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Moravian Music Foundation

Moravian Music Foundation

Preserving, Sharing, and Celebrating Moravian Musical Culture

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Celebrating Excellence


All are invited to leave a message to Nola or Gwyn in the comments, below.


Timeline of the Transition

Announcement of Retirement

Dear Friend of the Moravian Music Foundation,

Leadership is core to the essence and success of unique organizations. Strong leaders create an environment for its direction and depth. The Moravian Music Foundation has been fortunate to have had many core leaders among our directors who have guided the Foundation, brought vision to our musical world, and connected with our supporters and friends.

I am writing to announce the upcoming retirement in August 2022 of two such exceptional leaders within our organization: Rev. Dr. Nola Reed Knouse, Director, and Gwyneth Michel, Assistant Director. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for the dedication of Nola and Gwyn, who have served 30 years and 15 years, respectively. We congratulate them on the achievements of long and productive careers and wish them well as they transition to a well-deserved retirement. We have been blessed by the work they have done and the direction they have set for the Foundation. Please visit our website, moravianmusic.org/celebrating-excellence, for a more comprehensive overview of their amazing accomplishments.

Through Nola’s and Gwyn’s leadership and your support, the Foundation has continued to preserve, share, and celebrate our unique Moravian musical life, which has become such a strong part of our faith and worship. Change is inevitable, but the vision of the Foundation will continue under the direction of new leadership. We will embark on a rigorous national search over the next few months. We are fortunate to be able to build on the strong history of the Foundation as we continue to preserve, share, and celebrate the music of the Moravians.

Sincerely yours,
G. Randall Gibbs, President
Moravian Music Foundation Board of Trustees

Celebrating Excellence

The achievements of the Moravian Music Foundation are a direct result of having the right people, with a high level of experience and expertise.
No two people better exemplify excellence than our director and assistant director,
who have served 30 years and 15 years, respectively.

Rev. Nola Reed Knouse, Ph.D.

Rev. Nola Reed Knouse, Ph.D.

Director
Winston-Salem office

Gwyneth Michel

Gwyneth Michel

Assistant Director
Bethlehem office


Career Accomplishments:
The Rev. Nola R. Knouse, Ph.D.

Nola began her service at the Moravian Music Foundation as Director of Research and Programs in June of 1992,
and became Director in March of 1994.

During her tenure, the Foundation has:

  • microfilmed the music holdings in Bethlehem and Winston-Salem (1996-1998);
  • designed, built, and occupied the Archie K. Davis Center, housing the Moravian Archives (Southern Province) and Moravian Music Foundation (dedicated in September 2001);
  • converted the library/archival card catalog to electronic records and uploaded to worldcat.org (searchable worldwide) – the GemeinKat project;
  • begun a robust series of CD recordings of Moravian music, now being made available for streaming;
  • launched the Moravian Star Anthem Series, with over 100 Moravian anthems published, about 1/3 of which are by living Moravian composers;
  • maintained a lending library of out-of-print music
  • provided music editing services for the 1995 Moravian Book of Worship;
  • published Moravian Chorales and Music, Volume 2 – the “blue” band chorale books;
  • published Singing from the Heart and Sing to the Lord a New Song in collaboration with IBOC;
  • held annual “Music on the Mountain” Moravian Music Weekends at Laurel Ridge and other music weekends, workshops, etc.;
  • assumed full responsibility and “ownership” of Moravian Music Festivals from the provinces;
  • sponsored the 3rd Unity Brass Festival in Winston-Salem, hosting musicians from around the world (2018);
  • established a permanent Bethlehem office for the Moravian Music Foundation;
  • presented monthly musical and historical lectures in partnership with the Moravian Archives;
  • created and expanded a vital online presence;
  • created and shared numerous educational videos, including lectures, concerts, and instructional;
  • welcomed researchers, students, musicians from around the world to tour and use the archival collections;
  • supported two performing vocal ensembles, Unitas Chorale and Moramus Chorale;
  • collaborated with countless churches and musical groups presenting concerts or recording Moravian music.


To the extent that time allowed, Nola Knouse has continued scholarly work, editing and writing:
The Music of the Moravian Church in America (published 2008),
and nearing completion of:
Preserving, Sharing, Celebrating;
A History of the Moravian Music Foundation.


