About

Tempus imperfectum* – thoughts on contemporary music and culture, especially in the evangelical Christian context.

* “Imperfect time” in the old system of mensural music notation: a binary subdivision of the breve.

Bio: I have been teaching, performing, and writing music for quite a while now, most of it “classical,” but also “contemporary” (as in newly written, both secular and sacred) music, church music (as in hymn arrangements for piano, choral arrangements, choir directing and accompanying, and congregational accompaniment), and electronic (mostly hobby projects or messing around). As a software developer, I developed (and still update and maintain) Rhythm Lab, an educational music app for the iPad. I am also working on some new app concepts, and have been doing a side project using QT Framework (C++)..

Academic: BA in Piano, Bob Jones University. MM in Piano Performance, University of South Carolina. DMA in Piano Pedagogy, University of South Carolina. BS in Computer Science, Michigan Technological University.

Philosophy: Committed, born-again evangelical Christian. Interested in the state of music and related cultural issues in American evangelicalism.

Personal: Married to a beautiful woman, Laurel, with seven wonderful offspring. Love living near Lake Superior. Go for a jog periodically (getting slower). Favorite movie is Hoodwinked. Soon to be a grandfather. Learning QT framework.

Books I’m Reading: All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes by Ken Myers (Crossway, 1989, 2012). A New Song for an Old World by Calvin R. Stapert (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2007). Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever (Crossway, 2013).

Jon Ensminger