Episcopal Press and News
Seminary Musicians Draft Study Outline
Episcopal News Service. April 16, 1981 [81129]
Rochester, N. Y. -- What philosophic and historic knowledge about music and the other arts would a student receive as a regular part of seminary education? What basic musical skills should a seminarian master in order to minister effectively in a parish? What kinds of administrative skills does the seminarian need to plan and manage a music program in consultation with the parish director of music?
These and other questions were raised and addressed by the Episcopal Church's Conference of Seminary Musicians at a recent meeting at the Colgate Rochester Divinity School here.
The occasion marked the second official meeting of seminary music faculty, who first gathered two years ago to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas and problems. As a result of its first meeting the Conference was able, through the Standing Commission on Church Music, to effect a change in the Canon Law of the Episcopal Church making church music an examination requirement for ordination.
At its current meeting the Conference outlined what it considered to be the "necessary components for the instruction of Episcopal seminarians in the music of the Church." One participant noted that "each of us has developed programs in isolation from one another," and while the various accredited seminaries have music curricula which are somewhat similar, there is no standardized approach.
During its three-and-one-half-day meeting the Conference drafted a curriculum outline which includes course work in philosophy, liturgical music, administration, practical skills and continuing education.
The philosophy courses would "provide the seminarian with a philosophic and historic basis for the use and appreciation of music and the other arts in the worship of the Church" and would include work on art as expression, the history of church music, and the influence of the Book of Common Prayer on musical style.
Courses on liturgical music would emphasize "historical and technical understanding of the musical resources available for effective planning and implementation of worship," including hymnody and psalmody, congregational repertoire, choral literature and the use of instrumental music.
Administration courses would "equip seminarians with the necessary skills to deal with the musical problems and opportunities" inherent in parish life, including personnel, the pastoral element in making decisions about music, and music program costs.
Practical skills training would focus on use of the voice, reading music and choir participation.
The Conference also identified a need for continuing education opportunities for clergy and musicians "to deepen and broaden their liturgical and musical understanding and skills."
The Conference hopes that the Standing Commission on Church Music will make these curriculum concerns part of its official legislative report to the Episcopal Church's General Convention, which will meet in September 1982.
Raymond Glover and James Litton participated in the Conference's deliberations as representatives of the Music Commission. Glover is general editor of the Episcopal Church's Hymnal, which is currently in revision. Litton, director of music at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J., is chairman of the Commission's service music committee.
Both men gave reports on the revision process and asked for faculty members' reactions to the various Hymnal supplements which are currently in wide use throughout the Church. The Commission expects to include material from the supplements in the revised Hymnal.
Texts for the new Hymnal will be presented to the 1982 General Convention for legislative action. If Convention adopts the work, a new Hymnal will be forthcoming sometime in 1985.
Eight of the ten accredited Episcopal seminaries were represented by faculty, including: Charles W. Thompson, Nashotah House, Nashotah, Wis.; Dr. Carol Doran, Bexley Hall/Colgate Rochester Divinity School; the Rev. Marion Hatchett, the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.; Dr. Alastair Cassels-Brown, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Mass.; Edward Wagner, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, New Haven, Conn.; Douglas Petersen, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, Ill.; Charles W. Lowry, Jr., General Theological Seminary, New York City; and Dr. Russell Schulz-Widmar, Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, Tex. George Black of Huron College, London, Ontario, attended as a representative of the Anglican Church of Canada.