Music/Song

Dinka Christian Infrastructure: Song and Prayer Ministries

During decades of Sudanese civil war, the Jol Wo Lieech song ministry and Thiec Nhialic prayer ministry gave refugees and refugee congregations a sense of family and purpose. Both still work to unite Christians, whether or not they belong to the Dinka tribe or still live in South Sudan.

March 28, 2022 | 11 min read
Bilingual Choral Music: A Webinar Series

Pearl Shangkuan, professor of music and director of choral activities at Calvin University and co-editor of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Choral Music Series with GIA Publications, talks with Latin American music experts Maria Guinand, Jorge Lockward, and Marcell Silva Steuernagel about best practices for teaching and performing Latin and South American choral music.

February 9, 2022 | 53 min video
Bilingual Choral Music: A Conversation with Maria Guinand.

International renowned choral conductor Maria Guinand shares practical tips for North American choirs in teaching and performing Latin and South American choral music.

February 9, 2022 | 53 min video

Bilingual Choral Music: A Conversation with Marcell Silva Steuernagel

Marcell Silva Steuernagel, assistant professor of church music and director of the Master of Sacred Music program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, talks about what instruments can be added to better capture the style and spirit of Latin and South American choral music.

February 9, 2022 | 42 min video
Bilingual Choral Music: A Conversation with Jorge Lockward

Jorge Lockward, director of the New York-based ecumenical chorale Cántico Nuevo and minister of worship arts at the Church of the Village, shares practical tips on how to dress up a piano part to better capture the style and spirit of Latin and South American choral music.

February 9, 2022 | 41 min video
Songfest

A song service converging old and new, local and global led by Calvin University Worship Pastor, Paul Ryan, and the Student Chapel Team

November 17, 2021 | 1 min read

A Light to the Nations: A Service of Lessons and Carols

In an era in which narrow nationalisms are emerging yet again in so many places around the world, how important it is to dwell with the countercultural, global vision of Isaiah’s prophecies. This Lessons and Carols service will be held in person at LaGrave Avenue CRC and livestreamed on Sunday, December 5, 2021 at 3:00 and 6:00 PM, EST.

November 16, 2021 | 5 min read
Kyle Meyaard-Schaap on the Arts as a Climate Tipping Point

Music and the arts have fueled major movements for justice. Evangelical Christians have the potential to shift climate action. That's why Christian leaders and musicians are creating worship songs and candlelight climate vigils to address climate crisis and work toward environmental sustainability.

October 8, 2021 | 7 min read
Gerardo Oberman leads songs from "Santo, Santo, Santo: Cantos para el pueblo de Dios / Holy, Holy, Holy: Songs for the People of God"

Gerardo Oberman demonstrates and talks about five songs as part of the CICW series "Songs from the hymnal 'Santo, Santo, Santo: Cantos para el pueblo de Dios / Holy, Holy, Holy: Songs for the People of God.'"

August 27, 2021 | 2 min video

Everyday Faith: Possibilities, Limits, and Callings, with special guest Jeremy Begbie

Music and language form the backbone of nearly every public worship service, yet we don’t often reflect on the implications of this pairing. What is the relationship of music and language in Christian worship, and how might we best utilize them—separately and together—to give God glory and to form the faith of worshipers? Watch this webinar with Professor Jeremy Begbie of Duke Divinity School, who helps us think more deeply about how we can do justice to the primacy of the Word in worship while also honoring the immense powers of a non-verbal medium such as music. Dr. Begbie is interviewed by Noel Snyder, program manager at CICW.

August 17, 2021 | 64 min video
Emmanuel Olusola Fasipe on Yoruba Baptist Indigenous Choruses

The most recent Yoruba Baptist Hymnal includes Orin Idaraya, the indigenous choruses relevant to one of Nigeria's largest people groups. Learning how a Nigerian music scholar analyzed these short songs can help your congregation evaluate whether it offers a balanced musical diet in worship.

July 26, 2021 | 7 min read
Pearl Shangkuan on 10 Bilingual Choral Pieces

Pearl Shangkuan, director of choral activities at Calvin University and director of the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, reflects on her top ten bilingual sacred choral pieces.

July 21, 2021 | 3 min read