Congregational Songs

In the early 90s, I was a grad student studying music composition at the University of Pittsburgh. By day I wrote esoteric modern compositions and by night I was a singer-songwriter performing in clubs and coffee houses. On Sundays, I attended Bellefield Presbyterian Church, singing in the choir and playing with the praise band. When the music director retired, I discovered he had been paving the way for me to be his replacement! Little did I know, this part-time worship position at my church would lead to two decades of leading and teaching worship.

After singing “Majesty” a hundred or more times, I decided I would refresh Bellefield’s repertoire with some freshly composed praise songs. “As the Deer” was my first. How could I have known it would appear in hymnals and be sung by choirs for the next 25 years? Other songs followed and they were received enthusiastically enough at my own church that I decided to make them available more widely.

I began by publishing The Greg Scheer Song Book, which contained leadsheets and piano accompaniments for ten songs. This might not seem like a monumental undertaking today, but this was in the days of the Mac SE whose screen allowed me to see only tiny portions of a page at a time. A few years later, I determined to record a CD of the songs. Once again, technology was nothing like it is today. I recorded the whole album on a Roland VS-880 with one microphone.

25 years later, I’m pleased to introduce The Greg Scheer Song Book, 25th Anniversary Edition. I am humbled and blessed to have watched these songs find their way in the world: included in hymnals, sung at funerals, and published as solo pieces and choral anthems. I hope those who are new to the GSSB will find something they like and that the collection will bring back fond memories for those who have been singing them since the beginning!