Baylor well represented at annual meeting for the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music
Baylor School of Music faculty, staff, students, and alumni were represented on a grand scale for the 2025 meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music (SCSM) this past week at Belmont University (Nashville, TN). SCSM exists to promote the exploration of connections between Christian faith and the academic study of music. The society champions itself as being a cross-disciplinary organization including ethnomusicologies, music theorists, musicologists, scholars of liturgy and of church music, theologians, and practicing church musicians.
Dr. Monique Ingalls presented the keynote lecture at the event with a topic titled "Singing in the Kingdom: Understanding Eschatological Imaginaries through European Gospel Choirs." In her presentation, Dr. Ingalls sought to highlight and untangle some of the complex eschatological discourses within gospel choir performances, albeit far outside the originary context of gospel music. Specifically, she examined gospel choir performances at the 2024 Gospelkirchentag (billed as the “European Gospel Choir Festival” in English), where gospel choirs have taken root and flourished over the last few decades.
In addition to the keynote presentation, Dr. Ingalls also served as chair and facilitator for a panel on "New Forms of Choir and Community" alongside panelists Dwan Hill, Geraldine Latty Luce, and Russell Mauldin. This session explored the shifting role of the choir in contemporary church settings, particularly in the wake of Contemporary Worship Music (CWM) and its powerful influence. As traditional choral structures adapt—or in some cases, disappear—new forms of vocal ensembles, worship teams, and congregational singing practices are emerging. How is CWM engaging with the heritage of the choir? In what ways does it seek to reclaim or redefine choral traditions? Through discussion and musical examples, this session examined the evolving expressions of choir and their significance in contemporary worship.
In addition to Dr. Ingalls, Baylor School of Music faculty, staff, and students presented papers and served as panelists throughout the event including:
Emily Andrews (alum): “The Soundtrack of Young Faith: Insights from a Multi-Site Study”
Shannan Baker (Post-Doc): “From Driving Guitars to Atmospheric Keyboards: The Changing Instrumentation of 2010s Worship Music”
Sylvia Jones (D.M.A student): “Bring the Choir Back: The Disappearance & Reappearance of Gospel Choirs in the Twenty-First Century United States”
Armindo Ferreira (Ph.D. student): “A Tale of Two Baptist Hymnals: Connecting the Brazilian Hinário para o Culto Cristão (1991) and The North American The Baptist Hymnal (1991)”
Carey Luce & Geraldine Latty Luce (Visiting Scholars): Plenary Session: "Pop-up Choir"
Timothy R. McKinney (Professor of Music): “Spafford’s Draft and Bliss’s Score: Genesis of Text and Music in ‘It Is Well With My Soul’”
Nathan Myrick (alum): "Gender and Sacred Music"
Jon Snyder (alum): “Community Building as Priority in Volunteer Church Choirs: An Ethnographic Study”
Graduate Student Panel Discussion: “UnCertainty: Navigating Feelings and Experiences of an Unknown Future”
Alexandra Dreher, Yale University, Convener
Panel: Chelle Stearns, Independent Scholar; Joseph Sargent, University of Alabama; Sylvia Jones, Baylor University; and Daniel Aaron Webster, Welch College
We are grateful for the contributions of each of these participants to expand the scholarship and reach of research in the field of music through the lens of faith.
Sic 'em, Baylor School of Music at SCSM!