Nola has affirmed that all of these things could happen only with a great staff and a supportive Board of Trustees, recognizing that it takes a group of dedicated and gifted people to do things like these, and MMF has been richly blessed, in both the staff members and the Board. The trustees also all agree with Nola that none of these things could have happened without our donors and friends.


Career Accomplishments:
Gwyneth Michel

Gwyn has served as Assistant Director (Bethlehem Office) since November of 2007.
Arriving at MMF after 30 years in the music publishing industry, the Foundation has benefited greatly from her extensive skills and experience as a music editor and producer. As the sole staff member in Bethlehem, she has gracefully managed a variety of administrative responsibilities there, and has been the primary point of contact with the Moravian Church (Northern Province) and the Moravian Archives (Northern Province).

During her tenure, she has:

  • edited and produced all the Foundation’s publications and recordings since 2007;
  • conducted the Unitas Chorale since 2012;
  • presented a plethora of workshops in congregations and musical organizations;
  • lectured and guided students at Moravian Theological Seminary, Moravian University, and Rollins College;
  • devoted countless hours to work on Moravian Music Festivals;
  • been quite active in the re-establishment of a children’s program in Moravian Music Festivals beginning in 2013, which was the first children’s program at a Festival since 1992.
  • assisted greatly throughout the catalog-conversion project – GemeinKat project;
  • provided invaluable work with all of the Foundation’s other projects;
  • represented MMF at many provincial and district synods, often involved in worship planning and leadership;
  • represented North American Moravians at international conferences, festivals, meetings, missions, etc.
  • spearheaded the denominational recording sessions in response to the COVID-9 crisis, providing a great many hymns available online for congregational use;
  • maintained a lending library of out-of-print music
  • published Singing from the Heart and Sing to the Lord a New Song in collaboration with IBOC;
  • led or assisted with the annual “Music on the Mountain” Moravian Music Weekends at Laurel Ridge and other music weekends, workshops, etc.;
  • welcomed researchers, students, musicians from around the world to tour and use the archival collections;
  • collaborated with countless churches and musical groups presenting concerts or recording Moravian music.

As the sole staff member in Bethlehem, Gwyn has gracefully managed a variety of administrative responsibilities there, and cultivated a productive symbiotic relationship with the Moravian Archives (Northern Province), where the MMF office and collections reside, as well as with Moravian University, Theological Seminary, area arts and historical organizations, and with the leadership and agencies of the Moravian Church (Northern Province).


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hank says

    November 2, 2021 at 7:00 pm

    What an honor to work with both of these ladies, to learn from their knowledge and to benefit from their professionalism. They have shared their talents, their love of music, and their love of God. Many blessings as you transition to new beginnings.

    Reply
  2. Deb Zimmer says

    December 21, 2021 at 8:36 am

    You will both be sorely missed. Your talent will be greatly missed. Nola, you have inspired me many times to play my flute in church. I actually volunteered to sing “Morning Star” Christmas Eve in church with my cousin Madison. I wake up every morning and hit myself in the head saying “what were you thinking!!!!” I haven’t sung a solo in church in years! I’ll probably pass out! Madison will just look at me and continue to sing. She’s just like her Dad, nothing fazes them. 🙂 The best part about retirement……no alarm clock!!!!! Wishing you both all the best.

    Reply
  3. Mary Marie Quigley says

    January 13, 2022 at 8:30 pm

    Gwyn, I’ve known you for 40 years – gasp! Working with you at Harold Flammer/GlorySound was an honor. Then our friendship developed and you introduced me to the Moravian Church and your parents and your relatives in Bethlehem. You introduced me to the Moravian traditions and music. Little did I know that I’d later move to Bethlehem myself and become a Moravian! You have enriched the Moravian church music tradition with your excellence and enriched my life as my friend. Happy retirement. You’ve earned it!

    Reply
  4. Martha Cox Popichak says

    January 26, 2022 at 6:41 pm

    To Nola and Gwyn,

    It is with great respect and admiration I can only say, WELL DONE!
    I am in awe of your many accomplishments! Your expertise and dedication in the area of church music, especially with devotion to Moravian music, has been such a gift to so many. The time and effort you have each dedicated to the advancement of Moravian music and appreciation for it has been nothing short of stellar! It has always been a profound pleasure to be part of your musical endeavors. From pickup choir for hymn singing (and recordings) to glorious concerts in the present, it is a joy to be with you both. All the very best in whatever lies ahead.

