Intentional Diversity in Church & Choral Music Panel: Recording & Resources

How can people of faith walk the line between embracing diversity in our music, without appropriating other cultures and identities?

As Christians, it is part of our baptismal covenant to “persevere in resisting evil,” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” In our current context, this includes acknowledging the sin of racism, and working to overcome it in all that we do – in our actions and service, and in our prayer and music. This panel conversation is particularly inspired by our efforts to be thoughtful about how we honor music from racial and ethnic backgrounds that extend beyond the Anglican origins of the Episcopal Church. Our hope in hosting this conversation is to be more intentional about what we sing, and how we sing it. Even as we recognize that there are no universal answers to questions about diversity and appropriation in music, we hope to listen and gain more perspective so that we can continue to sing and make music in ways that are life-giving and liberating.

Moderator:

The Rev. Canon Ranjit Mathews | Canon for Mission Advocacy, Racial Justice, & Reconciliation, the Episcopal Church in CT

Panelists:

Nathaniel Gumbs | Director of Chapel Music, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT
Dr. Sandra T. Montes | Dean of Chapel, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
Walden Moore | Director of Music, Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven, CT
Janet Yieh | Director of Music, Church of the Heavenly Rest, New York, NY

Chat Resources

Thanks so much to the dozens who participated in Intentional Diversity in Church and Choral Music: A Panel Conversation! It was really wonderful to feel your interest and enthusiasm for this good and necessary work. The energy in this discussion was infectious, and the Zoom chat quickly filled with recommendations and resources, which are compiled below for those interested in doing some homework.

HYMNALS

Mark A. Trautman (he/him/his) mentioned Glory to God a Presbyterian hymnal, and One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism a new, inclusive African American hymnal by GIA Publications, Inc.

Ed Stannard pointed to the Episcopalian hymnal Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing as an example of an existing and perhaps underutilized source of inclusive liturgical music.

Katie Burk suggested the 1619 Project, a series of articles and podcasts, that "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States' national narrative."

COMPOSERS & CHORAL REPERTOIRE

Janet Yieh recommended the spreadsheet Beyond Elijah Rock: The Non-Idiomatic Choral Music of Black Composers as “a working list of the non-idiomatic choral music of black composers.”

Florence Price (1887-1953) was brought up at a number of points, exemplifying a composer of color whose public profile has increased dramatically in the past few years.

Jane Meditz brought up Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) Canadian-American Black composer, organist, pianist, choral director, and music professor, whose works may be of interest to participants.

CONSIDERING DIALECT 

On the specific topic of the use of dialect, participant Mark A. Trautman recommended A New Perspective for the Use of Dialect in African American Spirituals: History, Context, and Linguistics by Felicia Raphael Marie Barber, Foreward by Andre Thomas link, while panelist A. Nathaniel Gumbs suggested Way Over in Beulah Lan': Understanding and Performing the Negro Spiritual link.