Understanding Music as a Liberal Art | Preston Atwood

On this episode of Anchored, Soren is joined by Preston Atwood, Head of School at Westminster Academy in Memphis, Tennessee and author of Cantate Domino: A Liturgical Songbook for Classical Christian Schools. They discuss the difficulty and the necessity of figuring out how to flourish as a human being while serving as an administrator. Preston explains music as a liberal art and his belief that education without music is no education at all. They close by discussing his book, Cantate Domino as the classical education movement’s songbook, as well as the value of repetition and liturgical music for educational formation. 

Transcript

Soren - CLT (00:00.987)
Welcome back to the Anchored Podcast, the official podcast of the Classic Learning Test. My name is Soren Schwab, VP of Partnerships here at CLT, and today we're joined by Dr. Preston Atwood. Dr. Atwood is the newly appointed head of school at Westminster Academy in Memphis, Tennessee, and previously the headmaster of the Regency School in Nacogdoches. Preston is also a coach and mentor to several classical Christian startups. He loves music and literature and especially the integration thereof, as reflected in the release,

of his piano album, Fusing Canons, just this year, which includes 15 original piano compositions that depict scenes, characters, and themes from the great books. He also has a passion for the ancient world and the classical languages, as can be seen in his book, Translating a Translation, an Indirect Translation Approach to the Relationship of the Septuagint Isaiah to the Peshitta Isaiah. Preston is married to Emily and has eight kids,

all of whom love music, reading and exploring the outdoors. And we're so delighted to have him on the Anchored podcast today. Welcome, Preston.

Preston Atwood (01:10.024)
Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

Soren - CLT (01:11.963)
And I'm happy to make it through this introduction with sub to a gin and the persita and I'm actually, you know, I think I made it through, without offending any of our experts. So thank you, sir. Thank you. we always start the anchored podcast by talking about our guests own educational background. So tell us a little bit about your own formation K12 and beyond.

Preston Atwood (01:21.416)
You did a good job.

Preston Atwood (01:33.864)
Sure. I grew up in the cornfields of Millishport, Ohio, which is a small town east of Columbus. I attended public school and graduated with about 60 other students. But after high school, I took a gap year while working for my dad and making boat covers. And I explored my faith during the season and became a Christian. My parents really wanted me to go to college, but at the time didn't have the financial means. So they encouraged me to work for Ohio State University.

and accumulate tuition benefits so that I didn't have to take out any loans for college. So that's what I did. I worked in catering for a year and then began my general ed classes at OSU for two more years while continuing in food service. And in 2005, I got accepted into the music conservatory for composition. But all of a sudden I had the opportunity to transfer to the college at Southwestern, which was a brand new.

liberal arts extension of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. It's a long story, but they offered me a full scholarship in return for serving as a member of the school's new recruiting music ensemble. So as a brand new Christian at a brand new college, I thought God is bringing me to Southwestern simply for music and theological education. So I was surprised to learn that I'd be reading Plato and Aristotle during my first semester.

sitting under professors who were radical proponents of the humanities. But that experience radically transformed me and without knowing it at the time set the trajectory of my entire life. I learned the importance of learning itself and its place in the Christian life. Now, as I was finishing college, I felt a general call to educational ministry. So I stayed at Southwestern to pursue an MDiv. And during that time, I became enchanted with the Hebrew language.

ancient world and biblical exegesis. So after my MDiv, I stayed at Southwestern and completed a THM in Old Testament with the hope of learning Hebrew well enough to enter a PhD research program. So I went to UW for my PhD, the University of Wisconsin -Madison, believing that I was in preparation to become an Old Testament professor. However, as I was disartating, the Lord caused me to reconsider my plans by

Soren - CLT (03:47.515)
You

Preston Atwood (03:53.224)
applying for jobs in the classical Christian world, which honestly is where it all started for me at Southwestern Reading Plato and Aristotle alongside Sayers and James Shaw and others. So I took my first head of school job at Grace Classical Christian Academy in 2019 and then transferred to Regents Academy where I just wrapped up. And as you said, I'm now the head of school at Westminster Academy in Memphis, Tennessee.

