was officially installed as Adams professor of music and worship at 蜜桃传媒 in a day that featured the college choir, orchestra and chapel band performing music from the Psalms, Felix Mendelssohn and rock band U2.
As part of the , President Gayle D. Beebe urged Reichwald to be a faithful colleague, a thoughtful professor and a caring friend. 鈥淲e ask you to continue to bring to life those voices from the past who can speak so eloquently to our present through their music,鈥� Beebe said. 鈥淪ometimes this will be through the presentation of great works of music. Other times it will be the scholarship you bring that helps us understand. And still other times you will lift our hearts and minds to eternity. Ultimately, we're asking you to set a tone that elevates the human spirit, and helps bring us into the presence of God.鈥�
s, an affiliate faculty member of the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, said she felt gratitude for 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 commitment and support of the arts. 鈥淭his is so rare today,鈥� she said. 鈥淢any universities are cutting the arts and the humanities left and right. And yet today, we are here celebrating music.鈥�
In her charge, she explored why Christians are not only called to sing, but often encouraged and commanded to sing throughout the Psalms. 鈥淲e sing for one another, but we also sing to praise God and we spiritually form and care for one another as we sing,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e become the Body of Christ as we sing. So, I say again with the psalmist, 鈥楽ing to the Lord, a New Song.鈥欌��
Reichwald, who replaced inaugural Adams professor Michael Shasberger in fall 2022, earned a doctorate in musicology and a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from Florida State University. He teaches History of Western Music and is a member of the chapel team.
In his keynote address, 鈥�,鈥� Reichwald described hearing a spiritual dimension to String Quintet No. 2 and remembering a conversation between Eugene Peterson and Bono. 鈥淚 have learned how I might listen to Mendelssohn鈥檚 late chamber music with new ears,鈥� Reichwald said. Bono had said that the psalmist is brutally honest about the explosive joy he鈥檚 feeling or the deep sorrow and confusion. And Bono asked why church music isn鈥檛 more like that.
鈥淢endelssohn鈥檚 last two chamber works have Psalm-like qualities, offering honest expression of grief and joy,鈥� Reichwald said. 鈥淭he complexity and nuance allow us to engage with their topic emotionally and intellectually and invite us to experience their rich content in community. May we take advantage of the gifts of Psalms and Psalm settings in our daily lives, individually and as a community, and learn how to walk honestly with God.鈥�
Reichwald鈥檚 latest publication, 鈥�,鈥� is due to be released in November.