ISM students soon to embark on study trip to France

In May students from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music will travel to France for the biennial study tour, a signature event in the ISM experience.

Known for producing some of Christianity’s most treasured sacred art, France now identifies as a secular nation while being home to a richly varied array of religious communities. Focusing on Paris and Provence, the tour will include visits to museums and places of worship, such as Chartres Cathedral and the Grande Mosquée de Paris. The students will also tour the newly restored Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris and hear a talk on its history and renovation. 

ISM director Martin Jean said, “We will have much to learn from the ways this region of the world has contended with notions of sacrality and secularity in its history. We are very privileged to have the resources to witness to some of this legacy firsthand.” 

To prepare for the trip students have engaged with experts in sacred music, worship, and the related arts throughout the academic year as part of the weekly colloquia, which have provided deep insights into French culture.

Dr. Michelle Oing, the primary coordinator for the study trip, serves as an ISM postdoctoral associate for the 2024-2025 academic year. She earned her Ph.D. in the history of art from Yale in 2020, with a dissertation titled “Puppet Potential: Moveable Sculpture and Religious Performance in Late Medieval Northern Europe.” With an undergraduate degree from Brown University and a master’s in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School focusing on the history of Christianity, Dr. Oing brings unique expertise to this project. She has collaborated closely with a faculty and student planning committee to plan the itinerary. 

Previous ISM study trips have visited Scandinavia, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Baltic states, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, and Mexico.