Music, Liturgy, and the Making of Medieval Scotland
Today, Scotland’s patron saint, Andrew the Apostle, anchors Scottish national identity in an annual holiday on his feast day. But in the century leading up to the Scottish declaration of independence, the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, Saint Andrew’s significance expanded from that of a local saint to become the central figure in the foundation of Christianized Scotland. This lecture will feature the performance of medieval liturgical music made at the Cathedral of St Andrews to celebrate Saint Andrew’s relics, showing how liturgical music shaped history.
Reception to follow.
Please register to attend.
Kate Kennedy Steiner
Assistant Professor of Music & Director of Church Music and Worship
Kate Kennedy Steiner combines her interests in music, ritual practice, narrative history, and communal identity in her research on medieval music. She received an M.A.R. in liturgical studies at Yale Divinity School and a PhD at Princeton University with a dissertation on music and liturgy in medieval St Andrews, offering new insight into an important collection of medieval polyphony. Her published work includes an article on music for a Scottish saint in Plainsong and Medieval Music, and an edited volume of meditations on Scriptural songs, Come, Let us Sing to the Lord. She has held postdoctoral fellowships as a teaching scholar at Valparaiso University and as a Mellon Fellow at the Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies. As a professor of music at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, she teaches courses on music history, focusing on music making in social contexts. She also directs the Church Music and Worship program, teaching courses on Christian worship and music, directing the Chapel Choir at Conrad Grebel University College, and leading the Worship Apprenticeship Program.