The following people have winning bids in the silent auction:
Ayala, Homer Bailey, Julia Beckstead, Sharon Baynham, Tom Beamon, Nellwyn Brumm, James Clyma, Bill Conrad, Judy Covington Greer, Diana Drake, Robin Frances Filbert, Mark Ford, Am're Foxwell, Scott Harris, Paul Harrison, Anderson Hubbard, Steve Jones, Jacque Krenek, Leah Leupold, Wayne Low, Ben Miner, Kenneth Patton, Felicia Reilly, John Reimer, Katie Sauder, Myron Schaap, David Strickland, Tom Shelton, Chris Tel, Martin Tice, Adam Weaver, Gregory Weaver, Jerome Werner, Noel
Please pay and pick up items between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM. We accept cash, check, or credit card (by mobile link).
Martin Tel is the C. F. Seabrook Director of Music at Princeton Theological Seminary. He has been leading music at PTS for 30 years now, and is very active in The Hymn Society.
Melissa Haupt is the Assistant Director of Worship at Princeton Theological Seminary. She earned a BA in Religion and Psychology from Muhlenberg College, and an MDiv, ThM, and PhD in Pastoral Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. She currently serves as President-Elect of... Read More →
Mina Choi is an award-winning musician who has shared her talent and passion with communities worldwide. Raised in Dallas, she has earned degrees and various research opportunities from prestigious institutions worldwide: Royal College of Music in London (BMus), Yale University (MM... Read More →
Noel Werner is Director of Music at Nassau Presbyterian Church and past Dean of the Metro NJ AGO, holds degrees from Westminster Choir College, Indiana University and Christian Theological Seminary.
James & Kathleen Brumm, Sponsors In Honor of Wayne Leupold and 25 years of working with him
Introducing two new hymn collections: Sing of All that Love Can Do, More Hymns and Songs to Sing in Our World Today, texts by Mary Nelson Keithahn and tunes by John D. Horman; and Hymns to Sing on a Storm-Tossed Sea, texts by John Dallas and tunes by Kenneth Athon.
Kenneth Athon is a lifelong church musician who studied music composition at Belmont College, Nashville. He has composed scores of hymns and worship songs for congregations in Minnesota, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Hymns to Sing on a Storm-Tossed Sea, for which he composed the hymn tunes, is his first collection... Read More →
John D. Horman is a composer, clinician, and former public school music teacher who served as music director at Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington, Maryland, and First Congregational Church (UCC) in Washington, DC. He presently serves as pianist and organist at Washington... Read More →
Mary Nelson Keithahn, a graduate of Carleton College and Yale Divinity School, is a United Church of Christ pastor and educator, now retired and living in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She has written curriculum and worship resources for denominational and ecumenical use and numerous... Read More →
Dan Damon, FHS, will present his new collection of hymns, including over thirty of Dan’s new hymn texts and tunes. Also included are new tunes for texts by Brian Wren, FHS, Carl P. Daw, FHS, Gracia Grindal, FHS, and others, jazz arrangements of traditional spirituals, and musical settings of 12 previously unpublished hymn texts by Ruth Duck, FHS.
Dan Damon, FHS, is an internationally published writer of hymn texts and tunes whose work appears in many current hymnals. He is Associate Editor of Hymnody for Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, Illinois. Damon is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, retired July... Read More →
Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, Silver Sponsor
This sectional will take the form of a reflexive group learning experience for and about Christian congregational music scholar-practitioners (also identified as teacher-scholars), defined as those with professional training and experience in both academic scholarship and church music practice. The leaders of the session, who are working on a larger research project that focuses on what church musicians can learn from the experience of scholar-practitioners, will share select findings of their work as a prompt for dialogue with sectional participants who are either scholar-practitioners themselves or are interested in contributions from this intersection. This dialogic learning session will also be oriented to the theme of the conference, focusing on notions of rebirth, death and life from the scholar-practitioner perspective.