Soren - CLT (04:19.483)
What a journey and to think that it all started at Ohio State. As a Michigan fan, that just is not what I want to be here, but we still get along. So you became a Christian. You then pursued higher ed. At that point when you started there in Fort Worth, did you know that you were receiving a classical education or was that just something you kind of picked up along the way and it was just what you thought would be the norm?

Preston Atwood (04:29.896)
You do.

Preston Atwood (04:49.992)
It was all new to me. I couldn't define classical liberal arts or the humanities, honestly. I mean, it took a good year or two, really, until I wrapped up my humanities degree before I understood the importance of what I was doing. But internally, what it did for me is it gave me a new motivation for my pursuit of education. I call it my intellectual conversion, much like Augustine.

Soren - CLT (04:51.611)
Yeah.

Soren - CLT (05:16.891)
Right. So you've been school leader for a while now and I get to be friends with a lot of school leaders. I know it's a really, really challenging job. And you have some heads of school that come more from kind of the business side of things, the fundraising, right? They're kind of the outward facing, right? External going to events. And you also have some that are your academics, right? They're the students of the movement of education. It sounds like you fit more into the latter category.

Over your last few years, what would you say have been kind of your biggest challenges as a head of school and what were some of the most kind of rewarding experiences?

Preston Atwood (05:56.444)
Well, my path to executive administration certainly wasn't the ordinary path, you know, given my background in higher education for 16 years. Most assume that I became a teacher first and then, you know, worked my way into administration. Now, while I did teach Hebrew at UW for a year, I did a lot more administration for NAF, the National Association of Professors of Hebrew, the Center for Jewish Studies there, and the Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies Department.

But even before that, before my time at UW, I worked for the president at Southwestern for six years, first as his intern and then as his assistant. I had the opportunity to see executive leadership up close. And by working closely with the president, I learned a lot about donor engagement, working with boards, campus ministry, faculty development, and much more. I believe it was all this administrative experience combined.

that convinced the board at Grace Classical that I could do the job of head of school. And once I began operating as a head of school, it became very apparent to me that the Lord had been preparing me for this very unique vocation. As to the challenges of administration, there are several, most of which you probably guessed, but one challenge I feel distinctly called to address is the challenge of flourishing.

Soren - CLT (07:13.403)
Hahaha.

Preston Atwood (07:20.872)
as a human being while serving in administration at a classical Christian school. I'm sure it's been mentioned on this podcast before, but the average tenure of a head of school in our schools is only about two years. Administration can be grueling, thankless work at times, and unfortunately, some boards can be unsupportive. And I think while much of this challenge has to do with unrealistic expectations for the head or lack of support or...

a disagreement between what management and governance looks like in an independent school. I'd like to focus on the other part, which is the leader's responsibility to pursue his or her flourishing inside and outside of the school. And this is what I find rewarding in my role, helping leaders, my own administrative team, teachers and students flourish at school, at home and in all of life. Specifically, I enjoy helping people view themselves as generative, creative.

life -giving humans designed to reflect God's truth, goodness, and beauty in a way, in all that they do and create. And I try to model that with my own life.

Soren - CLT (08:26.683)
Wow, yeah, that's really thoughtful response, Preston. And I assume that when it seems like everything's on fire, right? And when there's just so many things to get done as a leader and you're responsible for your flock, so to speak, taking a step back and kind of using the Skollay approach, right? And resting and nourishing yourself is probably not the most intuitive, right? Would you say it has to be?

kind of very, very intentional in finding that space for your personal flourishing as well.

Preston Atwood (09:03.144)
Absolutely. I would say it's natural for us to almost establish our identity and our performance in the workplace. I don't think that's a Christian concept. I do think we need to be good stewards of God's resources and to flourish in our role insofar as we can, but we need to create the time and space to flourish outside of that role as well. And so obviously that impacts our relationship with the Lord and the time we devote ourselves to him in the church.

and our families, but these other resources God has given us in the way of gifts and talents and skills.

Soren - CLT (09:39.675)
Yeah, well, it's transition to music, which is obviously playing a huge part in your life. When did that begin? Obviously, from your educational perspective, you had a few, you know, several degrees even related to music. But was that given to you by your parents that love for music? Did they instill that or did you pick that kind of up along the way on your own?

