My journey in music and faith

My faith journey has taken me from my youth in the Roman Catholic church to adolescence in a Conservative Baptist church. I later attended Presbyterian churches (both PCA and PCUSA) before finding my way to the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church. Along with worshipping at these churches, I also ministered as a musician in all of them: doing everything from playing hymns on the organ to praise choruses on the worship team.

From these experiences I’ve gained a broad and deep perspective on the ways a variety of Christian communities traditions think about God, faith, theology - and of course music and worship. I’ve gained a unique perspective on the ways a range of Christians live out their faith - and, especially, how they understand worship and music. I draw on all of this in my work as a speaker, teacher, writer, scholar, and musician.

MUSICIAN

My sacred works have been performed by internationally prominent artists including the Grammy-winning  Chestnut Brass Company, the Borromeo Quartet, and the New York Virtuoso Singers, among many others. I’ve written a sacred symphony, an oratorio, an opera about anti-Semitism, and numerous chamber and vocal pieces My non-sacred music has been performed by over 80 orchestras across the world, including the Atlanta, Toronto, Baltimore, and National Symphony Orchestras, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. I currently conduct the Great Woods Symphony Orchestra, the Quincy Bay Chamber Orchestra, the Deus Ex Musica Ensemble, and Seven Seasons.

EDUCATOR

Over my twenty year career I’ve taught courses in music - classical, popular, sacred, and secular - at a wide range of both Christian and secular institutions. Beginning at Boston College (a Jesuit school), I subsequently taught at Eastern Nazarene College, Northeastern University, and the Longy School of Music. I currently serve as Associate Profess of Music at Wheaton College in Massachusetts (which, ironically, is a secular school unrelated to the Wheaton College in Illinois.)

SPEAKER

I‘ve spoken on music and the Christian faith to a wide range of audiences, including laypeople, scholars, clergy, and students at every level. I’ve spoken at Mainline, Evangelical and Catholic churches, academic conferences run by the American Academy of Religion and the Society for the Arts in Religious and Theological Studies; and many seminaries and colleges. I’ve also run workshops at homeless shelters, rehab clinics, and community centers.

WRITER/SCHOLAR

As a writer and scholar I have done work for both academic and general audiences. This has included publishing work in a wide variety of media sources that represent a range of Christian traditions. This has included Books and Culture (from Christianity Today), ThinkChristian.org (from the Christian Reformed Church), and the ecumenical journal The Sacred in Opera. My recent research on representations of Jesus in (secular) popular music will appear in Christian Music in America (Rowan & Littlefield ,forthcoming) I write the column Alleluia: Music and the Christian Life, the only music-focused on Patheos, the world’s largest online source for writing about religion.

MORE

In 2019 I founded Deus Ex Musica, a unique ecumenical organization that promotes the use of sacred music for learning and spiritual growth.  We have partnered with an ecumenical range of organizations, including the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (London), Crescendo, Tyndale Scripture Collective, the Forefront Festival, and UniteBoston.

I studied music at Yale College (B.A. summa cum laude), where I conducted the Yale Bach Society Orchestra and studied composition with Pulitzer Prize-winners David Lang and Anthony Davis. I completed my Ph.D. in Musical Composition at the University of Pennsylvania while also studying conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music. I’m a husband, father of three girls, and a former widower. I’m a member of Old South Church in Boston (UCC.)