Moving Forward and Facing the Future in the Black Church Worship Experience. By Dr. Antonia M. Arnold-McFarland. EFlat Major Productions, 2018. 155pp. (softcover). Appendices. ISBN 9-781732-336506 By Bob Marovich An engineer by training, Dr. Antonia Arnold-McFarland earned certification in Six Sigma, a process improvement technique developed at Motorola in 1980. As a practitioner and consultant in music and worship arts ministry, she had an idea: what if the principles of Six Sigma and the A3 Methodology could be applied to improve the effectiveness of African American church music ministries? After all, people are people, whether in the church or on ...

Click on the image to your left to hear the latest episode of the Music Hour, where you can hear the music you read about on the Journal of Gospel Music.     Track Listing (in order of appearance): I’ll stick with Jesus – Mississippi Mass Choir I got better coming – LaVarnga Hubbard He delivered me – Pastor Marlon Lock #War – Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago Forever I will – Lonnie Hunter feat. Structure Just for me – Tim Spady feat. Jeff Murrell I know a man named Jesus – Shawn Brown & Da Boys Get right with ...

Damien Sneed Featuring the Levites Broken To Minister: The Deluxe Edition LeChateau Earl Records (release date: March 3, 2015) www.lechateauearl.com By Bob Marovich Recorded live in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2013, Broken To Minister: The Deluxe Edition builds on Damien Sneed and the Levites’ previously released Broken To Minister EP. The classically- and church-trained Sneed is a member of the orchestral school of gospel music populated by artists such as Richard Smallwood, Donald Lawrence, and the late Thomas Whitfield. In this school, lush, dense vocal harmonies combine with astute songwriting and arranging to present gospel music at its most contemporary while ...

JGM‘s Bob Marovich talks with the multi-talented Damien Sneed about his new CD, Broken to Minister – Deluxe Edition (release date: March 3), his appearance with Wynton Marsalis on the PBS program, “Everyone Has a Place,” spotlighting the Abyssinian Mass, his directorial debut at Carnegie Hall, and the relationship of classical and gospel music. Damien provides a music workshop in fifteen minutes!