Preston Atwood (09:44.36)
Yep.

Preston Atwood (10:06.312)
My parents love music, particularly my father. I don't think he was my sole influence, although I would attribute my own eclectic taste for music to him because he could be playing anything and everything depending on the occasion. And I appreciate him for that. But I recall as a very young child playing with my grandma's piano. When I say playing with, not playing because I really had no clue what I was doing at the time. But I was very young. She noticed I had a strong interest and began teaching me.

Although she admittedly didn't know much. At some point, you know, she encouraged my parents to get me a piano and an experienced teacher. So they did. And I took lessons for many years. I also played the trombone in school for years, participating in every ensemble my school offers, marching band, jazz band, pet band, all county band, all of it. But I developed an interest in composition after my father purchased a digital piano, which had one of those 16 track sequencers.

Soren - CLT (10:47.387)
Nice.

Preston Atwood (11:03.368)
And I recall recording hundreds of songs in that sequencer over the year. When I got a little older, maybe 16 or so, I began playing on the music team at church. And I've done that for 25 years now, wherever I've lived. And I already mentioned the team I served on during my time at Southwestern. And I wrote a few hymns during my time in seminary, one of which will be featured in this publication, Christ Died for Me is the name of it. But much more recently, I've been working on original piano compositions.

whose inspirations come from the great books that I read. And you mentioned that at the very beginning. And so I continue to write piano music while I work on projects like Cantate Domino, which we're here to discuss.

Soren - CLT (11:35.835)
Mm -hmm.

Soren - CLT (11:42.779)
Yeah, absolutely. Before we get there, I'm very excited to hear about it. I've seen and heard raving reviews for your new book. For those listeners who are maybe unaware or wondering why is music one of the seven liberal arts? Can you explain why music plays such an important role in the classical and liberal arts tradition?

Preston Atwood (12:07.016)
Yeah, let me think of how to summarize that. I think since Plato, since Plato, the classical tradition is taught that musical training plays a vital role in forming students poetic and moral imaginations. So along with reading the Homeric epics, music was viewed by Plato and others as a prerequisite to analysis or critique because it awakened or refined a sympathetic knowledge of the reality of the true good and beautiful.

Soren - CLT (12:09.147)
Yeah, right. You got 30 seconds.

Preston Atwood (12:35.816)
And I think James Taylor and Stratford Caldecott explained this the best. They say in Greek mythology, the Muses were the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the divine source of the knowledge of poetry, song, and myth. And they taught young people how to experience reality through delight. And this is because the Greeks believed education was total, holistic, including the heart, the memory, the passions.

and the imagination. So they believe that if students underwent consistent aesthetic, effective with an A and emotional training, then they would have a strong foundation for both the moral and the intellectual virtues. So this is why Aristotle called music soulcraft. This is why the Pythagoreans believe that the mathematical order of the universe contains a secret timber. You know, that is some primal form of music that provides the rhythm for our planet's revolutions.

And this points to a significant truth that Christianity fully informs the nature of a human being involves the unification of both body and soul. This is what C .S. Lewis refers to as cultivating the trained affections in his abolition of man. Affectional training or training of the emotions is foundational and formative for all subsequent education resulting in human flourishing and a liberated soul. And of course, with Christianity, we praise

the creator of all of this, all of this beauty and order as the result of having our own affections stirred for His glory and His worship.

Soren - CLT (14:12.219)
Wow. I mean, now that is a case for music, for music education, Preston. But the reality is that both in higher ed and in K -12, oftentimes when it comes to funding issues, right, and we have to cut programs or we have to get rid of certain departments, oftentimes the music department is one of the first ones to go, right, because it doesn't seem maybe as practical, as utilitarian.

Preston Atwood (14:29.704)
You know.

Soren - CLT (14:39.579)
You just made the case, right, for why music and music education is important. We might not see that in public schools as much anymore. From your own experience in classical Christian education, what has been your approach when it comes to curriculum or maybe beyond curriculum, the role of music in kind of a K -12 setting?

