The Events of the Day
A three-part opportunity to experience and examine the rich musical traditions that fill sanctuaries and give sanctuary: spirituals and gospels, hymns and anthems, praise and worship and the musicality of Black preaching.
Symposium | In the Sanctuary
From the Director
Music is the lifeblood of the Black church. In song, in sermon, in prayer, and in the praise elicited by all three, the multiple streams of Black sacred music work to draw contemporary congregations into earshot of eternity. The day’s events are an opportunity to experience and examine the rich musical traditions that fill sanctuaries and give sanctuary: spirituals and gospels, hymns and anthems, praise and worship and the musicality of Black preaching.
We join here to recognize these genres of sacred expression and to celebrate the musicians and communities which have labored to sustain them.
Braxton D. Shelley
Associate professor of music, of sacred music, and of divinity
Director, Interdisciplinary Program in Music and the Black Church
In the Sanctuary Symposium
Experience and examine musical traditions
The day’s events are an opportunity to experience and examine the rich musical traditions that fill sanctuaries and give sanctuary: spirituals and gospels, hymns and anthems, praise and worship and the musicality of Black preaching.
Music Ministry in the Black Church
Challenge and Innovation
Discussion with the leaders of music ministries, including The Potter’s House (Dallas), the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta), and Greater Centennial AME Zion Church (Mount Vernon, NY), and more.
An Evening with Kurt Carr
Kurt Carr, the Kurt Carr Singers, joined by the Yale Gospel Choir
Musical performance as part of our “In the Sanctuary” Inaugural Symposium on Music and the Black Church.
