Music Resources​

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At WTS, we try to use a wide variety of music to aid our worship. We value diversity in style, theme, and origin (both synchronic and diachronic). We also value theological richness and liturgical purposefulness. For more about the theology of the musical culture we try to cultivate here, you are encouraged to read this short document, PIED Beauty: Principles for the Use of Music at Western Theological Seminary. 

 

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Like many worshipping communities, WTS has a "working repertoire" of songs that we use regularly in worship, and are familiar to a critical mass of folks who attend chapel. Many of these songs are already incorporated into the templates that can serve as a starting point for folks planning chapel worship. You can find a spreadsheet of that working repertoire HERE. The list includes classic hymns and re-tuned hymns, spirituals and coritos, revival songs and songs from the global church, CWM and songs from the liturgical renewal movement, as well as songs that have been written by members of our community. You are, of course, free to use songs in your service from just about any source, provided they are theologically and musically strong and are introduced hospitably. Your Chapel Steward can help you with this discernment.

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The files you will need to access all this music can be found in the gigantic (and daunting) WTS Chapel Music folder (GoogleDrive). It contains:

- Lead-sheet PDFs you can print out for musicians

- SATB/Piano PDFs you can print out for musicians

- Melody/Lyric PDFs you can insert into bulletins or presentations

- MP3s to send to musicians

- Musical engraving files -- from Sibelius (.SIB) and Finale (.MUS and .XML)

- Many many many more songs than are in the "working repertoire"

- Lots of duplicate files and deprecated files and random stuff – it's kind of a musical "junk drawer" TBH. 

 

You are STRONGLY encouraged to ask your Chapel Steward to help you navigate this folder.