Concordia-Chicago announces new interim director of the Center for Church Music

This August, Concordia University Chicago welcomes Dr. Elisabeth Urtel as interim director of the Center for Church Music, effective Aug. 1. Urtel succeeds previous Director Barry Bobb, who retires after 13 years of dedicated service.

As interim director, Urtel will oversee the Center's core functions-preserving and developing its physical collections, online resources, and student scholarship programs. She will also continue the Center's mission of encouraging current and future Lutheran church musicians, liturgical artists, and scholars.

"We Lutherans treasure our heritage of hymnody and liturgy because they are the proclamation of God's Word in song," said Urtel. "I'm honored to lead the Center for Church Music in preserving and promoting these treasures, as well as encouraging the liturgical musicians and artists of today."

An accomplished church musician with experience as an organist, accompanist, and choir director, Urtel currently serves as an adjunct instructor of music at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn. She previously worked as an adjunct instructor of history at Bethany Lutheran College and served as the adult choir director for Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minn. Urtel is also a published scholar with works featured by Canterbury Press and Lutheran University Press, among others, and currently serves as dean of the Sioux Trails Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

An alumna of Bethany Lutheran College, Urtel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. She later earned a Master of Arts degree in Lutheran Theological Studies from Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary and a Master of Church Music degree from Concordia University Wisconsin. This year, Urtel also completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Historical Theology from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, where her research focused on the development of Lutheran hymnody and church life in America.

"Dr. Urtel brings an exceptional combination of scholarship and hands-on experience to this role," said Dr. Charles P. Brown, professor, program lead, and arts division chair for the Department of Music. "Her doctoral research speaks directly to what our Center exists to do, and her years as a church musician mean she understands this work from the inside."

"She's not new to us either," Brown added, noting that Dr. Urtel presented at a past Lectures in Church Music conference. "We've already had the privilege of knowing her work, and I'm confident she'll provide the steady, thoughtful leadership the Center needs during this next chapter."

For more details on the Center for Church Music, visit CUChicago.edu/academics/centers-of-excellence/center-for-church-music.