Raise the Song

With technology, music has never been more constant. It is heard on phones and in waiting rooms, in coffee shops and on television. Despite such exposure, the number of people able to make music for themselves is dwindling. Classical Christian schools have a unique motivation to remedy this. Building a musically literate culture is foundational for the cultivation of beauty and the worship of God. Where better to start a generational overhaul than with classrooms full of our littlest worshipers?

The options for music training are many, but not equal. This book is designed to help the school administrator or music teacher sift through the pile and emerge with a vision and tools for building a flourishing classical Christian music program.

Contributing Authors:

• David R. Erb
• David Goodwin
• Jarrod Richey (General Editor)
• Steve Turley
• Kent Young

JARROD RICHEY has been teaching K4 through 12th-grade general music and choir classes at Geneva Academy in West Monroe, LA, since 2008. He is the founder and music director of the Delta Youth Chorale, a children's community choir that promotes music literacy through singing, folk dance, and activities in northeast Louisiana. Additionally, Mr. Richey previously taught voice, choir, and music appreciation classes at the University of Louisiana Monroe. He received his bachelor's degree at Louisiana Tech University before completing his Masters of Music at the University of Louisiana Monroe. Mr. Richey also completed his national Kodály music teacher certification from Wichita State University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Church Music and Worship at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. He is the Director of the New Saint Andrews Conservatory of Music at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho.
Additionally, he teaches solfege musicianship, folk-dancing, and folk song research and analysis courses each July-August for their Kodály music teacher training program (Chenaniah Summer Music Institute) at New Saint Andrews College. Mr. Richey is an active elementary and middle school choir clinician. He is the Jubilate Deo Summer Music Camp founder and director, a week-long choir and music camp open to kindergarten through first-year college students each June. Mr. Richey is the author of "BACH to the Future: Fostering Music Literacy Today" (2016). He is the general editor and contributing author to the ACCS publication "Raise the Song: A Classical Christian Guide to Music Education" (2019). Jarrod and his lovely wife, Sarah, have seven choristers in training ranging from age infant to 14.