The Sounding Spirit Singing School will be held on April 4 and 5, 2025, at the Pitts Theology Library at Emory University. A celebration of the Sounding Spirit Digital Library, the Singing School will feature volumes from this groundbreaking collection of over 1,250 volumes of southern sacred vernacular song published between 1850 and 1925. The convening takes inspiration from its namesake, the singing school. Since the eighteenth century, singing schools have served communities and congregations exploring music pedagogy and practice independent of mainstream educational contexts. Often taught by a visiting instructor, singing schools teach people how to sing together while also serving as important social events for wide-ranging communities. The Sounding Spirit Singing School embraces these historical legacies and invites singers, scholars, and practitioners to learn and sing sacred music together.
The following tentative schedule for the Spring 2025 Sounding Spirit Singing School includes workshops, community singing sessions, scholarly roundtables, participatory evening hymn festivals, and food and fellowship in the spirit of dinner on the grounds tradition.
Friday, April 4, 2025
8:30–9:00 am
Morning Coffee (ECDS)
9:00–11:30 am
Metadata Workshop (ECDS)
Respondents: Lauren Klein (Emory University) and Anna Kijas (Tufts University)
12:00–1:30 pm
Buffet Lunch and Fellowship (Pitts)
Words of welcome from Emory University and the Sounding Spirit Collaborative
2:00–3:30 pm
Prelude Conversation (Pitts Conference Room)
Respondent: Monique Ingalls (Baylor University)
or
Exhibition Tour (Pitts Gallery)
3:30–4:00 pm
Afternoon Coffee (Pitts Conference Room)
4:00–5:30 pm
Four-Shape Singing School (Wesley Teaching Chapel)
Singing School Teacher: David Ivey (Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association)
5:30–7:30 pm
Dinner on your own (Atlanta)
7:30–9:00 pm
“New Book” Singing (Cannon Chapel)
Saturday, April 5, 2025
8:00–8:30 am
Morning Coffee (ECDS)
8:30–10:30 am
Technical Workshop (ECDS)
Participants: Kay-Michael Würzner (State and University Library Dresden), Sarah Dorpinghaus (University of Kentucky), and Diana Folsom (Gilcrease Museum; member, Choctaw Nation)
or
Rose Library Tour
10:30 am–12:00 pm
Choral Singing School
Singing School Teacher: Derrick Fox (Michigan State University)
12:00–1:30 pm
Buffet Lunch and Fellowship (Pitts)
Keynote Address: Derrick Fox
2:00–3:30 pm
Prelude Conversation (Pitts Conference Room)
Respondent: Doug Harrison (New York University)
or
Exhibition Tour (Pitts Gallery)
3:30–4:00 pm
Afternoon Coffee (Pitts Conference Room)
4:00–5:30 pm
Gospel/Holiness Singing School (Wesley Teaching Chapel)
5:30–7:30 pm
Dinner on your own (Atlanta)
7:30–9:00 pm
Gospel Singing (Location TBA)
