The 52nd annual Sewanee Church Music Conference was held July 15-21 at DuBose Conference Center in Mont-eagle, Tennessee and at the University of the South in Sewanee. Filled to capacity, the conference attracted 159 organists, choir directors, and choristers from 23 states. Dr. Robert Delcamp, Professor of Music at the University of the South, planned and directed the conference. Malcolm Archer, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Wells Cathedral, and Peter Richard Conte, Grand Court Organist of the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia and also Organist and Choirmaster of St. Clement's Episcopal Church, headed the conference faculty. The Rev. Dr. Joe Burnett, Professor of Pastoral Theology, School of Theology, University of the South, led the daily services and in a series of lectures explored tensions arising in parishes and added possible solutions for impossible people.
Malcolm Archer presented aspects of the English choral tradition as well as giving practical advice on putting together a service very quickly. James Brinson led several sessions on the Episcopal Church for musicians who are new to the church. Keith Shafer had two sessions on chanting the psalms. Anthem-reading sessions were conducted by Archer, Jason Abel, and Donald Dupee, Jr. Also, an impressive display and reading session were directed by Mark Schweizer of St. James Music Press.
Peter Conte held a variety of workshops devoted to playing the organ. Besides the masterclasses, there were sessions on hymn playing, anthem accompaniment, and improvisation. David Davies, a young Welshman currently the Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, played a stunning organ recital in All Saints' Chapel. The program included works by Bach, Gigout, Mozart, Cocker, Howells, and Vierne and ended with an overwhelming improvisation for an encore.
All Saints' Chapel provided the setting for the major services of the week. The Choral Evensong on Thursday evening used Dyson's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D and Parry's monumental anthem, Blest Pair of Sirens. At the Sunday service, Schubert's German Mass was sung to the liturgy. Music composed by Archer and commissioned by the conference was premiered--the organ voluntary Variations on King's Lynn and the anthem Bread of the World. The centerpiece anthem was O How Glorious Is the Kingdom by Harwood. Brass and percussion added festive flair to this anthem and to hymns throughout the service. Archer was the conductor, Conte was the organist, and all conferees formed the massive choir for both services.
--Mary Fisher Landrum
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