Hi! I'm Pat Quance
(Pronunciation: "KWAHNSS")
Welcome to
qmmhome.com,
the home of
QUANCE MUSIC MINISTRIES
(A DIVISION OF PAT ANSWERS ENTERPRISES.)
For decades, I've dreamed of being a full-time touring Christian musician, based on widespread positive feedback to my musical family of origin, who toured part-time through eight states, and on experience in music education, graduating from the world-renowned Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, and serving as a public school music teacher and state university graduate assistant.

For a brief time, the touring dream came true, in 1990, touring twenty-four states with the Minneapolis-Saint Paul - based Dennis Davenport Trio. But the needs of a young family prompted a 1992 decision to come off the road.

Now, with my family raised, more and better musical ideas for compositions, and better technology for developing them, I'm ready to tour again - this time, as a soloist, and sometimes in duet with my wife.

Here's an absolutely FREE sample of what I can do, through Christ, Who strengthens me (and all the Glory be to Him!). Besides my music composition, orchestration, performance, and recording skills, this song also incorporates a sample of the voice impression work I've done for several award-winning radio commercials. Please return to this home page after listening, for more vitally important information, including how to contact our ministry. But meanwhile, I hope you enjoy:

DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN!!!
(Click here to hear free sample.)

For more information on any topics below, just click on any "link" (underlined text that changes mouse arrow to a pointing hand), either those below, or in top or left margins. In addition, please feel free to see our "contact us" page, and to write, call, or e-mail. I'll gladly get back to you as soon as possible. But there's more! please read on...

A NEW VENTURE

GOD OPENS A NEW DOOR...JUST IN TIME!

Based on the apostle Paul's discussion, in his New Testament letters to the young Church, of his thoughts on the financing of a preaching ministry, I have long tried to be, like Paul, a "tentmaker" - not literally, but using the same principle: working at another job, so that I don't become a financial burden to churches where I sing.

This approach has protected our ministry from the negative press that has arisen from the pleas for money that some evangelists - especially some with television outreaches - have made. It's hard enough to convince a skeptical world of the validity of Christ, without adding the burden of accusations that an evangelist is "only in it for the money". True Christians know better than this; indeed, I was often cautioned to avoid becoming a pulpit minister, for fear that I would starve to death! But "man looketh on the outward appearance", and I learned long ago that people won't pay attention to The Gospel unless you avoid triggering their prejudices first - prejudices that most people don't even realize they have!

It is with similar caution that I approach this next subject:

In April, 2008, Pat Quance was offered, and accepted, the position of Production Director for commercially-supported Christian radio station KHRT (also known as "K-Heart"), in Minot, North Dakota, based on previous Christian and commercial radio announcing experience, in addition to the experiences mentioned above.

Tentative plans are to maintain our residence in Staples, Minnesota, as Pat's wife Nancy has tenure on the public school faculty there. But a temporary residence has also been established in Minot, as well. (Minot contact information is below.)

This decision has not been made lightly, but rather prayerfully. And there is considerable evidence that the opportunity is "a God thing", in spite of dilemmas it creates. For example:

1. As a "day job" to help fund the ministry work, Pat founded Pat Answers Informative Books, an educational book display, sampling, and sales company, in 2004. Income was modest, but sufficient to survive, until rising gasoline prices forced the November, 2007 closing of the book display service to our roughly 300 Central Minnesota school and business clients. Plans remain to maintain Pat Answers, as a supplier of Bibles and Christian inspirational books, via display tables after concerts, as has always been our long-term goal. but for now, we lost this vital part of our income, and limped through the winter on Nancy's teaching salary and Pat's part-time radio announcer job. During that time, Pat e-mailed several Upper Midwest Christian radio stations, in search of full-time openings. Only two replied, and neither had openings. One of them was KHRT.

So at age 52, with opportunities to return to teaching all but wiped out by school budget cuts, Pat withdrew over $5,000 from his teaching retirement account, to pay tuition for class A commercial driver license training. A narrow window of opportunity existed: Pat had two weeks to master the shifting of a semi truck, or would risk losing all the tuition money, with no guarantee of successful graduation from the course, and no driving job offer, to replace that money. Unfortunately, the timing involved in driving a semi truck is a lot more difficult than it looks.

So on the day when our allowed tuition refund would have dropped form 90% to 80%, and after a difficult day of truck driver training and a long fact-finding talk with the instructor, I (Pat) called my wife Nancy and recommended that we consider dropping the course, and taking the 90% refund. Having already been considering this as an option, we prayerfully agreed, with no idea of what God had in store, instead. Yet, driving the 90-minute rural Minnesota commute home from the school, I felt an unusual peace about the matter.

