Katie Graber, musicology, will present "Sing with me: Mennonite music and entrenched systems of power." This lecture is co-sponsored by The Ohio State University Libraries and the Center for the Study of Religion.
This lecture will explore how Mennonite music clarifies some musicological discussions about the interrelatedness of musical belonging, composer diversity, cultural appropriation, and musical elitism. Mennonite music makes a good case study because we can frame questions around Mennonite Church USA’s official membership and its repertoire bound in the denominational hymnal Voices Together. Of course, church membership shifts, and the hymnal’s contents of 750 songs does not include the whole of Mennonite musical practice. However, with those caveats, I will discuss the use of hymn singing in the LGBTQ inclusion movement and how those questions about musical diversity mirrored questions engaged by the Voices Together committee. I will also explore the reasons that Voices Together’s final contents still favors white male composers and writers.
Hosted by the OSU Department of Music. For the full event listing, go to their webpage.
