Jay Beech Booking Information
Jay is available to make personal appearances for a variety of events. He prefers to bring one or more other musicians, but can also make solo appearances. The costs depend upon the number of musicians involved, length of time, equipment required, and the specific details of travel. To discuss options for your event and receive a quote, contact us by the method most convenient for you. What follows is a brief description of three different types of events in which Jay often participates.
| WORSHIP SERVICES | WORKSHOPS | CONCERTS | CONVENTIONS |
Congregational Worship Services
Bringing in someone from the outside for a worship service can be an excellent method for helping your congregation see possibilities that they might never have otherwise imagined. Jay can work in advance with a pastor, church musician, or others to help plan services for a particular Sunday, (preferably based on the lectionary texts for the day). He would then come in, usually one day early, and work with other musicians from your parish to rehearse the music. This option provides an excellent opportunity not only to model good planning and preparation practices for your musicians, but also to expand your repertoire of hymns and liturgical music. In most cases, Jay would function as the "cantor" for the services which would still be very worshipful and participational, not a Sunday morning concert.
| WORSHIP SERVICES | WORKSHOPS | CONCERTS | CONVENTIONS |
Workshops
Sponsoring a workshop can be a wonderful and dynamic way of helping the worship life of your congregation develop and grow. Most of the workshops that Jay leads would be approximately a half day long and involve conversation around important issues relating to the way we worship, and practical help developing the skills required to employ contemporary music in liturgy. There are two primary types of workshops: The first is the congregational workshop designed specifically for your parish. Jay would spend 60-90 minutes presenting on topics that could include liturgical theology and history, worship planning, and the appropriate influence of culture. Most of the time, however, is spend actually making music with those who play for your services. Skills that might be addressed during this time would include How to teach new music and lead congregational singing; Fundamentals of the groove; Creating the best arrangements for your ensemble; Leading hymns with a combo; Intro to African and Latin American music; Reading session of new hymns and liturgical music.
The second option is the invitational workshop in which you would invite pastors and musicians from other congregations to participate. Because of the variety of situations which would be represented, it is impossible in this workshop to spend as much time addressing the specific needs of any one congregation. More time, therefore, is spent on theory and practice and less on skill development.
| WORSHIP SERVICES | WORKSHOPS | CONCERTS | CONVENTIONS |
Concerts
Jay Beech concerts are devotional entertainment events which are appropriate for people of any age. He always does a wide variety of music and there are lots of opportunities to sing along. For this type of performance there are at least three options: Jay Beech: Jay does a one man concert playing acoustic guitar; Jay Beech and another guitarist Jay plus a very gifted guitarist by the name of Glenn Ginn, both playing acoustic guitars. The Jay Beech Band which traveled for many years and was featured at numerous national and regional youth gatherings no longer exists. However, a new band has been formed called Jay Beech and the Elements. This is a very hot five piece group that includes drums, keyboard, guitar, sax and Jay on bass. The sound borrows especially from jazz, blues, and funk and highlights the continued maturation of Jay's compositional abilities.
| WORSHIP SERVICES | WORKSHOPS | CONCERTS | CONVENTIONS |
Conventions and Conferences
Jay often functions as song leader at events including pastor's conferences, synod assemblies, festivals, leadership events, etc. His professionalism, skill, and experience are second to none in this regard, and always become an invaluable addition to the atmosphere of the event.
| WORSHIP SERVICES | WORKSHOPS | CONCERTS | CONVENTIONS |