Music
Hymn Festival to mark 500 years since Reformation
Muskingum University will commemorate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, an era that transformed the theological, cultural and socio-political trajectory of Western civilization, with a Hymn Festival on Sunday, Oct. 29 in the University’s Brown Chapel. Admission is free and open to the public, although an offering will be collected for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to benefit victims of recent natural disasters.
“In October 1517 at the University of Wittenberg, Germany, the Professor and Augustinian Priest Martin Luther prepared a list of 95 theses intended for academic debate. Five hundred years later, we mark that event as the genesis of the Protestant Reformation,” said Muskingum University Professor of Religion and Interim Provost Rev. Dr. Rick Nutt. “Our program will highlight the central theological tenets of the Reformation, while reflecting upon our hope for unity within all expressions of Christianity.”
A pre-concert talk by Rev. Dr. Nutt, beginning at 6:30 p.m., will provide the historical context of the Reformation and consider its implications for the world today. The Hymn Festival, a special musical program, will begin at 7 p.m.
During the Hymn Festival, the Muskingum University Concert Choir, Muskingum Valley Brass, guest organist Linda Kempke, and conductor Zebulon M. Highben will lead the audience in hymns old and new, augmented by choral and instrumental music from myriad cultures and eras. The Rev. Amanda Highben, the Rev. Dr. William E. Mullins and Father Donald Franks will share commentary and reflections.
For more information about the Hymn Festival, please contact the Muskingum University Department of Music at 740-826-8095.
