Thursday, November 15, 2007

Warm Welcome to a New Faculty Member



Official VTS Press Release:

Alexandria, VA – The Very Rev. Ian Markham, dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), announced today that the Board of Trustees has elected Dr. William Bradley Roberts to the faculty of the Seminary, as Associate Professor of Church Music. Roberts comes to Virginia Seminary from St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., where he currently serves as the Director of Music Ministry. Roberts will begin teaching in January of 2008.

The Search Committee consisted of Dean and President Ian Markham, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Tim Sedgwick, Associate Dean for Community Life Marge McNaughton-Ayers, emeritus faculty member Ray Glover, and faculty members Katherine Grieb and Tony Lewis. Out of 45 applicants, two finalists returned to the campus to meet with the search committee, faculty, and student body representatives. Following these visits, Ian Markham presented the name of William Roberts to the Board of Trustees and they approved his appointment.

Roberts presently teaches the required course in church music at VTS. Previously he taught at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary and Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky where he was exposed to the inner workings of seminary education. He has a wealth of experience as a conductor and program builder in various congregations. Before coming to St. John’s in 2002, Roberts served as the Director of Music at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona, one of the largest Episcopal churches in the United States with a national reputation for its choirs and music programs.

Dr. Roberts is a composer and has contributed to hymnal and liturgical resources, including Wonder, Love and Praise, Enriching Our Music, and with the Lutheran Church A New Psalter, With One Voice, and Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

As a scholar he has published articles on topics such as women composers of church music, music in the French monastic communities of Taizé and Solesmes, and worship at “The Church of the Presidents.” Dr. Roberts has served broadly in the Episcopal Church, including serving as chair of the Standing Commission on Church Music, as chair and founding board member of the Leadership Program for Musicians, as board member of the Anglican Musicians’ Seminary Music Initiative, and as board member of the Anglican Musicians’ Mentoring Project. Roberts received a doctor of music arts (DMA) in conducting and voice from Southern Seminary in Louisville.

Virginia Theological Seminary is the largest of the 11 accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church and was founded in 1823. The school prepares men and women, representing more than 40 different dioceses and 9 different countries, for service in the Church, both as ordained and lay ministers, and offers a number of professional degree programs and diplomas.

1 Comments:

Blogger Eliz F said...

This is WONDERFUL news! I had him last year for church music, and he was outstanding.

Thu Nov 15, 11:03:00 PM GMT-5  

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