Fred Bogert

Gloria Bogert

Jody Soland

Bonnie Smith

Linda Missad

Alan Tutt

Lauren Lane Powell

Carol Johnson

...in the 2007 Great Lakes Unity Music Conference

Richard Mekdeci   is currently touring the United States and Canada to spread the message, “Let everybody know God is and all is well!” He is the president of Itoi Ministries (pronounced eye-to-eye), a nonprofit organization dedicated to “Transforming Lives And Promoting Peace Through Music With A Uniting Spiritual Message.”

Richard ’s experience as a songwriter, singer and performer span a wide range from leading music for Unity Village Retreats for over five years, to over 20 years of writing, producing and performing in Nashville, Tennessee , where he was minister of music at First Church Unity.

     As a licensed Unity teacher, Richard appears at Unity churches and conferences all over the U.S., presenting workshops, concerts and special music for services and events.

            He now works at the Association of Unity Churches International and is a charter member of the Association of Unity Church’s music team, selecting music for new songbooks yearly.

            His workshop will cover the elements of a good service, service flow, timing, etc, and then he will help us create a service from the input to do on Sunday morning using musical ideas thrown out from the group and incorporating a lot of different people's music.

Fred Bogert has worked with Unity and New Thought churches for many years. He served as music director for Unity of Fort Pierce, Florida, for seven years then later produced an album of children’s music for the Association of Unity Churches for the Year of the Child in 1993. Since 1989, Fred has traveled all over the United States giving talks, providing service music and performing concerts at Unity and New Thought Churches. He is a member of the Association of Unity Churches International music team and plays an active part in providing music for Unity and New Thought churches, retreats and minister’s conferences.

He has also produced and engineered several albums for various Unity musicians. In 2006, he and Greg Tamblin wrote the theme song for the Planetary Play Day, which was introduced at the mid-year conference at Unity Village .

His workshop, Practical Applications of Creativity, will help you organize the creative flow of your congregation into focused, meaningful manifestation. Everyone has a gift and message inside waiting to come to life and reach others. Music is a powerful vehicle by which this can be done in a way that's uplifting and uniting for all. As a music producer, composer and performer Fred is uniquely qualified to help you understand the process by which musical dreams become enriching reality. Fred has four decades of experience in all aspects of the music industry.

His CD productions, compositions and performances have been nominated for three Grammy awards, and he has engineered and/or produced over 3,000 recordings during his dozen years spent on Nashville 's Music Row. Fred will help you find, focus and maintain a spirit driven adventure as you comb through prayers and meditations to find ideas for songs and chants. He'll help you understand how to organize those ideas and weave them with melody and harmony that the congregation will enjoy sharing. Fred will show you how to build a roadmap for producing recordings of your songs, sorting through today's maze of technology so you'll make wise choices about musicians, engineering, gear and budgets. Fred will help you understand the current state of music manufacturing, retail and distribution, breaking through the myths and mysteries of 21st century's rapidly changing music marketplace. He'll describe the transition occurring worldwide from the physical to the virtual in music retailing, and how our marketplace is moving from a concept of lack into a future of unlimited access and supply. You'll come away energized and capable of opening the doors of creative expression and realizing wonderful results.

Gloria Bogert has worked in puppets for many years, having used them in church services, children’s groups, banquets, workshops, classrooms, assemblies, etc. She has also trained puppet teams, both teenage and adult. She has also conducted “Puppets in Ministry” workshops. She has been in Unity for the past 20 years and during those years has been soloist, song leader, interim music director, church pianist, retreat leader, fall program planner, volunteer recruiter, Sunday school teacher, workshops on creativity and also mother/daughter relationships and Sunday morning speaker.

In her workshop, you will all get the opportunity to work with puppets and get some basic "operating procedures." You will also gain understanding into the many ways in which to use them in your church ministries. In addition, each participant will leave with resource material on where to get puppets, puppets accessories, stage layouts, and further training.

            Jody Soland is a singer/songwriter who has written and performed original material at many different venues including corporate events, retreats, workshops, concerts, private parties, weddings, and Unity church services and special events. Jody is a songwriter of the heart. Her songs are created from life experience and simple truths, and they have moved the hearts and souls of many audiences. Jody has been singing professionally since age 13, and she has appeared in many music venues including clubs, colleges, recording studios, television, and churches.