    Reply
  5. Derek French says

    March 30, 2022 at 5:02 pm

    Nola and Gwyn,

    Thank you for your tireless work on behalf of Moravian Music and the broader church. I have enjoyed and been blessed by both of you through friendship and collaboration.

    May God richly prosper your future endeavors and pastimes.

    Reply

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WINSTON-SALEM OFFICE at the ARCHIE K. DAVIS CENTER

457 South Church St.
Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Phone: (336) 725-0651
Email: info@moravianmusic.org

BETHLEHEM OFFICE at the MORAVIAN ARCHIVES

41 West Locust St
Bethlehem, PA 18018

Phone: (610) 866-3340

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Other resources at MMF:

  • Reference library: the Peter Memorial Library in Winston-Salem
  • Irving Lowens Collection of early American tunebooks and songbooks, in Winston-Salem
  • An extensive international collection of hymnals (mostly Moravian) in many languages, dating to the 16th century, in Winston-Salem

 
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ArchivGrid

ArchiveGrid                         LINK

This is a collection of over 7,000,000 archival descriptions, including documents, personal papers, family histories, and other archival materials held in about 1,500 archival institutions. ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials, but who may not know exactly where to go to find them. MMF’s finding aids can be discovered through ArchiveGrid. For an example, go to https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/help/; type in the search box (upper right) “Bethlehem congregation” and the first thing you will find is MMF’s finding aid for the Bethlehem Congregation Collection, and also related collections and suggested search terms (Lancaster, Dover, Lititz, etc.), linked to those finding aids on the MMF website.

Finding Aids

Individual Finding Aids       LINK

Guide: Arranged by Collection          LINK

The archival holdings of MMF are divided into collections. (some in Bethlehem, some in Winston-Salem)

The finding aid for each collection is a “30,000-foot view” of the collection in its context. Each finding aid contains information about the size of the collection, how it was created, history of the community or key individuals involved in the collection, and a description of the contents.

A guide to the MMF collections is available at MoravianMusic.org:

For the individual finding aids, see https://moravianmusic.org/category/finding-aids/
Then, click on any of the titles and read about that collection. When this work is completed, there will be a finding aid for every collection we hold.

RISM

RISM: Répertoire International des Sources Musicales    LINK

RISM, or International Inventory of Musical Sources, is an international, non-profit organization that aims to comprehensively document extant musical sources worldwide: manuscripts, printed music editions, writings on music theory, and libretti that are found in libraries, archives, churches, schools, and private collections.

The RISM Catalog of Musical Sources contains over 1.2 million records and can be searched at no cost. Early western music from 1600 through to the early 19th century is included.    https://rism.info/de/search.html

RISM was founded in Paris in 1952 and is the largest and only global organization that documents written musical sources. RISM records what exists and where it can be found. RISM is where scholars go when they are looking for music manuscripts or early prints around the world. RISM entries include the musical incipits – the first phrase or so of music – to enable identification of a specific piece of music (which setting of “Sing to the Lord a New Song” is this?).

GemeinKat

GemeinKat is the MMF digital catalog on WorldCat.org    LINK

“GemeinKat” is the name given to MMF’s project to upload new and enhanced digital records to the OCLC and RISM databases. We have used the name “GemeinKat” as our umbrella term for the entire project, involving Backstage Library Works, OCLC, WorldCat, and RISM and the work of cataloging; also, the creation of the digital records and the creation of finding aids.

GemeinKat is available to the public, on the internet, at moravianmusic.on.worldcat.org and is a WorldCat Discovery catalog, developed by OCLC, a nonprofit organization that provides services to thousands of libraries worldwide. Through WorldCat, users have the potential to access more than 1.8 billion items in libraries around the world.

GemeinKat itself is: the bibliographic records for each manuscript, book, or printed music item found in MMF holdings.
These archival holdings are grouped by collections and physically reside in either the Bethlehem or Winston-Salem archive (sometimes in both).
For a description, see the MMF website: https://moravianmusic.org/gemeinkat-catalog/.

WorldCat.org: to search the catalog, go to https://moravianmusic.on.worldcat.org/discovery. You can search by composer, title, collection, or any number of other keywords; just go try!

OCLC (Online Computer Library Center): the collective of organization(s) that built the online database called WorldCat. It is now owned by Backstage Library Works.