Brian is an inspiring song-leader equally comfortable leading an acapella singing of “It Is Well” as he is drumming and dancing to “Sizohamba Naye.” Experienced using a variety of genres and instrumentations, he has lead worship for Baptists, Roman Catholics, United Methodists... Read More →
Maren Haynes Marchesini serves as Director of Worship & Music at Hope Lutheran Church in Bozeman, Montana. Maren is a choral director, cellist, vocalist, composer, and scholar with broad-ranging musical interests. She holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Washington... Read More →
Marcell Silva Steuernagel is Associate Professor of Church Music and Director of the Master of Sacred Music and Doctor of Pastoral Music Programs at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology. He also serves as the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology’s Regional... Read More →
Wednesday July 22, 2026 9:15am - 10:30am EDT Stuart 6
Kirk Hartung and the George M. Hartung Memorial Fund, Sponsor
This 2-part session will include a small number of participants who will play a hymn or sung service music and receive live feedback from the clinician on their playing. This "masterclass" style session is designed to allow all participants to learn together from the clinician's feedback to the individual players. Participants who register for this session will be asked whether they want to be included in the players who receive feedback or whether they would just like to watch and listen.
Mina Choi is an award-winning musician who has shared her talent and passion with communities worldwide. Raised in Dallas, she has earned degrees and various research opportunities from prestigious institutions worldwide: Royal College of Music in London (BMus), Yale University (MM... Read More →
Wednesday July 22, 2026 9:15am - 10:30am EDT Seminary Chapel
The Special Collections and Archives department will display a pop-up exhibit of materials from its rare book and manuscript collection. These materials will feature historically significant editions of hymnbooks, hymnals, psalters, and music manuscripts from the 16th through 20th centuries. Highlights will include early and first editions of works from the expansive Louis Benson Collection of hymnody and hymnology, including works by Isaac Watts, Tate & Brady, Sternhold & Hopkins, and others. Brian Shetler, Head of Special Collections, will be available to guide participants as they engage with the materials in the exhibit.
N.B. There is a limit of 10 participants for each time this tour is offered. The display itself will also be available each day for personal perusal from 9:00am-3:00pm.
Wednesday July 22, 2026 9:15am - 10:30am EDT Wright Library
This session examines the hymn as a theological vessel for narrating the witness of the martyr within an equitable and participatory ecclesiology. Throughout Christian history, martyrs have stood as authoritative witnesses, embodying faith through lived solidarity, moral courage, and the rejection of violence and domination. Hymns and sacred songs, as expressions of the sensus fidelium, have long mediated these narratives, forming the church’s collective memory and shaping its vision of discipleship.
In the context of El Salvador, hymns venerating St. Óscar Romero narrate not only his ministry and martyrdom but also the ecclesial struggle for justice, dignity, and communion among the poor. These songs reclaim the voice of the marginalized as integral to the Body of Christ, re-centering the faith around a theology of liberation and shared witness. This session will engage hymns and songs devoted to St. Óscar Romero and other contemporary martyrs, exploring how musical storytelling functions as a locus of ecclesial identity, a pedagogy of Christian living, and a means of sustaining communal memory within the broader work of building a just and inclusive church.
Lola Bobrow is a senior at California Lutheran University majoring in Music Education with a minor in Psychology. Her Spring 2026 senior recital will include Brahms' cello Sonata no. 1 and the first Bach cello suite. She currently works as a private cello instructor at Westlake Music... Read More →
Adán Fernández is the Director of Music/Organist at Holy Family Catholic Church in Glendale, California. He is also University Organist and Adjunct Professor in both the School of Music and the School of Religion at California Lutheran University. He has been published in Relig... Read More →
Beverly Howard, Sponsor In Honor of Chi Yi Chen Wolbrink, PCOCS
The act of communal singing is not mere music-making, but expresses a lived theology of God's people - where every voice, culture, and generation participates in God’s harmony. Singing expresses the unity of the people (Ubuntu), the balance of life and faith (Yin–Yang), and the wisdom of our heritage (Sankofa). From traditional hymnody to contextualized expressions, the songs tell the story of faith and its context.
