On Sunday, 23 June, the Church Music Institute of Dallas sponsored the opening hymn festival of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians annual conference in Portland, Oregon. The hymn festival, attended by ~350, used as its framework the Nicene Creed, namely Martin Luther’s chorale based on the creed. Held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, organists Bruce […]
All Times and Places Praise the Lord Hymn Festival in June
A Historic Tour Through Song, Prayers, and Praise By Cherie Bell Fort Worth—Sung together, congregational hymns proclaim a collective faith. Even when the unison melody expands into harmony, the congregation is transformed as many voices become one in mind and spirit. “All Times and All Places: Praise the Lord!” was the theme of this year’s […]
AGO Partnership with Church Music Institute
On June 11, 2019, the American Guild of Organists, by action of the AGO National Council, entered into a partnership with the Church Music Institute to provide discounted CMI membership rates for AGO members. AGO members will have the ability to enjoy CMI member benefits at a discounted rate which include access to its fully […]
CMI at American Choral Directors’ Association, 2019
Church Music Institute staff recently attended the American Choral Directors’ Association convention in Kansas City from 27 February to 2 March in order to spread the word about the resources CMI can offer to church musicians. While choirs from across the world descended upon the city, with iconic composer John Rutter the star of the […]
Hymn Playing Masterclass, 2019
On Saturday, 23 February, 2019, about twenty organists met at Zion Lutheran Church in Dallas to play for each other and to learn hymn playing techniques from Dr Christopher Anderson, Associate Professor of Sacred Music at Southern Methodist University. Eight organists played one hymn each, after which Dr Anderson advised them both about their particularly […]
Learning and Leading with Love
A few years ago when writing acknowledgments for one of my books, I realized that most of my piano teachers through my doctoral work had played the organ in church. All had significant commitments to music in their churches. These were piano teachers, of course, and none was trained first as a church musician. But […]