Preston Atwood (14:58.664)
Yeah. Well, our schools believe that moral and poetic training are essential for one's holistic development. History shows this. It shows that, you know, the fine arts are the primary vehicles through which students' imaginations, affections, and emotions are cultivated. Research continues to demonstrate that students who have a musical training, for example, you know, when they get older, they have greater creative and critical capacity. So, so surprised that...

to those of us working in classical Christian circles to regularly witness maturing students making deep connections across disciplines. So when we integrate the humanities by offering music, we're educating the whole person through imitation and the natural enjoyment that comes from music, right? So when the students are young, we focus on awakening and refining their loves and affections with the arts such that when they get older and more fully rational, they can experience

pleasure from the contemplation of these ideas or what James Taylor calls poetic knowledge. And I think Caldecott says it best in Beauty for Truth's Sake when he says the road to reason leads through the ordering of the soul, which implies the necessity of an education in love and discernment and in virtue. So I would go as far as to say that education without music is really no education at all. So I'm overjoyed.

at the fact that so many of our classical schools are building great music, art and drama programs. And I hate to be morose, but when I think about our age of doubt and cynicism, high depression and suicide rates, individualism, utilitarianism, as you just mentioned, and so much more, I cannot help but feel that our students deserve an education that continually exposes them to the transcendentals, truth, goodness and beauty. Nothing works better.

than art and music to bring us into realities far beyond ourselves. So if we want students to experience wonder, if we want students to be enchanted with learning and its process, and if we want to produce students who desire the true good and beautiful, then we have to offer them music.

Soren - CLT (17:09.211)
Yeah, I could not agree more Preston. And you're not just talking about it, you're also doing a lot of the work to make that happen. And we're just so grateful for all you do. And one thing that you recently did was write a new book. It's called Cantate Domino, a liturgical song book for classical Christian schools. Talk to us a little bit about what inspired you to write the book and maybe provide a brief synopsis.

Preston Atwood (17:36.104)
Yeah, I'm happy to. Well, as I mentioned, I've always had a passion for church music, congregational singing and musical excellence. So when I entered the classical education movement as a profession, I noticed the need for growth in these areas, especially in our younger schools or startups who are still in survival mode, honestly. And the idea struck me early last year that the movement needs a songbook that reflects the best of what we do as classical Christian schools.

So I began experimenting with a somewhat similar songbook that I inherited at Regents Academy and revised it a good bit over the years, including content that aligned with our school's mission and excising material that didn't. And the feedback I received from students and staff was consistently positive. I had seniors telling me that they loved mourning Cantabile and never wanted the school to change that formative element of our worship. Visitors were asking for copies. Several other heads of schools,

or asking for copies of our songbook. And as a school box coach and mentor for classical startups, I've learned that founding heads and boards are eager to receive and implement a resource like this. So at some point in that process, I became curious to know what other schools do for their corporate gatherings. And so I began to ask questions, collect various songbooks, take good notes, look for patterns, all of that. And I also sent out a survey to over 500 classical Christian schools.

asking about their interest in a resource like this. And the results in that survey were absolutely confirming that many schools are chomping at the bit to have a resource like this. And last, I try to gain a sense of what parents at classical Christian schools do at home for family worship and discipleship, because I wanted this resource to be something parents could use to reinforce at home the very things their children are learning at school.

Soren - CLT (19:27.675)
Yeah, no, and I think you already touched on my next question, but how did you select the songs? And you mentioned you surveyed, you look at different songbooks. Did you mainly draw from one particular tradition? How did you kind of go about the process of selecting the songs for your songbook for Cantate Domino?

Preston Atwood (19:50.92)
Yeah, that's a good question. I selected songs from multiple traditions and really I can think of four clear criteria. I'm sure there are more, but my main criteria for song selection, especially the hymns were, is the song Orthodox? That is, is it consistent with the ancient creeds? This is support what CS Lewis called mere Christianity with all our classical Christian schools, seeing all of its content with theological conviction. So that was the first. Second.

