The 51st annual Sewanee Church Music Conference was held July 9-15 at DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee, and at the University of the South. Filled to capacity, the conference attracted 153 organists, choir directors, and choristers from 26 states. Dr. Robert Delcamp, professor of music at the University of the South, planned and directed the conference. Dr. John Fenstermaker, organist and choirmaster (retired) of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, and Dr. Stephen Hamilton, minister of music, The Church of the Holy Trinity, New York, headed the conference faculty. The Rev. Dr. Joe Burnett, professor of pastoral theology, University of the South, led the daily services and gave a series of lectures.
The organ recital in All Saints' Chapel began with
works by Chadwick, Buck, and Myron Roberts, played by Fenstermaker. Hamilton
presented the amusing The King of Instruments by William Albright, narrated by
Fenstermaker, and concluded the program with works of Franck and Vierne.
A highlight of the conference was the concert by Schola
Cantorum Nashville, sung in the new Chapel of the Apostles at the School of
Theology.
All Saint's Chapel provided the setting for the major
events of the week. The choral evensong on Thursday evening featured
Stanford's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in B-flat and H. Balfour
Gardiner's Evening Hymn. At the Sunday service, music commissioned by the
conference was premiered, including works by Dale Wood, David Ashley White, and
Roland Martin. A centerpiece anthem was Celebration Hymn by Kenton Coe. Brass
and percussion added festive flair to anthems and hymns throughout the service.
Fenstermaker and Hamilton served as conductors and organists, and all conferees
formed the massive choir for both services.
