Elegance in Music
An Interview with Scott Dettra, Precentor and Director of Music at the Church of the Incarnation, Dallas
Scott Dettra was appointed Director of Music in 2012 at Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, and Precentor in 2018. In this dual role, he is responsible for overseeing all musical and liturgical details for the traditional services, as well as directing the concert series and conducting Incarnatus, the parish’s resident concert choir. Acclaimed as one of the United States’ outstanding organ virtuosos, Dettra maintains an active recital schedule throughout the country. In addition to his work at Incarnation, he is a member of the faculty at Southern Methodist University, where he teaches organ and sacred music, and is organist of The Crossing, the multi-Grammy-winning professional chamber choir, based in Philadelphia. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he is an avid reader and a diehard fan of Philadelphia sports, especially the Phillies.
We’ve all experienced the power of music in worship: whether a congregational hymn or a chant offered by the choir. How can a congregation work to better understand and participate in the use of music in worship?
I think you’re exactly right to describe music as powerful. It’s one of God’s invisible creations we refer to in the Creed, and it has the power to thin the veil between heaven and earth. St. Augustine said, “he who sings prays twice,” a perfect description of how music elevates and perfects our prayers. That’s a key point for congregations to understand. Music in worship is not something to be consumed as at a concert; it doesn’t exist for the congregation’s entertainment. Rather, it lifts our worship to a new height, one unachievable in its absence. By no means is music essential to worship (although its use in worship is mentioned throughout the Bible), but who would argue that worship isn’t immediately more glorious when offered musically?
How do you approach working with lay musicians as compared to working with professional musicians?
My approach is not that different, really. The only difference is in the standard of excellence expected. Obviously professional musicians are able to achieve a higher standard than amateur ones. But my philosophy of church music is that we should offer the best music possible with the resources we have. In a parish with a small volunteer choir, the standard of musical excellence will understandably be lower than in a parish with the resources to employ many professional singers. But in either case, the important thing is to inspire and train the singers you have to be the best they can be because the worship of God and our calling as church musicians deserves nothing less.
Nashotah House, uniquely among seminaries, has a long tradition of taking amateur musicians and teaching them the daily round of Anglican sung liturgies, which makes it the perfect setting for musicians to learn how to teach the ancient practices of church music to their congregations and choirs at home. What are some highlights that workshop participants might expect?
I look forward to working with workshop participants on practical musical skills, including hymn playing, anthem accompaniment, conducting from the console, liturgical organ repertoire, general service playing issues, etc. I particularly enjoy tailoring instruction and discussion to the specific needs of workshop participants, rather than beginning with a cookie-cutter approach and a planned syllabus. My hope is that participants will bring their own questions on topics of concern to them, and that we may help them grow as church musicians in the areas they need it most.
Can you tell us about your own study with your teachers over the years? I understand your dad was your first teacher.
That’s correct. My father is a retired church musician, and he was my only organ teacher before college. From a very early age I wanted to follow in his footsteps, a desire that eventually grew into a discernible call to a career as a church musician. I was fortunate to attend Westminster Choir College (like my father), where I received excellent training in organ, voice, and choral conducting from an outstanding faculty that included Joan Lippincott and Joseph Flummerfelt. While a student at Westminster, I served as organ scholar at Trinity Church, Princeton, under John Bertalot, an Englishman who studied with Boris Ord at King’s College, Cambridge. This on-the-job training was akin to the experience of a seminarian in a field ed parish, and I was lucky enough to work with someone who was a former English cathedral organist—an extremely rare opportunity in this country. All this training prepared me well for a life of service in the church, and particularly in the beautiful Anglican tradition.
What was it like as an organist at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.? Any musical challenges? What did you love most about your time there?
It is of course an honor to serve God in a highly visible place such as Washington National Cathedral, playing for U.S. presidents and such. But what I loved most was the daily round of prayer, particularly Choral Evensong, which we sang five days each week. The Daily Office is an important part of my life, so the opportunity to offer it musically with a skilled choir in a magnificent building on an almost daily basis was very rewarding. Another favorite was playing for the various school services, particularly those for Beauvoir, the elementary school on the campus. Many people come to the cathedral for a variety of reasons, but forming little Christians always seemed to me to be one of the most important ministries we could undertake.
I understand you have studied jazz piano. I understand there is a relationship between jazz and gospel music--and Louis Armstrong said he started out by playing hymns. Can you describe parallels in your own work in ancient church music with jazz?
At first glance, one might not think jazz and traditional sacred music have much in common, but I do think my background in jazz has had some influence on my approach to church music. Jazz is of course a highly improvisational musical style, and a certain degree of improvisatory freedom can be quite inspiring when accompanying congregational singing, for instance. Studying jazz helps one to become more musically spontaneous. When playing or singing a composed piece of music, such as an anthem, we obviously remain faithful to what the composer has written. But when accompanying congregational singing or improvising organ music to cover parts of the liturgy, we have more freedom to be spontaneous, responding to the atmosphere of the service at that particular moment, or listening to the congregational singing and asking ourselves what exactly they need from the organ to support and inspire them to their best singing.
Musicians are able to provide their congregations a vocabulary of songs that “seep into their bones” which can carry them through life singing the truths of the gospel. What are some of your favorites that have stuck with you over the years?
In some ways, that’s the most difficult question you’ve asked. We are blessed with a veritable treasure trove of life-changing texts in the corpus of sacred music we’ve inherited from the Church catholic. I guess my “desert island" list has to start with the Psalms, and continue with the Gloria in excelsis, the Benedictus Dominus, the Magnificat, and the Te Deum. Who can top those, right?