Baylor Music Professor Named Fellow of Hymn Society

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Dr. David Music, a professor of church music and graduate program director for the Baylor School of Music, was recently named a fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada at the society's annual meeting. This meeting was a part of the society's annual conference July 11-15 at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

"I was surprised and honored," Music said. "I was happy to be there and to be around such good company."

Music served as editor of "The Hymn," the Hymn Society's journal, from 1990 to 1996. Music has published numerous books, including "Christian Hymnody in Twentieth-Century Britain and America: An Annotated Bibliography," and "Hymnology: A Collection of Source Readings."

"I grew up in church singing hymns, and the more I learned about them, the more I wanted to learn about them," Music said. "Hymns are the only active participation by the congregation in worship, and they are one the main ways we learn about our faith. Most of what I learned about heaven comes from singing hymns, not the book of Revelation."

Honorees of the society include hymn authors, composers, editors of hymn books and scholars in the field of hymnology. Fellows are selected by the Executive Committee of the Hymn Society.

"This is a much deserved honor for David Music and it brings tremendous recognition to Baylor and the discipline of church music, as we continue to move ever closer to our goal of international leadership and influence in church music at Baylor," said Dr. William V. May, dean of the School of Music.

The Hymn Society is a nonprofit ecumenical organization founded in 1922 to promote the writing and singing of new texts and tunes, the value of learning the origin of words people sing and the idea that congregational song is an important part of worship.

by Diamond Richardson, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805