Participants: Danita Jones (Host), Lyndon Carriger (Host), Strings N Harmony (duo), Tessa Greenway
Series Code: MGNH
Program Code: MGNH000044A
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00:01 Magnify the Lord with me
00:04 Magnify the Lord 00:08 Jesus alone He is worthy 00:11 Magnify Him 00:19 Hello, welcome to "Magnify Him." 00:22 My name is Lyndon Carriger. 00:24 And I'm Danita Jones. 00:25 And once again it is our honor to present to you 00:29 artists who have come to bring their gifts 00:32 and lift up the name of Jesus Christ. 00:34 And yet the focus is never on the gift, 00:37 it is on the gift giver. 00:39 So stay tuned as we lift up the name of Jesus, 00:42 our soon coming King. 00:45 Magnify the Lord with me 00:48 Magnify Him 00:53 Today on "Magnify Him" 00:55 we have instrumentalists with us. 00:56 We have a pianist by the name of Jason Thomas 00:59 and a cellist by the name of Michael Bent. 01:02 Welcome, fellas, to "Magnify Him." 01:04 Thank you. Real quick, where are you from? 01:07 We're from New York. 01:08 New York, what part? 01:10 Queens. Queens. 01:11 I'm from Queens. You're from Queens? 01:12 Well, I mean I was born in Brooklyn, 01:14 I lived in Queens but we both go to Elmont Temple, 01:18 Elmont, Long Island, New York. 01:19 Yeah, that's where we're from. 01:21 Okay, now, Jason, you're the pianist, correct? 01:23 Yes. 01:25 So when did you start playing the piano? 01:28 The story, it actually starts from when I was five. 01:30 I wanted to play since I was five. 01:32 I begged my parents but they said, 01:34 "You wouldn't practice 'cause your older brother didn't." 01:36 So finally when I reached to age 14 they were like, 01:39 "Okay, go ahead" and from that point 01:41 I just kept going and practicing a lot. 01:44 And you mentioned practice, 01:46 how long do you have to practice? 01:48 In order to-- 01:50 Wow, so when I was in high school, 01:53 that was when I practiced the most. 01:54 I mean, I started playing in ninth grade 01:56 but getting towards 12th grade, 01:58 especially in the summer times, eight hours a day usually. 02:01 I average about six hours a day and yeah six to eight, yes. 02:03 That's a lot. 02:05 That's a lot and I'm sure it shows. 02:07 You do this professionally? 02:09 Yes, actually I graduated from this school 02:12 called Manhattan School of Music. 02:14 I got my bachelors degree in classical piano performance 02:17 and master's degree and I'm trying 02:20 to get my doctorate degree, by God's grace, 02:22 please keep me in prayer for that. 02:24 I definitely will. 02:26 Yes, so yes, and I've also done competitions, 02:29 I performed in Finland. 02:30 I won a competition there 02:32 and just a lot of performances everywhere. 02:34 Oh, praise the Lord. 02:36 I'm gonna go to your partner in crime. 02:38 Now you have a group name, what's your group name? 02:41 Strings N Harmony. 02:42 Strings in Harmony? 02:44 With the letter "N" in between Strings and Harmony. 02:45 With the "N," the letter "N," correct. 02:47 What made you guys come up with that name? 02:49 Well, we had a hard time trying to figure out 02:51 what we'd call ourselves, you know, 02:53 we went from MJ, from the first initials 02:56 of our names to JM, maybe PB and J, I don't know. 03:01 But Strings N Harmony, I'm the strings, 03:04 well, Jason's a string as well, 03:05 there're strings inside the piano, 03:07 so we're both strings. 03:08 And the harmony, that can come 03:10 with any other instrument we may include. 03:14 I also play the saxophone and I also sing, 03:16 so maybe we could, you know, 03:18 blend those talents together in future projects, 03:22 you know, Strings N Harmony, it all ties in together. 03:24 Okay, what made you choose a cello over the sax? 03:28 Or do you play any other instruments 03:31 other than the cello? 