB, Canada. He is happily married to Jodi, an opera singer who is finishing her DMus (in Vocal Production and Choral Conducting) at U of Alberta, Edmonton. They have 3 adult children (Abigail, Sophia, and Isabella) and two sons-in-law (Mack and Wesley). 

The Penners formerly lived in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, where Myron was a Senior Team Leader and co-founder of Novō: Transformational Communities, a project that equips nationals in the Majority World to develop transformational communities to address addictions problems in their communities, as well as Pastor of Trinity International Church. 

Myron holds the PhD in Philosophy and Theology from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and taught philosophy and theology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels in several universities, graduate schools, and seminaries in Europe, Canada, and the United States. 

Myron has been awarded many postgraduate and postdoctoral fellowships and awards and has edited and published numerous academic books and articles. His latest book, The End of Apologetics: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World, was published with Baker Academic Publishing in 2011 and was the recipient of 2 awards, The 2013 Word Guild Award in Canada and The Christianity Today 2014 Book Award in the USA. 

His specialized areas of interest include Epistemology, Hermeneutics, and Philosophy of Religion.

Web: www.stpauls-anglican.ca

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD COMMENTS

November 19th, 2022 at the 42nd annual Covenant Awards I was honoured by the Gospel Music Association of Canada with a Lifetime Achievement Award. I am humbled and grateful to all those who made this possible and to the many, many people I have encountered on my journey. It is very hard to re-cap one's life in a few short minutes but here are a few thoughts:

To Greg, Jaylene and the board of GMA Canada - thank you very much for this honour.

A hearty congratulations to all of the nominees and the winners in tonight's event. Continue to pursue excellence!

To the family and friends of Amoy Levy. I am so very sorry for your loss. Amoy will be greatly missed, but her life and legacy will live on through the music she made. May she Rest In Peace.

You have all heard the quote about it taking a village to raise a child? That is my story.

I would like to begin by thanking my parents. Their love of music and the arts set the stage early on for what was to become my career. Mom and Dad sacrificed to provide piano lessons for me starting at an early age. In Jr High they let me have space in their basement both for a small electronics shop and a basic, primitive recording studio. Their belief and confidence in me, set me on a path which would turn into my life's passion. Thank you Mom and Dad!

I had several mentors along the way;

My father in law Doug Kirk who gave me my start in PA and basic studio operation. Doug also taught me to troubleshoot logically which has been a huge help. He also let me marry his daughter which may be my greatest achievement.

Doug was always generous with both his time and his knowledge. He would often quote Don Davis who said, “I met a man with a dollar. We exchanged dollars. We each still had one dollar. Then I met a man with an idea. We exchanged ideas. Now we each have two ideas.”

I have tried to live my life by that mantra.

John Binet Sr who taught me how to edit analog tape with a razor blade and taught me a lot about electronics.

Mark Hollingsworth who took a chance on a 22 year old Canadian kid to road manage and then production manage the biggest rock band in Christian music.

Bob MacKenzie who constantly challenged me to do better, be better and push my artists towards excellence. Bob would often tell me that, "The longer the line of preparation, the greater the possibility of intersecting with the line of opportunity."

This has been 100% true in my life.

I would like to give special mention to three former colleagues, Harold Wiens, Ray Kirk and Eldon Winter. We certainly had some adventures along the way - thank you to each one of you!

To the hundreds of musicians, artists, songwriters and technicians who I have worked with over the years, I thank each of you for contributing to my life and I trust that I brought some light to your journey as well.

Lastly, I would like to thank my wife Cathy, our children Christy, Rob and Jon for always supporting me and being there through the ups and downs.

As you all know the path of a creative is not always an easy one and their support over the many years has given my life stability and purpose.

I leave you with this quote from Ludwig van Beethoven “Music can change the world.”

I truly believe that!

Thank you! 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? #21 ~ PAUL JANZ

The next artist in my, “Where Are They Now” series is singer, songwriter, musician, author, professor, Paul Janz.