Is the song singable? You know, are the voice ranges satisfactory for youth? Are the parts written out beautifully? Is the melody memorable? Do the words flow naturally or are they jumbled? Like all of these questions influenced my song selections. The third was, is the song timeless? Like has the song stood the test of time? Does it have good cross denominational usage? Have our schools been singing the song for many years? And so for this,

criteria on, I leaned heavily on several school songbooks looking for continuity in their selections. Then I also asked several music teachers and worship directors at schools and churches what they felt the songbook should include. And really the last one, as I think about it, is, is the song appropriate for school? I tried really hard to make Cantate Domino sensitive to the seasonal nature of a school. We have holidays.

commencement, lunch, Veterans Day, assemblies, the contable and many other unique events. And I wanted to provide classical schools with a resource that had songs and prayers for nearly every occasion. Yeah.

Soren - CLT (21:29.307)
How is the book structured, kind of the logic behind the the structure of the book? Is it around kind of the academic school year, the calendar year?

Preston Atwood (21:41.288)
Yeah. What I tried not to do was provide like one long unified liturgy because I think that would have rolled out a lot of different schools and schools that are affiliated with a particular denomination often have their own songbook anyways. And I'm not trying to compete with that. Really you have four sections and much of it's a la carte. I mean, you choose what works for your particular gathering. So that first section, it has things like greetings, calls to worship.

creeds, catechism questions, scripture readings, and the entire Psalter. So these are for schools to pick and choose for their different corporate gatherings, as I said. The second section is comprised of many different prayers and liturgies. So you've got what some call prayers of the hour. So, you know, morning prayers, lunch prayers, afternoon prayers, dismissal prayers. You've got a lot of that. You've got a lot of occasional prayers and there are thousands of those out there. And I tried to whittle that down to those that I thought would meet.

the needs that the students experience in a given year, lots of sacred season prayers, so Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Passion, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, you got all of that there. And then four remaining sections within the prayers and liturgies, one for ancient prayers of the early church fathers, Puritan prayers, Celtic prayers, and then Latin prayers. The third major section in Contactic Domino,

includes what we call sound -offs or call -outs. So, you know, this is the day that the Lord has made. And then the congregation says, let us rejoice and be glad in it. And that's subdivided depending on context. So some of those are for assemblies. Some of those are for protocol or etiquette. Some are just honorable sayings. And then we've got sayings or quotations from CS Lewis and GK Chesterton that a lot of our schools are reciting on a regular basis. And the last part is essentially a school or family hymnal consisting of

Soren - CLT (23:27.803)
Mm -hmm.

Preston Atwood (23:35.624)
about 200 songs. So you got general hymns, praise and adoration, faith and hope, the gospel, Christian life, then lots of Psalms, most of which are metrical, but we included some chanted Psalms too, because many of our traditions love to chant Psalms. And then there's a section of plain song or what other people call chant. And that's a fair cross denominational representation of the best that's out there, the most memorable.

And then a lot of our classical Christian schools sing what we call rounds or canons. You know, one group starts and another group starts and then a third group starts up to four plus groups. So we're kind of known for that. So I've included a lot of easy rounds and then some, some really complex ones too, for those schools who have advanced music programs. And we've got an Advent section in there, Christmas section for lunch songs, patriotic songs, seasonal songs for things like.

Soren - CLT (24:12.251)
Mm -hmm.

Preston Atwood (24:34.92)
graduation. And then at the very end, I have several doxologies and amens. So those four sections comprise the whole of Cantate Domino.

Soren - CLT (24:44.699)
Wow, absolutely incredible. I cannot wait. I saw the digital copy. I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I'm sure a lot of our schools will use it as a resource. Just knowing that some of our listeners are maybe homeschool parents or parents of students that attend a traditional Christian school, or I know we have good friends at the ACSI that might not be classical Christian, but still very traditional Christian schools.

Would this still be a useful book, a helpful book for them? Or is it really, very specifically and narrowly for classical Christian schools only?

Preston Atwood (25:24.904)
No, I think it could work for other schools as well. Yeah, a lot of the interest that people have in it is within the homeschooling community, some of which those groups are classical, some of them aren't. But yeah, it doesn't specifically have to be for a classical environment, but it does house the material that we tend to do in our schools the most, and it reflects the values most of our schools affirm together.

Soren - CLT (25:33.371)
Mm -hmm.