03:33 Yeah, the saxophone and I sing. 03:36 The cello, I just love the sound. 03:39 It's unique, it's soothing, its just-- 03:44 It's big. 03:45 Yeah. 03:47 You know, it's just a lot to say. 03:51 I just love the sound when I'm playing, 03:54 it just, you know, I'm trying to focus on it 03:56 like I'm in another place, you know. 03:58 Yeah, I personally love the cello sound. 04:00 It's very soothing. 04:02 How-- 04:03 what age did you actually start playing? 04:05 I started at age nine, when I was in fourth grade. 04:10 Well, I can't remember. 04:11 I just remember my teacher's name, 04:12 Mr. Klemchek, and we just-- we started in an orchestra. 04:18 It's just a lot of fun. 04:22 A lot of fun playing in an orchestra. 04:25 After that I moved on to Southern, 04:28 you know, in Tennessee 04:31 and I just continued playing cello there. 04:33 And now I'm here back in New York 04:36 working on the gift with Jason. 04:38 I'm doing concerts 04:39 and AY programs at different churches. 04:43 Now I heard how long Jason had to practice with the piano. 04:46 Is it the exact same with the cello? 04:48 Is it more or less or? 04:52 It's a lot of practice. 04:55 I try to fit in time to practice. 05:01 Yeah, it's definitely a challenge. 05:04 Oh, I mean you have to practice 05:05 because you guys have a CD, Strings N Harmony, 05:09 it is called "The Gift." 05:12 Everybody, you guys have to go out and get it. 05:14 They're making their debut here on "Magnify Him." 05:17 Tell me a little bit about this CD. 05:20 Well, actually and to also add to that I want to add 05:23 how we started as a group, too because they go hand in hand. 05:27 Well, like I said, we go to the same church in Elmont 05:31 and I came to him one day I noticed he played cello 05:34 and I said "Hey, Mike, 05:35 would you like to make a CD together?" 05:37 He was like, "Sure, let's do it. 05:39 All right, let's get a lot of arrangements 05:40 of different hymns," and so this CD, 05:43 it has a ten arrangements of gospel songs 05:46 and hymns that we came up with together 05:48 and we started on it, 05:51 this project, last year in August. 05:53 We practiced, we played some songs 05:55 for some performances. 05:57 I'm also a piano teacher. 05:58 So, one recital, I invited Mike to come along 06:01 and the rest is history. 06:04 If you fast forward to like last month 06:06 is actually when we finished with this project. 06:10 And a friend of ours says 06:11 he has a free hall for us to go to and he says 06:14 "Can you have everything ready?" 06:15 by you know, a couple of weeks. 06:17 We just rushed to the recording studio 06:20 and got it done but I love this. 06:22 Real quick, I want to ask both of you 06:24 for the young viewers that maybe watching, 06:26 do you have any advice for them as musicians? 06:30 I'd say trust God, try to find out 06:36 what His will is for your life. 06:39 I'm still going through that right now, you know, 06:41 just praying a lot, trying to find 06:44 where my place is in God's ministry, you know. 06:48 Praise the Lord. 06:49 Real quick, you can give your shadow, 06:51 you got like five seconds. 06:52 Okay, I'd like to give a shadow to this camera. 06:55 I'd like to give a shadow to Elmont Temple, 06:58 and Lyndon SDA, my wife Camille and every all of my friends. 07:01 Okay, everybody, we have Jason and Michael. 10:37 When we get to heaven, Jesus will crown us with crowns. 10:40 But we will crown Him with many crowns. 13:45 Magnify the Lord with me 13:48 Magnify Him 13:53 We're always so excited when we can have people 13:56 on our program that can sing their testimonies to God. 14:00 Today is no different. 14:01 I'm excited to have in the studio, 14:03 Miss Tessa Greenway. Welcome, Tessa. 14:06 Thank you. 14:07 Now I'm excited that you're here 14:08 for one another reason is because you came to us 14:11 from a quite a distance. 