Copyright © 1999-2020 Charles L. McPherson
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About my Musical Journey I am originally from Germany, where I was born and raised in a small city named Schweinfurt, which is in southern Germany in the state of Bavaria. My interest in music started at an early age when I learned how to play the recorder (a type of wooden flute) in pre-school. My parents, especially my mom who played the accordion and the zither, were very supportive of my musical interest. I was able to take piano lessons when I was 11 years old, but we did not have a piano at home and so I had to practice at my best friend's house. Then we moved to a different part of town and that was the end of my piano playing. For the next few years I did not play an instrument, but all through my
school years I was very active in the school choir and started to develop a love
for singing. Then in High School I thought I needed an instrument to accompany
my singing and that's when I decided to try myself on the guitar. I bought a
cheap little nylon string guitar and a self-teach instruction book and not too
long after I started, I was able to play
After I became a Christian I wanted to use my musical talents for the Lord
and during my last year in High School I had the opportunity to play in a
Christian band. We
My husband, whom I met at the Sunday school class where I was doing the music, introduced me to Bluegrass music and that's what I've been playing since. I had never been exposed to Bluegrass before and thus it was a completely new experience for me. But, like almost everyone else I know that hears it for the first time, I got hooked on it pretty fast. Bluegrass is fun, uplifting, very entertaining, challenging, and definitely of God. Lord willing, I hope that I will be able to play my guitar and sing for many years to come.
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along to many of my favorite songs. My
favorite music was by Peter, Paul & Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, Joan Baez,
and all other type of folk and "easy listening" music. Word of my new
musical hobby got around fast, and I quickly became the official
"entertainer" in school and among my friends. My guitar became my
steady companion on class trips, class parties and other school events. Playing
and singing turned out to be a wonderful "ice breaker", because people
can't seem to help but sing along.
played at a Saturday Night Christian Coffee House in
Schweinfurt, Germany and also went to the local juvenile prison on a regular
basis. I also started playing at home bible study groups, youth retreats, church
functions, etc. I've played several places in Europe including Rome, London, and
Greece. During my college years I was still musically active, but after I moved
to the United States and started to work full time, I was not able to dedicate
as much time to singing and playing as I had done in previous years. Before long
my guitar started to collect dust. But God must have known that I still had the
desire to serve Him through my music, because one day my Sunday school teacher
at my church asked me if I would be interested in leading worship for one of the
Sunday school classes. I did not have to think twice about saying "yes
" and started the next Sunday.
I have always felt that music is a very special vehicle God can use to open
peoples' hearts and minds when the spoken word often could not get through to
them. Music breaks down barriers and walls that people have built around them
and thus prepares them to be ready for God's good news. Often times people will
sit for an hour and listen to good songs that have a solid message, but they
would not have listened to 10 minutes of preaching.
