The Newsong Group comprises Andrew D. Brewis, Airlie Scott and Tamsin Bland. Andrew: composer, pianist and male lead vocalist. Airlie: female lead vocalist. Tamsin: flautist, administrator and Newsong co-ordinator.

Their vision?

• To heal, inspire and uplift through new music.
• To create music that communicates the meaning of the lyrics transparently.
• To produce music that enhances the lyrics, staying true to the purity of the message.
• To create music that people enjoy singing - as a community and as individuals.
• To introduce new metaphysical ideas and to bring fresh inspiration to loved hymn words.
• To help expand the availability of contemporary music within the CS movement.
• To produce music that reaches out to other Christian faiths and beyond.

Historical Background (in their own words)

We have been good friends for over 20 years and have been making music together on and off since early school days at Claremont Fan Court School. Growing up as young Christian Scientists, we really enjoyed getting involved in Sunday School and youth forum activities, attending Easter camps and Focus youth camps, all the time exploring active, vital ways to apply Christian Science in our lives. Singing hymns together has always been an integral part of the way we pray and enjoy the spiritual side of life.

While sharing ideas and music in the past few years, we felt that there was a need to bring a more vital sense of music into our Churches and Sunday Schools. We wanted to reflect the upbeat, true sense of life and healing we've felt living and practicing Christian Science...and once we'd started, there was no stopping us!

Andrew started to write new musical settings of loved and existing hymnal words and as we shared these, along with some written by Fenella Bennetts, at a Focus youth meeting in the summer of 2005, we realised what a huge hunger and receptivity there was for the work.

This fuelled our passion and led us to record our first album, "Songburst - Hymns with a beat!" in 2007, involving 30 musicians, 3 generations of singers, and much love and support. This would not have been possible without the financial and prayerful support of our "angels" – 22 individuals from our local CS community who made donations to support our first professional recording.

A year later we released our second album, a more peaceful, gentle healing album entitled "Gracenotes - Songs of Peace and Love" of solos and duets.

We felt privileged to be invited to Boston for Annual Meeting in June 2008, where Andrew’s new setting of "Satisfied" was included in the 3pm Sunday church service. This hymn, along with his new setting of “Come Gracious Spirit” has been included in the new CSPS Hymnal Supplement currently available from Reading Rooms. We were delighted to be invited to sing in a choir that sang at a special Hymn Sing at Annual meeting on the Sunday afternoon. We also had a CD singing and signing in the Mass Ave Reading Room on Annual Meeting day, where they sold out of their entire stock of Songburst CDs.

The whole weekend in Boston was an awakening experience for us.  We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for our music and the stories of healing that people shared with us, in which they felt our music had played a part.  It was very humbling to hear these stories and to realise that the music we have had so much fun composing, arranging and performing is having such a positive impact on the lives of people all around the world.

We're loving this work, and are definitely hooked on "newsongs", hardly keeping up with the speed at which Andrew is writing new tunes.  We’re excited to be doing this work at a time when the CS Board of Directors are asking for new musical input and are currently choosing which hymns we shall be submitting for the next Hymnal Supplement.

2009

We were also delighted to be invited to Focus 2009 in the summer where we led a "Newsong Unlimited" Concert/Hymn Sing of Newsong hymns and taught some of them to a group of talented young musicians and singers at Focus who joined us on the stage to lead the singing and playing. We also ran a song writing workshop at the event and played and led the hymns in the first Sunday service- a mixture of New Supplement and Newsong hymns.

We are currently now focusing on developing and recording our third CD and exploring the possibility of a concert tour. We see these concerts as a way in to inspire churches to get to know and love the new Supplement more and feel bolder about incorporating new music in their services and events. We also consider the concerts as having an inspirational and healing purpose combined with a wonderful opportunity for community outreach and strengthening of fellowship within.

Metaphysical Basis

We see our Newsong work as a springboard for our CS practice.

During this whole process we have had many opportunities to demonstrate supply and harmony, including prayer that resolved seemingly insurmountable mechanical problems when our entire Gracenotes studio recordings were lost just days before the master copy was due to be produced.

When preparing for our concerts we have approached them not only as musical performances but also as a confirmation of the healing power of Christian Science.  Comments and fruitage resulting from these concerts has been both humbling and overwhelming. We feel this is just the tip of the iceberg and we expect further unfoldment.

We are working from the basis that our music appeals to the Christ within each one and blesses all mankind.

Back to 'Hymn-sing with Newsong!'.