14:13 Tell everyone where you are from. 14:15 I'm from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. 14:17 Wow, that is an incredible place 14:19 I know to grow up and be raised. 14:21 One of the other great stories 14:23 that you and I were talking about earlier 14:24 is how you got started singing. 14:26 Could you tell us a little bit about that? 14:28 I started singing at the age of four years old, 14:32 on stage, not necessarily, 14:35 before that I started singing. 14:37 But my mom put me up on stage 14:39 to sing one of my favorite songs 14:42 from the hymnal number 86, 14:44 "How Great Thou Art" at a tent revival meeting 14:48 in on the Island of Montserra 14:50 where she was born and grew up. 14:52 Wow, and that is a huge song for a four year old 14:55 to sing on stage for the first time. 14:58 But I know it had to go over really, really well 15:00 and that was something great happened 20 years later 15:03 you're telling me about 15:05 you been given to sing that song when you were four, 15:06 and then, then when you turn 24 you're able to go ahead. 15:09 Yes, I was able to sing that song again 15:12 at a tent revival meeting again. 15:15 That is great. 15:16 And so you're saying that your mom just put you on stage 15:19 and said, you know sing. 15:21 Does your mother sing? 15:22 Or have you had a chance 15:23 to anybody else in your family sing? 15:26 My mother is the first singer I've ever heard. 15:28 Wow. 15:29 And she sings, my father sings 15:33 and everyone in our family sings 15:36 but not necessarily, on stage, my mother and I. 15:38 Well, so you've had enough opportunity 15:40 to sing with your mother. 15:41 Yes. 15:43 I know that has to be an incredible thing 15:44 to hear, that's awesome. 15:45 So let's talk a little bit about your ministry, 15:47 you were telling me that you've been traveling 15:49 on the Island and you sing in a lot of churches. 15:51 What are some of your favorite songs 15:53 to sing and minister with? 15:55 Right now, a lot of people are requesting 15:58 and have requested this song called "Blessings" 16:01 by Laura Story and it's a song that she wrote 16:05 right after her husband died of cancer. 16:10 And it has blessed a lot of people. 16:13 In fact, because it's called "Blessings" 16:15 I thought that was great. 16:17 That's an incredible thing. 16:19 And be able to use someone else's testimony 16:20 in order to minister. 16:22 What is some of your other favorite songs to sing? 16:24 I know you said "How Great Thou Art" and "Blessings." 16:27 Is there another favorite that you have? 16:29 I love to sing songs like "We Shall Behold Him." 16:35 Songs like "Grace." Songs like "Amazing Grace." 16:40 Songs like "It Is Well with My Soul". 16:43 I just love those songs. 16:45 Songs with messages, 16:47 with deep penetrating meaning to it. 16:50 And that's always important. 16:51 So you definitely look for the lyrics 16:53 and the meaning behind. 16:54 That is an incredible thing. 16:56 They have to affect me 16:57 if they're gonna affect anyone else. 16:58 Absolutely, and we encourage all singers 17:00 that are ministering to be able to do that. 17:02 It kind of has to speak to you. Yeah. 17:04 Talk about some of the-- what the songs 17:06 that you're singing today and what those mean. 17:09 One song that I'm singing today is "In Brokenness You Shine" 17:12 and it to me, even though it was written 17:15 by somebody else it felt as if it was written for me. 17:20 Because I feel like right now I'm broken, 17:23 I'm shattered and how can God use me like that. 17:26 In fact, that's when He does His best work. 17:28 And that's when He shines the brightest, 17:30 you know, so I love that song because of that. 17:33 And it's a prayer song, a prayer to God 17:35 to ask Him to use you even if you're broken, 17:38 even if you don't know where else to go. 17:40 And we can't wait. 17:42 And ladies and gentlemen, 17:43 it's my honor to present to you Miss Tessa Greenaway. 