Baylor Hosts Forum on Music and Christian Scholarship

by Rebekah Hardage, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

Baylor University's School of Music is hosting the Forum on Music and Christian Scholarship, an event designed to explore the connection between music and faith, Friday, Feb. 29 through Saturday, March 1, at Armstrong Browning Library.

"This is a national meeting of a group of music historians, church musicians and music theory professors who are interested in exploring the inter-relationships between music, faith and theology," said Dr. Laurel Zeiss, an associate professor in musicology at Baylor.

The annual two-day event will feature various presentations and performances from musicians around the country. Various sessions will analyze the intersection between theology and specific pieces of music led by guests from Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Baylor.

The keynote address by Anne Walters Robertson will feature her lecture titled "The Seven Deadly Sins in Medieval Music," at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 29, in the Treasure Room of Armstrong Browning Library. Robertson is a distinguished professor at the University of Chicago who specializes in medieval music.

The Baylor Men's Choir, directed by Randall Bradley, will be featured Friday at 8 p.m., during the time of sacred music. This event is free to Baylor students, faculty and staff. The evening will also feature the premiere of a hymn text written by Terry York, associate professor of Christian ministry and church music at George W. Truett Theological Seminary.

The Forum on Music and Christian Scholarship is a national conference which rotates its location each year. This is the first year for Baylor to host the event. Next year, the event is scheduled to be held at Notre Dame University.

"It's important to be involved in this discussion and see that people from other institutions are also interested in the same questions we are exploring here at Baylor University about the intersection of faith and scholarship," Zeiss said. "This also gives the students an opportunity to meet these professors from other prestigious institutions."

For more information, contact Zeiss at Laurel_Zeiss@baylor.edu or (254) 710-1417.