Chi Yi Chen Wolbrink has degrees from Tainan Theological College and Seminary, Taiwan, and Westminster Choir College (M.M., Choral Conducting). Chi Yi served for twelve years as choral associate at Princeton Theological Seminary and was a member of the Glory to God hymnal committee. She teaches global church music at national and international events, directed a choral concert at Lincoln Center in New York, and is featured on multiple recordings. Chi Yi was born in Tainan, Taiwan. She is music director at Bayside Presbyterian Church, Virgin... Read More →
Patrick Michaels has been a professional church musician for 48 years. He was born in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota as a music major. Michaels worked at two churches in that area before moving to the Boston area. He has been the Minister of Music at St. James's... Read More →
David Schaap (pronounced skaap [rhymes with top]) is president and founder of Selah Publishing Co. His undergraduate studies were at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a double major in music (composition and arranging) and art (sculpture). Schaap has led workshops, hymn... Read More →
Wednesday July 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT Stuart 5
Short songs for praying together - 1-8 part tunes for use in worship, on pilgrimage, in school, or anywhere you find yourself. Flexible, with room for improv. Suitable for all ages and abilities.
Ana Hernández is a composer, song leader, activist, and facilitator creating and collecting sung prayers to open space to practice being present to the beauty of God and all creation as we build loving and just community. Ana has produced nine albums (find them here: anahernande... Read More →
Wednesday July 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT Stuart 6
Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, Sponsor
This sectional will explore new choral anthem arrangements of select hymnody of black Holiness hymn writer and composer, Bishop Charles Price Jones. Created as a result of a Teacher-Scholar grant awarded by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, these arrangements are designed for use by the average church choir to perpetuate the use of this prolific hymnody across ethnic and denominational lines.
Donté Alexander Ford is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is best described as a musician, minister, and scholar. His many musical talents have afforded him the opportunity to serve as guest clinician/conductor, lead pianist, opera chorister, resident percussionist, and... Read More →
This sectional will highlight twenty-one hymn tunes created by Cebuano composer Elena Maquiso, each lovingly named after a member of her family—ranging from her parents and siblings to her nieces, nephews, and even a non-biological mother figure who deeply influenced her life. The session will open with a brief introduction to Maquiso’s remarkable life and legacy, followed by a presentation of her hymn tunes. It will conclude with the joyful singing of some of her most widely used hymns in the Philippines, offering both reflection and participation.
Jean Cuanan-Nalam is a hymn writer, composer, arranger, guitarist, and church choir conductor, currently serving as Assistant Professor of Church Music at the Divinity School of Silliman University. She also conducts Ugkat, the school’s angklung ensemble, and leads workshops on... Read More →
Kirk Hartung and the George M. Hartung Memorial Fund, Sponsor
This 2-part session will include a small number of participants who will play a hymn or sung service music and receive live feedback from the clinician on their playing. This "masterclass" style session is designed to allow all participants to learn together from the clinician's feedback to the individual players. Participants who register for this session will be asked whether they want to be included in the players who receive feedback or whether they would just like to watch and listen.
Mina Choi is an award-winning musician who has shared her talent and passion with communities worldwide. Raised in Dallas, she has earned degrees and various research opportunities from prestigious institutions worldwide: Royal College of Music in London (BMus), Yale University (MM... Read More →
Wednesday July 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT Seminary Chapel
The Special Collections and Archives department will display a pop-up exhibit of materials from its rare book and manuscript collection. These materials will feature historically significant editions of hymnbooks, hymnals, psalters, and music manuscripts from the 16th through 20th centuries. Highlights will include early and first editions of works from the expansive Louis Benson Collection of hymnody and hymnology, including works by Isaac Watts, Tate & Brady, Sternhold & Hopkins, and others. Brian Shetler, Head of Special Collections, will be available to guide participants as they engage with the materials in the exhibit.
N.B. There is a limit of 10 participants for each time this tour is offered. The display itself will also be available each day for personal perusal from 9:00am-3:00pm.