18:08 When life becomes a shattered dream 18:11 That's slipping through my trembling hands 18:15 I need to know that You are near 18:19 To know You see each falling tear 18:23 That's when there is no one else who understands 18:31 When I can't find the words to speak 18:35 You hear the pain in each heart beat 18:40 Even when I call to You 18:43 In my deepest hour of need 18:47 That's when You come and pour Your mercy on me 18:56 Your beauty shines 19:00 Your love surrounds 19:04 Where cries of brokenness are found 19:09 Bring hope alive 19:11 Help me believe 19:15 And trust You one more time 19:20 In brokenness You shine 19:28 In brokenness You shine 19:38 Let comfort be a living thing 19:41 That river flowing from my grief 19:45 Where thirsty souls can drink their fill 19:49 And find in You their heart's release 19:53 And through my sorrow show 19:57 Your freedom and hope 20:02 Your beauty shines 20:06 Your love surrounds 20:09 Where cries of brokenness are found 20:14 Bring hope alive 20:17 Help me believe 20:21 And trust You one more time 20:25 In brokenness You shine 20:32 How could I know when others said 20:37 A word or two then walked away 20:41 That You, the Man of Sorrows 20:45 Would come near to stay 20:48 You'll always stay 21:10 I want to see 21:15 Your beauty one more time 21:21 In brokenness You shine 21:34 In brokenness 21:42 You shine 22:14 In this world of trouble, Jesus wants us 22:17 to be light bearers of peace, love, joy and hope. 22:28 Never was the world in such 22:31 A need of peace 22:35 And never has contentment been 22:39 So hard to find 22:43 So many men reaching out their hands 22:49 Our brothers and sisters in so many lands 22:58 If ever kindness was needed 23:05 Then it's crying out to us 23:08 The time is now 23:16 I want the peace 23:18 I want the love for all the world 23:23 People of joy with children of hope 23:27 For all the world 23:31 Father of light I'll be that light 23:35 That you shine through 23:38 'Cause You are the peace 23:40 And You are the hope for all the world 23:59 What's it gonna take before 24:01 We show some charity 24:07 Compassion and mercy The way it was meant to be 24:14 Who'll take the time For the ones who truly need 24:20 And pray for a nation 24:24 That's out on the street 24:29 What man is greater than his brother? 24:36 When in Jesus' eyes we're all the same 24:42 I want the peace 24:45 I want the love for all the world 24:50 People of joy with children of hope 24:54 For all the world 24:58 Father of light I'll be that light 25:01 That you shine through 25:05 'Cause You are the peace 25:07 And You are the hope for all the world 25:14 Learn a song of freedom 25:18 And teach it to our children 25:22 Let the pipes of peace ring out 25:25 And pray the grace of God 25:28 Will lead the way 25:34 I want the peace 25:37 And I want the love for all the world 25:43 People of joy with children of hope 25:47 For all the world 25:51 Father of light I'll be that light 25:55 That you shine through 25:58 'Cause You are the peace 26:00 And You are the hope 26:02 For all the world 26:06 You are the peace 26:09 And You are the joy 26:13 And You are the love 26:16 And You are the hope 26:19 For all the world 26:23 You are the love 26:24 You are the peace You are the hope 26:28 For all the world 26:38 Magnify the Lord with me 26:41 Magnify Him 26:46 You know, Lyndon, 26:48 I always love closing the show with a song. 26:51 Well, Danita, we have a piano here. 26:53 We do, don't we? Go ahead and try it. 27:05 Always remember 27:12 Jesus Jesus 27:19 Always remember 27:27 Jesus, Jesus 27:38 Always keep Him on your mind 27:52 Always keep Him on your mind 28:06 Join us next time as we "Magnify Him." |
Revised 2015-09-28