Choraegus ShareMusic®

What's a "choraegus"?

A "choraegus" is a leader of a chorus. Way back in the old Greek days, there would be singing groups which were led by choraeguses (choraegi?). They frequently did what they did for the love of music, and showed this by supporting their choirs out of their own pockets. I suppose this probably also meant that they wrote or commissioned a lot of music for their choirs, hence the line "one who brings music to the people."

So how does that fit in? I've been directing Living Water, one of the choirs at First Presbyterian Church of Mountain View (formerly of Valley Church), since 1987. We sing for our church family, and maintain a concert ministry to other churches, retirement communities, and convalescent homes.

It turns out that a large proportion of our repertoire is music which I've written during that time. It's exciting that the members love so many of those songs so much, and even more wonderful that the Lord has used them to minister both to us and to those for whom we've sung. So that makes me a "choraegus."

What's "ShareMusic"?

It's the musical equivalent of "shareware." You download it, and if you decide to use it, you pay a per-copy fee for the copies you make for your choir or ensemble. If you decide not to use it, you can just discard your copy - or, better yet, give it to a friend who might be able to use it!

If you're a composer, you know how it usually works: You write a song which people like, and they quickly tell you that you should have it published. So you try to place your music with a publisher and hope...

That's what happened to me, except that after some years it was time to give up on trying. After all, I was still on Square One with lots of music and no publisher. So, knowing the ministry God's given me in songwriting, I formed my own company.