Wednesday July 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT Wright Library
In the words of Carlton R. Young, FHS, everything that came out of the mouth of British theologian and musician, Erik Routley, was unique and important. In the fast-paced expansion of worship music and hymns from the 1960s through the 1980s, Routley was one of the main drivers. His conception of artistry in worship, coupled with practical ideas for application, gave sound confidence to the modern congregations and assemblies. It was the President of PTS, the Rev. Dr. James I McCord, who convinced Routley to leave England and take up residence in the US to better spread his profound and compelling perspective. Routley's prophetic foresight can give the challenges of contemporary churches support and guidance towards a rebirth of singing congregations.
Nancy L. Graham, church musician, hymnologist and author, lectures in the US and Great Britain. As a writer, Nancy is most known for her biography of Erik Routley, The Unfractured Faith of Erik Routley from Brighton to Princeton (2024), and her books on the reception of African A... Read More →
Worship Design Studio, Sponsor In Honor of Jan Kraybill, FHS
Explore the fascinating science behind the sounds we hear, and the waves that surround us that are beyond human hearing. Learn how sound is used in our own and in other species for connection, communication, comfort, and more. Explore "the music of the spheres" coined by scientist/theologian/philosopher Pythagoras and the "music of our home" discovered by Apollo space missions.
Jan Kraybill is a Grammy-nominated performer, dynamic speaker, and enthusiastic advocate for the power of music to change lives. In addition to maintaining a very active international concert schedule, in Kansas City she is Organ Conservator at the Kauffman Center for the Performing... Read More →
Keri Day is the Elmer G. Homrighausen Chair & Professor of Constructive Theology and African American Religion at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. She also has an honorary appointment as Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa... Read More →
2025 marked the 300th anniversary of John Newton's birth, the author of arguably the most loved and frequently sung hymn of all time. Amazing Grace! from Blind to Free is a 45-minute musical recounting the life of Newton, including three of his hymn texts: GLORIOUS THINGS OF THEE ARE SPOKEN, HOW SWEET THE NAME OF JESUS SOUNDS, and AMAZING GRACE! This session will include background information about the creation of this new musical, a complete reading/singing of the musical, and a Q & A time at the end of the session to discuss the work.
For over 40 years, Lloyd Larson has been an active composer and arranger for several major publishing companies of church, school, and community choral and instrumental music. His compositions and arrangements number well over 2,000 published works including choral anthems, numerous... Read More →
Wednesday July 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT Stuart 5
Virginia & Mark Meyer, Sponsors In Honor of Mike McMahon, with gratitude for Word and Song: A Lectionary Reflection
This interactive workshop introduces choir directors and musicians to a practical tool for rehearsal preparation: the five-minute devotional. Drawing from her book Grace Notes: Five-MinuteInspirational Devotionals for the Church Choir, Musicians, and Friends of Music, Marlene Jenkins Cooper demonstrates how short, scripture-based devotionals can center singers' hearts on God before lifting their voices in song.
Participants will engage in sample devotionals, discuss how to incorporate them effectively into rehearsals, and sing hymns or spirituals that align with the devotional focus. Attendees will leave understanding the importance of spiritual preparation alongside vocal warm-ups and gain practical strategies for fostering unity, encouragement, and spiritual growth in the choir setting.
Marlene Jenkins Cooper is a devoted church musician, choir director, vocalist, composer, organist, and author whose ministry spans more than five decades. She has served as a guest clinician for church music workshops and conferences throughout the Eastern region, where she inspires... Read More →
This will be a conversation about contemplative communal worship.
The practice of daily prayer has always been the way that Christians (and people of every faith) ground and guide and support themselves. We need this more than ever in these chaotic and divisive times.
The examples of Taizé and Iona have demonstrated anew how quiet, contemplative prayer (connected to a life of service) invites, draws and challenges us to be healing and prophetic communities of caring and solidarity with the world and God’s people. This sectional will also offer resources and songs to prepare and lead contemplative worship.
