The goal of this initiative is to organize and expand the scholarly attention paid to the music of the Black Church and to this tradition’s extraordinary influence on a host of musical cultures—confessional and commercial, American and global.
Music and the Black Church Events
Featured Events
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Meditating on the Black Gospel Tradition
A celebration to launch Music and the Black Church and the publication of Braxton D. Shelley’s Healing for the Soul: Richard Smallwood, the Vamp, and the Gospel Imagination.
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Celebration of the Gospel
Lawrence and Bohanan performed to a packed house at the Immanuel Missionary Baptist Church in New Haven, alongside a community choir drawn from the New Haven area.
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An Evening with the Legendary Clark Sisters
On April 14, 2022, Yale Institute of Sacred Music was thrilled to host the legendary Clark Sisters for a concert, symposium, and masterclass.
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In the Sanctuary Symposium
This inaugural Symposium is an opportunity to experience the rich musical traditions that fill sanctuaries and give sanctuary: spirituals and gospels, hymns and anthems, praise and worship.
Event Listing
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Past Event: Anthem of Praise: A Salute to Richard Smallwood
Join us for an evening celebrating the music of Richard Smallwood.
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Past Event: ART(est)IMONY: A Night of Song
A time of fellowship where participants will be revived by the rich and robust range of Black Sacred music repertoire.
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Past Event: Ministering Through the Arts: Tradition and Innovation
Yale ISM’s program Music and the Black Church invites you to a public and livestreamed conversation.
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Past Event: “Losing my Religion: “I Don’t Have Religion, I Have Relationship”: A Fellow's lunch talk
Join us for a lunch talk with Yale Institute of Sacred Music fellow, Cory Hunter.
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Past Event: Celebrating the poetry of Langston Hughes
A concert celebrating the poetry of Langston Hughes!
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Past Event: An Evening with The Clark Sisters
An evening with the legendary Clark Sisters, a group that has been on the vanguard of gospel music for more than half a century!
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Past Event: “Eternal Gain”: A Symposium on Dr. Mattie Moss Clark and the Clark Sisters
A daylong meditation on the distinctive musical, spiritual, and cultural contributions of Dr. Clark and the Clark Sisters.
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Past Event: "Singing the Lord's Songs in a Strange Land and Times: A Black History and Lenten Commemoration"
This event explores one of many musical journeys of a people stolen from their land and find themselves holding to their faith.
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Past Event: A Celebration of Gospel featuring Donald Lawrence & Company and Vincent Bohanan & SOV
Join us for an evening of music that spans generations and unites multiple threads of the rich tapestry that is black gospel music.
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Past Event: The Ministry of Song: A Conversation with Donald Lawrence
Join us for this special open class session of Professor Braxton D. Shelley’s course on “The Musicality of Black Preaching.”
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Past Event: Guest Artist | In the Sanctuary with Kurt Carr
An Evening with Kurt Carr and the Kurt Carr Singers
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Our online newsletter reflects on recent programming and upcoming events for this initiative.