Soren - CLT (25:51.227)
Yeah, I mean, in a way it reminds me a little bit of CLT, right? Because we get asked, is it only for classical schools? No, no, it is not. If you're, you know, if you value the great books and reasoning and logic, you know, this is the right test for you. But if you are a classical school, then it's going to be the right for you, right? Because we already know some things about about your curriculum and your pedagogy. I want to pick your brain on this a little bit and see what you have to say. The so much of modern education, progressive education,

Preston Atwood (25:55.688)
Yeah.

Preston Atwood (26:10.504)
Yes.

Soren - CLT (26:21.147)
is a push against tradition. I think it's fair to say against conformity, right? Be your authentic, unique self against repetition, against memorization. Your book seems to make the case to defy some of these more progressive trends and go back to the riches of the fountain, so to speak. In your estimation, why is there such beauty, such power in repetition?

in audience engagement in liturgical singing.

Preston Atwood (26:54.216)
Well, reputation is necessary for memory. And as I said before, memory is foundational and formative for logical and rhetorical training. But I think there's a way to be repetitive and beautiful. And that's the role of music. And, you know, classical Christian schools teach the faith and doctrine and the history of God's involvement with his people through music. And not only is this deeply enjoyable and worshipful as it ought to be.

Soren - CLT (27:02.971)
Mm -hmm.

Preston Atwood (27:20.328)
It's effective, and it works. And the more students participate, the more opportunity they have to contribute to the learning process by engaging their whole person. Call -outs, liturgies, prayers, and singing provide everyone with a unique role to fill. And particularly, part of singing, if you think about it, it demonstrates not only how melody and harmony work together, but how students together accomplish something much bigger than themselves for the glory of God. It helps students to get out of themselves.

And that's the power of liturgy. It's the repetition and the rhythm. So just as we brush our teeth regularly to keep them healthy and to prevent decay and disease. So liturgical worship develops in us the habits of a wonder -filled, worship -motivated and aesthetically sound life.

Soren - CLT (28:07.867)
Yeah, absolutely love that. Well, Preston, this has been delightful for our audience. I want to get my hands on this book. How can they how could they purchase the book? Where do they find it? Of course, we're leaving in the show notes and links as well. But if you want to share that with with our listeners.

Preston Atwood (28:24.232)
Yeah, the publisher's name is Himworks and Dan Crider is the CEO of Himworks. So if you go to himworks .com slash contate, C -A -N -T -A -T -E .com, you'll find the book there. And there's also a tab there that will provide full access to all of the content. So you can see what you're getting. And then the reviews that have been done on the book, other podcasts and endorsements are listed there as well. And we are just.

making accessible an instrumentalist version of this. So where the pages are enlarged for a pianist and the chords are put there for a guitarist among other things. So we want this to be as useful as possible for schools and families.

Soren - CLT (29:06.267)
Incredible incredible Preston as always in the anchored podcast We have one more question the very last one that we ask every single guest I see a lot of books in your background. So i'm sure that's going to be a challenging one for you But is there one book or one text that you can point to that has been deeply impactful in your life? What would it be?

Preston Atwood (29:25.576)
I'm bad with favorites, but I think as a lover of classical languages, myth and music, I'd have to say Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It's so easy for me to find my place in his epic, which very often changes depending on what's going on in my life. So I'd have to say Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

Soren - CLT (29:46.171)
Yeah, and for someone who loves the books, have you seen the movies, the Peter Jackson movies, and were they at least somewhat satisfactory and somewhat to your liking?

Preston Atwood (29:51.112)
Thank you.

Preston Atwood (29:55.432)
They weren't to me. I've seen them several times. I do appreciate them, but I like the books a lot more. I think that gives the best thing.

Soren - CLT (29:59.899)
Wonderful. Absolutely. Right. Yeah, yeah, I would be disappointed if you had a different answer there. Preston, this has been absolutely delightful. Prayers to you as you're making the transition. You just moved to Memphis and as the incoming headmaster at Westminster Academy. We're wishing you nothing but the best. And to our listeners, check out Preston's new book and follow his work. It's really...

Preston Atwood (30:05.544)
Thank you.

Soren - CLT (30:26.651)
needed in this movement. And so we're deeply grateful and thanks for joining us today.

Preston Atwood (30:31.976)
You're welcome. It's been a pleasure.