Northcutt Lecture Series
Since its inception in 1985, The Northcutt Lecture Series has become an integral part of the academic and spiritual life of the Baylor University School of Music. Designed to bring nationally and internationally known church music scholars to Baylor University, The Northcutt Lecture is made possible by an endowment from Cassandra Northcutt and the late LeGrande Northcutt of Longview, Texas.
The Northcutt Lecture remains of the most prestigious lectures on church music in the world and has attracted the top national and international scholars in the field.
Spring 2024: Anton Armstrong
April 9th at 4:00 pm
Armstrong Browning Library
Stream the Northcutt Lecture
Music, Vocation and Transformation
In the 2024 Northcutt Lecture, Dr. Anton Armstrong will explore the importance of music in shaping individual vocational discernment as found in parochial higher education as well as in the setting of corporate worship through choral/instrumental music and the congregational song. As a life-long Lutheran, Dr. Armstrong acknowledges Martin Luther's perspectives on the dynamic nature of music that have had a powerful influence on his teaching and life's work as a conductor, music educator, and church musician. In this talk, Dr. Armstrong reflects how music can be a transformative force for individuals and institutions. Music is a significant force in nurturing an individual's body, mind, and spirit, providing a voice for justice, peace, and love, and cultivating the callings and courage of both individuals and institutions to serve their neighbors and the world.
About Dr. Armstrong
Anton Armstrong, Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College, became the fourth conductor of the St. Olaf Choir in 1990 after ten years in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he had served on the faculty of Calvin College and led the Calvin College Alumni Choir, the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, and the St. Cecilia Youth Chorale.
Dr. Armstrong is a graduate of St. Olaf College and earned advanced degrees at the University of Illinois and Michigan State University. He is editor of a multicultural choral series for Earthsongs Publications and co-editor (with John Ferguson) of the revised St. Olaf Choral Series for Augsburg Fortress Publishers. In June 1998, he began his tenure as founding conductor of the Oregon Bach Festival Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy. A graduate of the American Boychoir School, Dr. Armstrong served for over twenty years on the summer faculty of their summer program ALBEMARLE and held the position of Conductor of the St. Cecilia Youth Chorale, a 75-voice treble chorus based in Grand Rapids, from 1981-1990. He has conducted the Troubadours, a 30-voice boys ensemble of the Northfield Youth Choirs, since 1991. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Boychoir School and the Board of Chorus America.
Dr. Armstrong has frequently conducted ensembles and appeared before regional, national, and international gatherings of the American Choral Directors Association, International Federation of Choral Music, Music Educators National Conference, Choristers Guild, American Guild of Organists, Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Organization of American Kodaly Educators, and the Orff-Schulwerk Association. In recent years he has guest conducted such noted ensembles as the Utah Symphony and Symphony Chorus, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Westminster Choir, and the American Boychoir.
Past Presenters Include
James Abbington, Mary Louise Bringle, David Music, Constance Cherry, John Witvliet, Lester Ruth, Jeremy Begbie, Ruth Duck, Carl Shalk, Brian Wren, I-to Loh, Carl P. Daw, Jr., Emily Brink, Don Sailers, Harry Eskew, Carlton Young, Helen Kemp, Donald P. Hustad, Paul Westermeyer, Thomas Troeger, Marva Dawn, Alice Parker, Jane Marshall, Benjamin Harlan, Michael Hawn, Terry York, Allen Walworth, Harold Best, Gordon Borror, Jerry Warren, Robert Shaw, Paul Manz, Milburn Price, William O'Brien
View Past Recordings
To view recordings from past Norcutt Lecture Series presentations visit our Academic Research & Resource Library.