Taemin Han

Take Note - April 2012

April 1, 2012

Throughout about 20 years of my music ministry at many churches, I have insisted that my church choirs have at least one or two public concerts during a church year. There are two important reasons: one is we should have experience to some suitable degree of difficult projects regularly to maintain our interest in music and develop our musical skills further. It might be similar to the case that students need to take exams on a regular basis to check if their learning process has been successful and set up goals for the future . Second reason is our Christian life cannot stop after finding God's mercy and sharing His Grace with church families. Our life mission is spreading God's love and the good news about salvation of Jesus Christ to people outside church. There are many ways to fulfill these activities, but musical events are some of the most powerful tools.

After several months of my music ministry at First Presbyterian Church, our Sanctuary Choir, with guest instrumentalists, will have a public concert on Sunday, April 15, at 3 p.m. The program will include J. Haydn's "Little Organ Mass", which was composed for a small size of choir with an excellent organist (Haydn himself) and a talented soprano soloist in the time of the composition. The other major piece is J. S. Bach's Cantata No. 166 "Where goest thou, Lord?", which was written for the fourth Sunday after Easter. This piece needs bass, alto and tenor soloists with a choir. After these historical church pieces, we will enjoy exciting and powerful contemporary songs , some which is church music and some that is general music about music itself for the rest of the program.

Our church has started a new chapter of its history recently with a new pastor, and our choir members and I hope this event will show all the people in our community our sincere determination of our ministries with God's guidance from now on. Please look out for people who will come, enjoy and share our vision in church ministries with us while praising God with music in one voice.

Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : Take Note - FPC, Waterloo

Take Note - March 2012

March 18, 2012

Two weeks ago, my whole family and I visited Michigan State University for Grace, who was participating in the MSU alumni distinguished scholarship competition. Regardless of the results which will come later, we decided to focus the value of the time we enjoyed on visiting our old home town and finding fond memories at the campus during the stay in East Lansing.

While participating in the events, I could not hide my pride as an alumni of the school because of how organized they were in p...

Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : Take Note - FPC, Waterloo

Take Note - February 2012

February 4, 2012

Someone said that there are three things that the longer you have kept them, the better they will be : those are the violin, wine and friend. I am not able to explain the reason for violin and wine well enough even though I am sure that's true. But I would like to think more about the friendships we want to achieve through our lives.

True friendships are like a tree with deep roots that have stood the test of time. Good friends don't need to get together that often to make sure their relat...
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Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : Take Note - FPC, Waterloo

Take Note - January 2012

January 5, 2012

What a year I have spent in 2011! It has been one of most challenging years for me and it has been another blessed year in return indeed with God's guidance. Around the time of closing this year of 2011, I try to recall all the memories and experiences, and I recognize that the most important blessing among all others I should thank God for is my family.

If I had not had my wife and my children, who did not lose trust in me and kept living their lives without missing a beat, I would have g...
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Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : Take Note - FPC, Waterloo

Take Note - December 2011

December 7, 2011

Do you have a role model ? If we find a good one, our lives can be in better shape.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is considered to be one of the greatest composers in western music history. He was more popular as an organist than a composer in his time. After then, many historical composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin admired his keyboard works. After F. Mendelssohn discovered a copy of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in his family library and reintroduced this piece to th...

Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : Take Note - FPC, Waterloo

Take Note - First Article at FPC, Waterloo

October 25, 2011

It is my honor to serve First Presbyterian Church as an Interim Music Director/Organist. The rich history of this church and equally extended history of strong music ministry at First Presbyterian Church have contributed tremendously to the life of church members as well as this community. I have enjoyed the concert program and special musical events at this church during the last two years since I moved to Waterloo with my family in December 2009.

Even with my short time of serving as subst...

Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : Take Note - FPC, Waterloo

Take Note - June/July 2011

May 25, 2011

What a year I have spent with the Westminster family! I have enjoyed all the musical activities and relationships with people around me through this season. Many memories of this year will be with me for a long time, including; the Animal Public Concert; Messiah Sunday; Children's Christmas Musical "King Wenceslas"; Westminster Chimes Talent Show; Music Recognition Sunday and Hymn Singing Sunday.

Now, we are into the Summer! Energy will abound and we will enjoy this exciting season! Bu...

Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : take note - westminster messenger

Take Note - May 2011

April 16, 2011

How amazing it is to see the life of nature! After many months of hiding, leaves and grasses are showing green out of drab braches and ground of a long winter. New leaves and flowers are so soft -- like a new-born baby's skin. But, they are so strong! God's wondrous creation of Genesis continues - on-going -everyday around us.

As spring is a time of new beginning, May is a month full of the celebrating ceremonies of the church and school year’s closing. Many will venture to highe...

Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : take note - westminster messenger

Take Note - April 2011

March 23, 2011

In my memory, most Lenten periods were in the end of winter. But, this year we experience this solemn time at the beginning of spring. We need to remind ourselves of the meaning of Jesus' sacrifice and set our minds away from earthly desire as we fill our hearts with spiritual hunger.

However, even in Lent we still celebrate God’s great love for us through our Sunday services. This is why the 40 days of Lent following Ash Wednesday excludes the Sundays. I am happy that it falls int...

Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : take note - westminster messenger

Take Note - March 2011

February 17, 2011

One Sunday, Pastor Tricia gave a children’s sermon with two football teams' uniforms. The conclusion was that we are followers of Jesus, so our behaviors and beliefs should reflect the image of God to the world. It sounded like one of the most basic sermon themes we commonly hear. But, the more I think of this matter, the heavier responsibility I feel as a Christian.

We represent our God to people around us and we hope to do well. Often we don’t. Who will represent us most in hum...

Posted by Taemin Han. Posted In : take note - westminster messenger