That very evening, upon arrival home, I received an e-mail from KHRT, about the new opening. And according to our caller ID, although no message had been left, they had also tried to call us.

2. KHRT's engineer and morning host on their AM station was retiring. The AM station specializes in Southern Gospel quartet music, the style on which I cut my musical teeth, and specialty of the Dennis Davenport Trio, with whom I had toured full-time. And although not an engineer, I have a two-year technical college diploma in electronics and 7 years' experience as a computer factory technician - enough to be of at least some help.

3. With the recent massive shale oil find around nearby Williston, the 30,000 population Minot is projected to roughly double in the next 5 years. So the job coud be a ground-floor opportunity. We didn't know that until AFTER accepting the offer.

4. The station needed someone with my level of announcing experience, especially to cover for their top FM announcer, who was covering for my predecessor as well, and needed a vacation.

With all this in mind, we decided to accept the offer, despite one major challenge: We will need to keep our Staples, Minnesota home for a while, as Nancy, though nearing eligibility for early retirement from her special ed. teaching job, would lose a significant part of her pension, unless continuing to teach for a while. That "while" would normally mean at least six more years!!! During that time, we at least have affordable housing for Pat in Minot - an apartment for only $365 a month, including all utilities except phone, cable TV, etc., which aren't essential anyway (another "God thing" factor). And school budget cuts, often considered a disadvantage, may be an advantage to us, as they may force our local district to consider a "buy-out" plan - granting Nancy a leave of absence for her final five years, while they pay her medical insurance and retirement association dues, but hire a cheaper "rookie" to take her place, thus saving the school considerable money. This, if granted, would normally make Nancy eligibile to retire by a year from now, in spring 2009. But there is one more hurdle - and this is where we need your help.

Early in her career, Nancy borrowed $1,500 from her retirement account, to go back to college for a second certification, so she could be a regular 1st, 2nd, etc - grade classroom teacher, if necessary, instead of a special education teacher. The move gaeve her better job security. But young people tend to forget about repayment of things like this, especially when the only disadvantage is that, if not repaid, the loan would instead require her to teach just one year longer, before retiring. And it would still not be a problem today - in fact, easier than repaying the 15 THOUSAND dollars to which it has ballooned - except for the new Minot opportunity, and our longing to maintain the togetherness of our household. Most of one 9-month school year apart is tolerable, we felt, but this situation would require DOUBLE that time - unless we rapay the 15 thousand dollars by a year from now.

It will be at least another month or two - about September, 2009 or later - before I'm established in the new job enough to consider doing a second job. But I'll gladly do that, if it will help. Meanwhile, we are putting this need out on the table, in case other members of the Body of Christ are willing to help us raise the $15 thousand. For those willing to do so, contact information is below, and on our contact us page. As we are not a non-profit organization yet, there is little we can do to offer you any tax break for this. What you WILL have is our heartfelt appreciation, and a renewed effort by me to give you the best encouraging and inspiring music I can produce. Thank you for considering this need. Donations can be made out to "Patrick D. or Nancy Quance", and sent to our

Minot contact information:

437 19th St NW
Apt. #5
Minot, ND 58703
Telephone: Via cell phones, 218-296-1407 and 1408, until further notice.
For additional contact info., see also our contact us page.
Pat and Nancy have made house-sitting arrangements in Staples, and can be reached in Minot during summer, 2008.

QUANCE RELEASES SOLO ALBUM
It's finally HERE!!! With the help of sound engineer Andrew Paskewitz, Pat Quance was able to capture on tape - and then CD - a concert of original compositions, performed in August of 2007. A highlight of the program was the release of his Christian jazz number:
DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN!!!
(Click here to hear free sample.)

(Written, arranged, copyrighted and performed by Patrick D. Quance. Permission for unlimited airplay, copying and storage for airplay purposes, and promotional use is granted to radio stations around the world. Unlimited permission to download and play, for personal listening or to help promote and schedule concerts by Patrick D. Quance, is also granted to all parties interested. All other rights reserved.)
Ordering procedure for a prototype album, featuring selections from that concert, is forthcoming. For details, please contact us.

Our thanks to A. John Peters, Instructor, Web Site Design, Central Lakes College, Brainerd, MN for technical guidance. You're invited to check out John's website, at:
http://www.otg-dss.com
And to see John's work, on the Todd County eMall site:
http://www.toddc-mall.com