Paul was born in Three Hills where his father, Leo was one of the members of the Janz Quartet along with his two brothers and Cornie Enns. The quartet sang a lively 4 part harmony, gospel tinged style of music and were instrumental in putting Prairie College on the map along with LE Maxwell. Hard to believe now, but the quartet was fairly controversial in some parts of the country. They were actually kicked out of more than one church for what was deemed, “worldly” music.

I don’t claim to be a DNA scientist or specialist in any way but I do know this: The musical talent and thread that runs through the Janz DNA is simply remarkable. Not only Leo and his brothers but Paul’s siblings and cousins and onto the next generation of children, nieces and nephews. I’m not sure if I know any other situation quite like it.

Brought up in a very musical family, he first learned the trumpet and by age 13 was engaged with his local chapter of The Salvation Army. He was in the Janz Team Singers, then Danny, Paul and Wayne and then formed a band with his brother Ken and his cousin Danny called Deliverance in the mid ’70’s. Deliverance released 3 albums in the next 10 years having a marginal hit song with, Leaving LA.
In 1984, Paul launched his solo career, which culminated in four projects with a string of chart-topping hits from each album. 

The first solo album recorded at Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver would achieve gold record status in Canada. The success of his projects led to his nomination for a Juno Award, Canada's most prominent music award. Despite achieving great success in Canada, his U.S. record label's restructuring of its roster of artists led to the end of promotion in the American market.

This is not my story to tell so you would have to hear it or read it from Paul, but Paul abruptly quit the music business in around 1994. Done. Finished. Not even a little toe in the water. He pursued further studies and began to teach philosophy at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia before becoming Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology and Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College London.

Paul has written a book entitled God, the Mind's Desire: Reference, Reason and Christian Thinking published by Cambridge University Press. 

In 2004, Janz's first album High Strung was re-released on CD for the first time by Escape Music in the UK.

I am going to post a couple of things in the comment section: The first one is a song called: Praying off of Paul’s last album, Trust released in 1992. Of special note is the background choir which is the West Coast Mennonite Chamber Choir arranged and conducted by Larry Nickel, older brother to the famous photographer and Prairie College professor, Ron Nickel.

The second one is a very old recording of the original Janz Quartet from a Jan. 6th, 1950 recording of Hymns That Live, the radio broadcast.

(Thank you to wikipedia for the help on this one!) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llPPe8bmqeM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt4R2apRYUU&t=45s

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? #20 ~ DONALD SCOTT MASTERSON

Next up in my, "Where Are They Now" series is a 3rd generation "Prairie-ite." Donald Scott Masterson III, is a multi-talented, designer, graphic artist and painter.

Donald Scott Masterson, a multi-medium artist, has called Cannon Beach his home since 2000. Born in Oregon and growing up in Canada, his career has spanned being a graphic designer for a Nashville record label, to an Art Director for Disney and Universal Studios in China. Inspired by the beauty of Cannon Beach from his early childhood while visiting his grandmother, he would wander the local galleries and gather inspiration from artists like Jeffrey Hull and Bill Steidel. 

Donald's paintings can be seen in local restaurants and hotels such as The Stephanie Inn and Pelican Brewery, as well as in private collections around the Northwest. When he is not working in his studio at home, Donald spends his days on film sets as a scenic artist and sculptor.

 

 

Both Donald's grandfather and father taught at Prairie College and Donald is a graduate of PHS where he proudly played goal for the Sabres hockey team.

Donald's work has graced custom homes, he has designed restaurants, worked on film sets and the list goes on. Some of you will remember back in the day he designed and painted the Boxtree CD Cover.

A little known fact is that Donald also designed the Reunion Records logo in Nashville, TN and as far as I know they are still using it today.

I have known Donald since he was a wee lad and we have a love for Daniel Lanois and the Omnichord in common among other things!