An echo of David's exultation. Those who are in Christ have a beautiful inheritance!

Isabelle Thom--vocals, guitars, keyboards
Charlotte Thom--BGV's, violins
Josephine Thom--BGV's

GP7 Music Competition Finalist

Psalm 16

This ballad was written for dear friends of mine who lost their father and husband. 

It attempts to describe the deep groaning of the soul on the face of death, and the shifting of reality after change and loss.

If you have experienced this type of grief, be it through death, depression, loss of memory, abuse, physical or mental trauma, leaving home, or anything else... this song is for you. It is a prayed-over ground for you to grieve on, held in the arms of Jesus. 

The Spirit Himself hears your groaning, and intercedes for you with groanings too deep for words(Romans 8:26). Jesus Christ knows your suffering, because he undertook it on the Cross. I AM, the name He gave to Moses, dwells with you in the fire. When the very fabric of your life seems to have changed, He does not change. When you walk past places where there used to be laughter alone, He will be present. His voice sings over you. (Zephaniah 3:17)

If you have given yourself to Him, He will build you up, His bride, and clothe you with a gentle hand. He will make you dwell with Him forever, in glory. 

In the midst of your darkest hour, when you feel most forsaken, Jesus Himself was forsaken in order to bring you near. There is no betrayal, no death, no burden strong enough to rend the bond between you and your mediator. 

Because Jesus passed through death and rose again, and because Death has no power over His resurrection, we can sing these words: 

In the twinkling of an eye—
Dear Heart, take comfort!
In the twinkling of an eye 
His arms will take you up and bring you to His home.
Weep now, 
He weeps with you.
But you will dance when your weary eyes have proven Him true. 

He is coming back soon. Hallelujah.

In the Twinkling of an Eye

So why did I upload a track lined with fuzz from an extremely overshot mic?

We've recorded this song lots of times, and could probably stand to record it several more. I have yet to figure out exactly how far away to place my mic in order to capture the detail of my "emotional" voice without blowing your ears off--which seems to always happen in at least one place despite my recording level changes. 

So, I'm putting this imperfect recording up for you to listen to not because of the quality, or because it showcases my abilities in a good light... I'm putting it up because this was a moment of worship. A victory in an artist's battle against worship-stealing self-evaluation. 

I moved to East Africa when I was 13. I haven't stayed in one country for an entire year since then. The life of a TCK is one of the most beautiful things I can think of. We get to step into the lives of an entirely new people group as learners, and come away with new wisdom and new eyes. But for this girl, departures often feel like deaths. Continuously leaving people and places I love all around the world lends itself to a dull ache that settles for a while, but is bound to take wing again. 

I wrote the first lines of "You Hold Me When I Go Places" right before leaving MN to return to East Africa for the last time. I finished it on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic. 

In thirteen days, I will board another plane, this time by myself, and say goodbye to the place that took an awkward 13-year-old in almost five years ago. 

My dad and I recorded this last week. We lugged my little stash of equipment into our little guest house just as the rain started coming down. We sat there for a while, hoping it would die down before an approaching meeting, but it only got stronger. It smelled like hope. It literally rains 5 days a year on average in our little city, and the dust needed something to cry on it. 

We decided to record anyway. We ran through it a few times, trying to wake up tired voices, and then hit the record button. Two rounds. And then the third time, the last time, 15 minutes before we had to get to the next meeting, my own lyrics sunk in. "You hold me when I go places. You hold me when I leave. You hold me when I miss faces, and You remind me that You see. You are faithful, always the same, whether I stand or sleep, your heart is unchanged. And you look on me with love." 

His faithfulness washed over me. For those 5 minutes, a huge smile was plastered all over my face. I sang from my heart, to my Jesus. 

That's why you have this recording, instead of a more expert one. 

May these words turn your eyes toward an eternal shore, sojourner. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He looks on you in love.

You Hold Me When I Go Places (feat. Ryan Thom)

the Moon Understands Me (voice memo)

My Dear Jesus (Live)

A sweet moment of worship at the conclusion of my senior concert.

Living Hope (Live from the chapel)

All is Well

What You've Done

Hey, Fear

Your Voice

I AM

Be With Me

“I See” is a theme and variations highlighting the events of this semester. The past few months have forced me to grapple with my mortality and dependence on Jesus Christ in body, mind, and soul. Music has always been a way for me to “light a candle” in the dark rooms of my life, illuminating the good, bad, and ugly in defiance of despair. These pieces shed musical light on my journey and present an apologia from the Lord against my accusations, proving himself faithful and wise in the writing of my story. 

My theme, entitled “Reverie” was composed at the onset of the school year, when I was eager for new beginnings and dreaming about the future. A Reverie is “an instrumental piece suggesting a dreamy or musing state.” The musing feel of this piece is evoked by airy violin harmonics and the resonance of the piano paired with the simplistic tentativeness of the opening motive. 

The first variation, entitled “Incendiary,” was written in the heat of a crisis a couple of months into the semester. Incendiary is an adjective used to describe an object which destroys by setting something aflame. This variation, therefore, is the catalyst which sets the rest of the piece in motion. Its quick pace and harsh, intense textures culminate in a pounding climax ending on the seventh scale degree where the crisis reaches its peak and resolution is nowhere in sight. 

The second variation, entitled “Nadir” was written in the wake of my most intense struggles, when I had truly reached rock bottom and everything seemed to be still as death. Nadir means “the lowest point: the point of greatest adversity or despair.” The slow pace and twisted harmony surrounding fragments of the theme evoke a loss of reality after descending into a deep dark space containing only echoes of the initial hope and expectancy. The piece ends with a resounding tremolo which leads into the final variation. 

The conclusion of “I See” is entitled, “Apologia.” An Apologia in court is “a formal speech or explanation to reply or rebut the charges.” This final variation is the reply of God to the charges laid against him—a weaving of each haunting melody into a glorious story, in which every part is essential to the formation of the final hope, which is even more solid than the initial daydream. The refining flame of Incendiary and the self-death of Nadir result in Apologia’s birth of a lasting hope set forth in Christ, in whom all things are held together. Reverie’s daydream is strengthened and made whole by the fires of adversity, leaving the listener expectant of the new creation.

Student Composers Concert Fall 2023 (12/11/2023)

I See

Road to Adventure

So often, when asked how we are, we reply with "Good," or "Fine." This song is about telling the truth. Written by myself and my best friend, Abigail Davis.

Hey, How Are You?

Be Our Healing

If I Were Looking On

"This Daily Deliverance" is an instrumental piece following both the dark and high points of life, and how God meets us in both of them. It was one of four winners of the TPS 2019-2020 GP6 music competition.

This Daily Deliverance

What You've Done--Acoustic

~singer/songwriter, poet, producer, selenophile~
with a heart that longs for 
the deepest, most real things
(and He is)
1/2 of @Excellencies

Isabelle Thom

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