I’ve had several people ask me about what’s going on with the blog here. The answer is short: nothing. For the last two years, my professional careers outside of this blog have surpassed my ability to spend time writing “for free” here. In fact, I stopped teaching piano over two years ago simply because I couldn’t dedicate the time to it and had to start cutting things out of each week’s schedule.
I’ve had a blast writing reviews, interviewing some of my favorite composers and getting “deep” on the philosophy and doctrine of church music. I’m especially grateful to those that have faithfully followed, Tweeted and emailed me over the years to interact with what I’ve written here.
All this to say, that around the end of 2016, PianoAnimato.com will go dark and the blog will be deleted. I’ve asked trusted friends for their opinions on this and gotten mixed suggestions, but ultimately I don’t want this to become another landing page for ads, ads and more ads with a little bit of content. I set this blog up with the intention of it being a labor of love for me about one of my biggest passions, and that’s what it has been. For it to turn into a billboard would go against my desires.
Instead, I will leave the blog up for the rest of the year allowing you to save any of my original content for your own study/use. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can profit from it by reselling it or reposting it as your own content. If you do wish to post some of this content, please credit my name (Paul Schmutzler) instead of the website.
In case you’re curious, my future will consist of more writing than ever. I write regularly for tech and video publications, reviewing products for those industries. You can look for me on LinkedIn if you want to keep up with what I’m writing about. As far as church music goes, I’m currently in limbo. Our family just recently left a church we had attended for ten years, and we’re seeking for the next assembly that God has for us. We’ll see what kind of involvement there may be for me when we find that place.
Image credit: sleim from Deviant Art (http://fav.me/diei99)
“Jesus Saves: Songs of the Cross” published by Heart Publications is a new collection of contemporary hymns arranged by Kristin Campbell. While a collection of songs about Jesus saving must include the cross, the songs in this solo piano collection are carefully chosen to emphasize the role of the cross in the Christian life. Songs like “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed” and “Wonderful, Merciful Savior” point the listener and performer directly to the love, act and thought behind Christ’s substitutionary death. Having played Campbell’s piano and choral music many times, I had high expectations for this new collection of songs. Read on to see if “Jesus Saves” met those expectations. 
