Happy Holidays! Introducing the GA 2023 Music Team - Archived

Join us online or in-person in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
A Gift for You
a screenshot of a Zoom meeting with the General Assembly Staff with festive Christmas backgrounds
Happy Holidays from the General Assembly team! Warm wishes to you and yours for a joyful, safe holiday season! Please enjoy these virtual backgrounds that you may use on Zoom or the video conferencing platform of choice.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging: Inclusivity at GA
General Assembly continues to be a time for us to gather, in body and spirit, to honor our history, celebrate who we are, and forge our future together. The General Assembly and Conference Services Team leads the initiative to ensure that diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) are woven throughout, from planning to fruition.
Each month we will highlight different tentacles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in preparation for our upcoming General Assembly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 2023. For the month of December, let’s focus on inclusivity.
a video frame with diverse photos of GA attendees with the words incorporating inclusivity in GA Planning and Execution
Introducing the GA 2023 Music Team
Natasha Steinmacher
Natasha Steinmacher, 2023 GA Music Coordinator, (she, her) is the Director of Music Ministry at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill, NJ, where she has served the music ministry for over 20 years. In previous years, she contributed music for General Assembly as both soprano soloist and choir accompanist. Natasha is a UUA Music Leadership Certification Program graduate and serves as the Program Director for Member Engagement for the Association of Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM). She finds great joy in bringing people together in community through the power of music.
Adam Podd
Adam Podd, 2023 GA Band Leader, is a Vermont-bred, Brooklyn-based music director, pianist, organist, bassist, composer and arranger. Adam is currently Music Director at First Unitarian Church in Brooklyn, NY where he conducts the choir and workshops his latest musical creations. He studied classical and jazz piano, organ, orchestration, conducting, and music production at The Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT where he received his Bachelor of Music.
Clif Hardin
Clif Hardin, 2023 GA Choir Director, has lived in the Washington, DC area for much of his life, and has served as music director for many opera and music theater productions through the years. He has been Music Director at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland since 1983, where he works with choirs of all ages and regularly arranges and composes for the choral groups and writes piano music for services. Clif’s music is performed widely among Unitarian Universalist congregations. His compositions have been commissioned by a number of UU congregations. His choral music is published by GIA, Walton, Pavane and Hal Leonard, and many more choral and piano compositions are self-published. His Requiem will be performed at Carnegie Hall in the spring of 2023. Clif holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory (BM in piano and theory), the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University (MM in conducting), and the University of Maryland (DMA in choral performance). More information about his music can be found at www.ClifHardinMusic.com.
David Blazer, 2023 GA Accompanist, is the director of Music at the West Shore UU Church in Rocky River, Ohio. He was born and raised in Oklahoma where he began studies with Douglas Payton on piano and Oneta Puckette on the organ. At age 15, he became the organist of the First Presbyterian Church in Miami, Oklahoma. He studied at the famed Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, where he received the B.M. in Organ Performance under the guidance of Garth Peacock and George Lamb. He continued his studies in Early Music Performance Practices at Case Western Reserve University and in Liturgical Music at the University of Notre Dame. For many years he has participated in studies of Gregorian Chant at the Pontificial Institute of Sacred Music in Rome, Italy. From 1987-1997, he was the Executive Director of the Riverside Academy of Music. He is a member of the American Guild of Organists where he holds the Service Playing Certificate. He is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network and the Organ Historical Society.
Call for GA 2023 Worship Proposals
an image of General Assembly attendees gathered in meditation
We are inviting proposals from organizations and worship leaders with experience and capabilities to self-produce a complete, high-quality, 45-minute worship service including music.
Proposals can be for a live worship (in-person or virtual) or for a fully pre-recorded video presentation. Select proposals will be featured in-person in Pittsburgh on Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. These worship services can be either a live event or a live screening of a prerecorded service. These worship services will also stream live to virtual registrants. Other proposals will be selected to be fully prerecorded and made available for on-demand viewing. The worship proposal deadline is Friday, January 13.
Become a GA Volunteer
hands holding a heart with the words volunteer for GA around the image
Each year, General Assembly is made possible by the contributions of hundreds of volunteers who do everything from editing videos to hanging banners. There will be many Volunteer Opportunities for both onsite and offsite participants. Volunteers are eligible to receive a fully funded GA registration.
Video: GA Registration Rates Explained
Watch this video for an explanation of 2023 GA registration options for in-person or virtual participation.
A link to the video that explains GA Registration Rates
Register Now for GA 2023!
Now Open 2023 GA Registration
Join us June 21 – 25, 2023 online or in-person in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. General Assembly 2023 will be a multiplatform event, with registration options for in-person and/or virtual participation. In-person registration includes access to events scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh, as well as everything available to virtual registrants. Full virtual registration includes access to the GA app, as well as all on-demand programming, live webinars, and live-streamed events.
New this year! Join our First Timers Caucus. If this will be your first ever in-person GA, use the promo code WELCOME to reduce your Adult in-person registration by $100. One hundred spots are available. Cannot be combined with other financial support promo codes.
In-person registration is $400 for adults, and $300 for high school youth, emerging adults (18-24), and retired and candidate ministers. Full Virtual Registration is $250. Register now and use the payment plan to pay over time. Financial support is also available. In-person registration rates will increase on March 1 and again on May 1.
NEW! GA Gift Certificates are Now Available!
Give the gift of General Assembly with a registration gift certificate. GA registration gift certificates are available in any amount. Refer to 2023 GA Registration rates.
Financial Support for General Assembly
General Assembly Planners are committed to the goal of making the General Assembly accessible to the maximum number of attendees possible.
Financial support to attend GA – virtually or in-person – is offered to those with need. These awards are funded through the generosity of General Assembly registrants via donations made during registration.
GA 2023 Sponsorship | Exhibiting | Advertising
Interested in Exhibiting at General Assembly? We are pleased to offer premium sponsorship packages, exhibit booths, and other advertising opportunities which will provide top-notch exposure to your organization. Engage with the GA audience and join us together again in Pittsburgh, PA, or online on the GA App powered by Whova!
Share the “What is GA?” Video!
Find yourself struggling to explain GA to friends, family, and fellow congregants? Share this “What is GA?” video with fellow UUs to offer a sneak peek into the GA experience.
decorative

[Message clipped]  View entire message

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.