She has shared the stage with many authors, ministers, motivational speakers and keynote speakers, supporting their message with music that invites a deep spiritual awakening.  She stays fully open to Spirit and creativity by using many methods including breathwork. She is a certified Holotropic Breathwork practitioner, and is a member of the Association for Holotropic Breathwork International. Previously living in Nashville , Tennessee , Jody and husband Gary now make their home in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio where they co-write songs for many local Unity churches, as well as other artists. Jody and Gary performed their songs "Till You Can See Me" and "You are the Hero" to a national audience as they brought the message of love, healing, and hope to the National S. A. V. E.  (Students Against Violence Everywhere) program in March 2004.

In our opening session, Jody will lead us through an experience using the breath, music and creative artwork. While this method is not the holotropic breathwork it is a modified version that she calls Heartwork/Artwork. Jody will gently guide us into the heart, opening the channels for creative expression and discovery. On Saturday, Jody will teach us the technical parts of co-writing and facilitate that process for us in small groups.

            Bonnie Smith began playing the piano at age 12.  She went on to study piano at Indiana University at South Bend after high school and was involved in the music program at Unity Church of Peace in South Bend during her college years. Bonnie has been the music director at Unity Spiritual Center in Westlake, Ohio, for six years. She also enjoys singing, songwriting, directing the choir, and teaching piano to a variety of students.

            Bonnie has had tremendous success in creating a music program at her home church in Westlake . Her workshop will highlight ways that music directors can recruit choir members and provide suggestions for keeping choir members “fired up” about their commitment to choir. She will also showcase a variety of choral pieces, from easy to difficult, and show participants how to apply her practical knowledge and expansive experience and success into their own music programs.

Linda Missad has been a professional musician, performer, arranger, composer and music engraver for more than 20 years.  With a bachelor of music, she has worked with professional and community theater, played in bands, played solo and traveled around the Midwest doing college concerts.  Over the past 10 years she has worked with music publishers engraving music for hymnals, music curriculums as well as music magazines.  She currently freelances with clients as a music arranger, composer and engraver, and also composes choral and solo music for the Unity Church of Peace.  She is currently enrolled in an online course, learning to write music for the media and is working toward getting a project in that field.

Linda will provide a quick overview of hooking up keyboard and midi to a computer and input melodies in Finale, adding chords to make a lead sheet then making the page layout look good to print out.

          Alan Tutt   has been involved with online marketing since January 2003 when he started his first website. Alan has created one page sales sites, membership community sites, sites that promote affiliate products, viral marketing pieces, and a catalog site that sells a variety of products with the help of a team of online affiliates. Alan also consults with newbie webmasters and helps them to define their online goals and the best methods of reaching those goals.

He will present some of the types of websites that musicians could create to promote their music to the world at large, with suggestions on how to generate various desired results from them, such as increased fan loyalty, CD sales, event bookings, etc.  This presentation would be an overview that will give attendees a clear idea of the direction they should go with their online marketing. Find out what types of websites are best for selling CDs, building a fan base, booking live events, and making money online.  Find out how to best accomplish your goals.

            Lauren Lane Powell has been teaching people how to sing since 1989, first in private vocal lessons, and for the last 5 years, in New Thought churches, hospitals, healing arts centers, teacher in-service workshops, expos, retreats and conferences across the country. As she continues to study and grow, so does her work.

          In Lauren’s Toning Circle workshop, we will explore the whole sounds of the quartz crystal singing bowls and the magical, meditational music of the “Freenote Wing” along with our own powerful, healing vocal tones. In the circle, individuals receive a full-body, surround sound experience unlike any other! 

            Carol Johnson has warmed hearts and lifted spirits of countless thousands through her delightful recordings and personable presentations. For more than twenty years, this uniquely gifted singer-songwriter has delighted, uplifted and sensitized audiences of all ages with her wit, her warmth, her compelling insights and her wonderfully crafted compositions. Her songs sparkle with energy; they encourage us to be good to each other, to ourselves, and to the earth. They celebrate life, and with a healthy bit of humor they also challenge the way we sometimes live it.

            Carol ’s warm, loving and effervescent personality lights up any room, and her energy will lift our spirits as she leads us in an “Energizing Sing-along.”

            Bryan Whittemore   and Martha Hall Bowman are extraordinarily talented musicians and the humble creators of this conference, and they had more fun than is legally allowed in getting all the details together for this conference.