Timeline of the Transition

The current plan (subject to change and adjustments, of course) is shared here, and will be updated.

How it works; who hires whom?

A. The MMF Board of Trustees hires the Executive Director. 
B. The Executive Director hires the Asst. Director and other MMF staff.

The Plan

1. Nola and Gwyn will retire, effective the end of August, 2022.

2. The Board is currently searching and accepting applications for Executive Director.

3. A new Executive Director will be named by summer and will be in place by mid-July, 2022.
The new Director would then be able to experience Festival and spend up to 6 weeks with the current Director.

4. An interim Asst. Director will be hired by summer and will overlap with the current Asst. Director.
This position will be 2-days a week to finish out the 2022 calendar year, while the new Director considers applicants for Asst. Director.

5. Assistant Director opening will be posted in the fall of 2022.

6. A new Asst. Director will be hired by the new ED and should be in place to start as of Jan. 1, 2023.

We are open for business!

…however, we prefer you make an appointment to visit the WINSTON-SALEM office in-person, and follow the guidelines, below.

336-725-0651

We request visitors follow these requirements:

  • Researchers must call or email to make an appointment. Walk-in researchers will not be admitted.
  • There will be a limit of 3 persons in the research room at a time (including MMF and Archives researchers).
  • Masks required for ALL.
  • Researchers are required to bring their own writing materials (pencils & paper).

 

For shopping, when convenient, please order items on the MMF website. We can leave them at the door for pick-up or ship to you.

For anthem and lending library requests, research inquiries, and other inquiries,
you are welcome to send an email to info@moravianmusic.org or sales@moravianmusic.org
or, for research, dave@moravianmusic.org
or directly to any of the staff, using this pattern: [first name]@moravianmusic.org

We Are Open for Business!

…however, you must make an appointment to visit the BETHLEHEM office in-person. Masks, distancing, and limits of occupancy are mandated.  

610-866-3340

For shopping, when convenient, please order items on the MMF website. We can leave them at the door for pick-up or ship to you.

For anthem and lending library requests, research inquiries, and other inquiries,
you are welcome to send an email to info@moravianmusic.org or sales@moravianmusic.org or
directly to any of the staff, using this pattern: [first name]@moravianmusic.org

A recent inquiry to MMF - Subject: Copyright/Streaming

 

Dear MMF,

I have a question about copyright and streaming. We have CCLI license and streaming license at my church, but it does not cover many pieces for organ. Would the ASCAP license provide that protection for us to stream and include copyrighted organ music? I’ve read their website, and it seems like it would.  https://www.ascap.com/music-users/types/church-or-ministry

Thanks!

____________________________________________________

Dear Worship Leader,

We have been instructing folks to follow CCLI and OneLicense guidelines, which, as you discovered, unfortunately, rarely cover instrumental/keyboard music.

Yes, it appears as though ASCAP offers a “WorshipCast” streaming license, which is set up in much the same manner as CCLI and OneLicense licenses – i.e., the fee structure is based on worship attendance:

https://apps.christiancopyrightsolutions.com/purchase-license.aspx?svc=wc

A quick click brought up this fee structure:
1 – 199 (in attendance): $284.00
200 – 499 (in attendance): $424.00 (obviously it goes up from here)

Some further good news – the WorshipCast license offered above is controlled by Christian Copyright Solutions (a division of CCLI, and it appears as though purchase of this license would allow you to broadcast both ASCAP and BMI titles, opening up even more possibilities.

I don’t think, however, that this license includes SESAC titles; thus, if you wished to perform anything under the SESAC umbrella (Dan Gawthrop, for instance), you would need to approach that entity directly for a license:

https://www.sesac.com/#!/

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Blessings to you in your music ministry!

Gwyneth Michel, Assistant Director, Moravian Music Foundation      – – (with edits by Erik S.)

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Internships at MMF

The Moravian Music Foundation welcomes students for internships.
Both college (or higher) and high school levels may be accommodated.
Some projects require no musical experience; others require ability to read music and understand orchestral scores/parts.

Internship Opportunities

Archie K Davis Center

Construction began on the building in the fall of 1999, and the facility was completed and occupied in July 2001. In September 2001, the building was dedicated as the Archie K. Davis Center. More about the man, the building, and a quick, visual tour of our beautiful home.

The Archie K. Davis Center