Zoom update!

The most recent, as of this writing, is 5.12.0

If you have any problems getting the update, please contact Dianne at dianne.becht@emory.edu for more information.





Lunch Colloquium -- Monday, October 3, 2022

“The Courage to Build: Black Religion and the Development of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)”

Marla Frederick

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Religion and Culture, 

Candler School of Theology

Religion scholars have long framed black religion as a paradigm that sits along a continuum between protest and accommodation. While the paradigm has been challenged as too binary, not giving space for nuance, overlap, and change over time, the fundamental idea that black religion embodies at least in part some element of protest remains. In his canonical book Black Religion and Black Radicalism, for example, Gayraud Wilmore frames black radicalism almost exclusively in terms of faith-inspired slave revolts and the movements for civil rights and black power. Education, as protest, as radical, as counter to the established order, rarely shows up. In this presentation, Marla Frederick will reframe our understanding of the building of black educational institutions by black religious organizations (and white religious structures) as radical, counter-cultural, and central to the pursuit of justice sought by black religious leaders. Furthermore, she will contend that the ongoing struggle for their full and equitable funding is part and parcel of the ongoing work toward justice we face today. 

About Marla Frederick:

Dr. Marla F. Frederick has been the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Religion and Culture since 2019. As a leading ethnographer, she uses an interdisciplinary approach to probe the intersections of religion, race, gender, media, politics, and economics. Her focus has been on the African American religious experience, examining the relationships between religion and economics and media. More recently, she has focused on the sustainability of Black institutions in the current environment. After completing her undergraduate degree at Spelman College and PhD at Duke University, she held fellowships at Duke, Princeton, and Harvard/Radcliffe Universities. Later, she became a fellow at the Louisville Institute. She has published numerous articles and chapters in books and has authored or co-authored multiple books, the latest Televised Redemption: Black Religious Media and Racial Empowerment, which examines how Black Christians, Muslims, and Hebrew Israelites use media for the “redemption” of the race. Her work has earned her major awards and significant recognition from her fellow scholars, as when she was elected president of the American Academy of Religion in 2021. She has been a prolific lecturer, panelist, and discussant across an array of platforms, including the AJC, NPR, and the Religion News Service. And we might finally note that in 2020, she was invited to give the Commencement Convocation address here at Emory.



Lunch Colloquium - Monday, October 17, 2022

“Exploring the Magic of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier”

Timothy Albrecht

Professor Emeritus of Music

PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE

Zoom Lunch Colloquium

10:00 - 11:30 am

Hybrid Session

Zoom and in-person at Governors Hall in the Miller Ward Alumni House

This past June, when Candler faculty members raised a glass to toast Timothy Albrecht’s retirement, the guest of honor couldn’t attend. He was on sabbatical in Vienna, finishing his latest book, Exploring the Magic of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, and preparing to lecture and perform at the Italian Bach Society Conference in Turin, Italy. He is home again now, and on October 17, in the lovely venue of Governors’ Hall in the Miller-Ward Alumni House, he will lecture and perform for us, his Emory friends and colleagues. He will share his passion for this extraordinary collection of preludes and fugues, illustrating Bach’s pedagogical genius by playing some Well-Tempered selections and demonstrating and discussing the “magic” that has made them so much admired down through the ages since they were first composed.

About Timothy Albrecht:

The Candler faculty gathered in June to celebrate Timothy Albrecht's retirement and the four decades plus in which Emory has been blessed with the creative and scholarly contributions of this extraordinary man. Here we quote some excerpts from the article that Stacy Pelletier (98T, 07G) wrote about that occasion.

Ambidextrous and graced with perfect pitch, a young Albrecht first studied piano under Eastern European musician Eugenia Prekosh. He earned his undergraduate degree from Oberlin and his doctorate and performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music. In 1982, he joined Emory in a rare triple appointment, as assistant professor of music at Emory College of Arts and Sciences, assistant professor of church music at Candler School of Theology, and university organist.

Three roles in one would overwhelm most fledgling faculty members. Not Albrecht. He embraced the challenge, spending the next four decades enriching the Emory community while simultaneously carving out a formidable international reputation as an organist and composer/arranger. . . . Albrecht’s recitals have taken him from Alaska to the Andes, from Taiwan to Texas. He taught master classes for numerous chapters of the American Guild of Organists in multiple countries and at The Juilliard School. His playing has been featured many times on “Pipe Dreams,” a syndicated radio program that brought his singular style into the homes of classical music lovers around the country. . . . He wrote twelve volumes of Grace Notes for Organ [and] produced nine solo compact discs.

As university organist, he oversaw the permanent installation of three organs on campus—the Casavant organ in Glenn Memorial, the Taylor and Boody organ in the Little Chapel, and the Jaeckel organ in the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center. Albrecht managed these multi-year projects with careful attention to detail, assiduously working with the organ builders to achieve perfection. Step into any one of these spaces on the Emory campus today, and you’ll be witnessing—and hearing—Albrecht’s meticulous legacy.