James Thompson, Sponsor In Memory of Chiu-Tuan Chen & Bao-Hui Tung
The Siraya language, as an endangered indigenous language of Taiwan, is undergoing a journey from "death" of cultural memory to "rebirth" of faith in practice. This session centers on the newly published The Lord Our Refuge: A Modern Worship Hymnal of the now thriving Siraya Musuhapa movement. The presenter will share a true narrative of transforming the sorrow of near linguistic extinction into communal hope, which particularly emerged from personal reflections during the pandemic—grappling with a father's cancer-related passing and cultural, generational loss. What transpired was a grassroots movement that integrates prayer, composition, translation, choral arrangement, and worship leadership.
Participants will experience at least three contemporary Siraya hymns presented through a short talk, demonstration musicking, and congregational singing. These works carry theological significance and demonstrate how biblical passages, language, and music intertwine to transform experiences of "death" into testimonies of "rebirth." Integrating perspectives from ethnomusicology and practical theology, this session proposes a concrete and transferable model that assists multicultural communities in creating "new songs" enabling worship into action that renews life and faith.
Chia-An (Victor) Tung, originally from Tainan City, Taiwan, is a Doctor of Ministry candidate at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. His research explores the ethnographic study of Chinese Christian diaspora communities in Toronto and Newfoundland, as well as the influence of... Read More →
On the rare occasions when the church’s music engages with the non-human world, other beings in God’s creation are typically treated as objects to sing about, rather than fellow worshipers to sing with. For example, most “creation hymns” extol the goodness of God’s creation (e.g., “All things bright and beautiful”) or, more recently, lament the human desecration of God’s creation with calls for creation care (e.g., “Touch the earth lightly”). Very few explicitly unite human singers with the rest of creation as fellow worshipers of God (“All creatures worship God most high” being a notable exception). What would it sound like to sing with all creation more intentionally? This session builds on the theological insight that all creation worships God and that human expressions of worship should be integrally connected to this universal song of praise. From ancient sources, such as Psalm 148 and the Benedicite, to contemporary resources, this practical workshop explores ways to join our voices with the non-human world in praise and prayer. It also points to gaps in the church’s repertoire of song where songwriters and worship leaders can experiment with creative new ways to sing with all creation.
Carl Bear is a scholar and practitioner of music and worship. He studied church music at Valparaiso University (BM), musicology at Arizona State University (MA), religion and music at Yale Divinity School and Institute of Sacred Music (MAR), and liturgical studies at the Graduate... Read More →
Wednesday July 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT Stuart 6
This sectional explores the theology of hymns—both past and present—that offer a strong foundation for the church's resistance to Christian nationalism. As this ideology threatens the faithfulness of congregations and the integrity of democracy, singing becomes a powerful act of defiance against harmful ideologies and the systemic issues of racism, authoritarianism, and Christo-fascism.
Participants will explore modern and traditional hymns, highlighting theological views that unite the church in its prophetic witness for an inclusive and courageous understanding of Jesus Christ. As the language of the church and Scripture is increasingly used to undermine human rights and replace a theology of abundance with narratives of fear, the hymns we sing become deeply meaningful.
This session complements Andreas Teich's 2025 presentation on how German Christians manipulated hymnody to support the Third Reich. In contrast, this workshop focuses on the church's role in resisting the rise of Christian nationalism today, highlighting hymns that promote justice and uphold the dignity of all people.
Stephen M. Fearing is a hymnwriter, and a pastor in the Prebyterian Church (USA). He recently earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, focusing on the positive effects of congregational singing on prophetic preaching and fostering unity within... Read More →
A note for in-person attendees: During our closing banquet, we are excited that our songwriter in residence, Ken Medema, will be premiering his 50th anniversary edition of his "Tree Song." We need a pickup choir to help him premiere it. If you'd like to join that choir, you will be provided a practice track ahead of time and there will be one brief rehearsal* with Ken to prepare on site at Princeton.
Braxton D. Shelley is the George Washington Williams Professor of Music, of Sacred Music, and of Divinity at Yale University, where he is also faculty director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Music and the Black Church. A specialist in African American popular music, his research... Read More →
