From March 1-3, “Our Story, Our Song: Celebrating Our Heritage Hymns,” will be held in various locations in Andalusia, including First Baptist Church East Three Notch, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, First Baptist Church Whatley Street, First Presbyterian Church, city hall and LBWCC’s campus.

This is the second time Andalusia has hosted this conference. The first was in 2010.

Schedule, updated February 7, 2018

The conference is broken up into five academic lectures, concurrent sessions and workshops for voice and instrument.

The first academic lecture, “Covington County’s Church Music: Where We Are and Where We Are Going,” will be led by Covington County native Dr. Randall Bradley, director of the church music program at Baylor University. The lecture will be from 8:30-9:30 a.m. at city hall on March 1.

“One of the goals is to increase awareness of different traditions of Christian congregational song and the many new directions Christian song has taken since 1970,” organizer Dr. Steve Hubbard said.

Other speakers for the academic lectures will include:

• Dan Schutte, an American composer of Catholic liturgical music and contemporary Christian songwriter;
• Mary Louise Bringle, former president of the Hymn Society and professor at Brevard College;
• Sally Ann Morris, musician and hymn author; Diane Hartung, violinist and member of Wellesley Symphony Orchestra;
• Kirk Hartung, organist and music director of St. Catherine of Siena Parish;
• Brian Hehn, director of the Center for Congregational Song in Dallas, Texas, and associate minister of music in the Prince of Peace Catholic Community in Texas;
• Eric Mathis, author, chair of academic studies and associate professor of music and worship at Samford University;
• Cynthia Wilson, professional singer, founder of the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary of the Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience, and director of music in the United Methodist Church’s 2000 General Conference; and
• Matthew Hock, associate professor of voice and coordinator of voice studies at Auburn University, author and choirmaster/minister of music at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn.
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This event was made possible with contributions from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Alabama Humanities Foundation, the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation and Art Works.

For more information on the conference, call or e-mail Hubbard at 334-881-2255, shubbard@lbwcc.edu or go to the conference’s website at http://www.lbwsings.org/index.html.