He applied that same meticulous eye to advancing new programs. Over twenty-five years, Albrecht helped develop what came to be called Reformation Day at Emory, an annual scholarly and musical event drawing on the impressive holdings of the Kessler Reformation Collection at Candler’s Pitts Theology Library. Albrecht’s specific role entailed leading the Kessler Reformation concerts, gracefully weaving together Bach compositions, the theology of Martin Luther, and student choral engagement to widespread praise. 

[Generations of students have spoken feelingly of the transformative effects of studying with Albrecht, especially in his] signature course, “Bach for Pastors: Preaching Bach’s Musical Theology.” [Mark Johnson (22T) has said,] “His insights and, more importantly, his passion, utterly transformed the way I view Bach's work and the way it quite purposefully glorifies God.” Johnson describes Albrecht as a rare combination of extraordinary talent and unfailing kindness.

[Albrecht’s colleagues have said much the same sort of thing, as, for example, in remarks Dean Jan Love offered at the conclusion of the Candler retirement party:] “What an honor and privilege I’ve had in being the dean of a school where one of the world’s finest musicians has served for 40 years,” she says. “Timothy Albrecht’s talent, accomplishments, generosity, and profound faith commitment have been remarkable gifts to us all and a deep well of inspiration.”

Of course, in concluding our own remarks, we should note that in retirement, Timothy is not in fact leaving Emory but is transitioning into the new (but still vital) relationship with the colleagues of his home institution that all members of the Emeritus College enjoy. We welcome him among us—and look forward to spending many more years in his inspiring company.

 

Additional Information:

Recordings of Timothy’s Well-Tempered Clavier sessions can be viewed on YouTube. 

To view, click on the links below:

Timothy Albrecht: Well-Tempered Clavier I (Part One) – September 27, 2020

Timothy Albrecht: Well-Tempered Clavier I (Part Two) – March 21, 2021

Timothy Albrecht: Well-Tempered Clavier II (Selections) – September 12, 2021

Timothy Albrecht, Professor Emeritus of Music, recently published the book, Exploring the Magic of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier I and II: Short Notes for Performers and Listeners.

The book can be purchased through Amazon Kindle using this link.

Save the Date -- EUEC 20th Anniversary Celebration

SAVE THE DATE: Friday, November 4, 4:30-6pm

Sapere Aude, celebrating 20 years

of the Emeritus College

A program of memories in person and images

Delicious food, drink, and reconnection in the beautiful

Lawrence P. and Ann Estes Klamon Room

8^th floor - Claudia Nance Rollins Building,

Emory School of Public Health

Parking is easily accessible and free after 4:00 pm in the Michael Street Deck

(detailed directions provided after registration opens in October)

The title theme of our celebration is the Latin phrase, SAPERE AUDE (sah-PAIR-ay OW-day), which means “Dare to know” or "Dare to be wise" taken from Horace and later declared by Kant to be the motto of the Enlightenment.

GA-HERO News

Our Emory Emeritus College is a member of GA-HERO [Georgia Association of Higher Education Retirement Organizations]. Holly York is our delegate to GA-HERO and for the next two years, Marilynne McKay is Co-President of the group (with Missy Cody of GA State). An important initiative for GA-HERO is developing better communication between the eleven member institutions spread throughout Georgia. To that end, we are instituting meet-up events on different campuses. The first of these will be in Cartersville, GA, a small town 40 miles northwest of Atlanta.

GA-HERO Meet-Up 2022

Welcome Back to the World

November 3, 2022

Cartersville, GA

This year Travel Magazine named Cartersville one of the 15 best small towns to visit in the USA for its museum-rich resources, also recognizing it as a gateway to Atlanta and to the north Georgia mountains. This makes it an ideal spot for cultural, sports and outdoor enthusiasts. It’s the smallest town in the USA with two Smithsonian Affiliate museums--the Booth Western Art Museum and the Tellus Science Museum--along with the new Savoy Automobile Museum. Come to the meet-up and visit 1, 2 or 3 museums. This is a pay-on-your-own meet-up, but you’ll be with retiree friends and colleagues for a lunch and program during your visit. Cartersville starts its holiday celebration that evening and restaurants and stores will have special events while people stroll in the historic town center. On November 4 the Cartersville Christmas Village begins and you’ll be able to shop that morning and still make it back to Atlanta for the Emeritus 20th anniversary celebration that afternoon. More information to come—save the date!

The "book lockers" pictured in the last issue can be found at (of course!) the Woodruff Library on the main campus.  As mentioned before, these lockers were created for the pandemic to replace in-person visits to the library. They are located just across from the main entrance to the library. 

For more information about the lockers, please click here. 

I’ve also supplied a couple of extra photos below to give you an idea of where to find them.  



The weather is still warm and mostly rain-free, so let’s stay outside….well, sort of.  To get to this place you must go inside one of the buildings on campus in order to go outside on the patio/balcony.  The view (and what a view it is!!!) can actually be seen both inside and outside of this particular room. 

Where will you find this on the Emory campus?