2019 Liturgical Jazz Service

The 60th anniversary of Ed Summerlin’s Liturgical Jazz Service is May 20, 2019. It was performed in Perkins Chapel and was listed as “a jazz setting of ‘The Wesley Orders of Common Prayer’” led by Schubert M. Ogden and J. Paul Sampley on May 20, 1959. The jazz service was the first event of its kind and was commissioned by Dr. Roger Ortmayer, who taught Christianity and the Arts at SMU Perkins.

The Master of Sacred Music program at Perkins School of Theology is partnering with Dr. Derick Cordoba (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) in order to commemorate this anniversary. Dr. Cordoba’s doctoral research deals extensively with the service, and he will visit SMU to lead the service and present a guest lecture on its historical significance.

Liturgical Jazz Service

Wednesday, April 24, 2019
11:30 a.m. 
Perkins Chapel
6001 Bishop Blvd. 
Dallas, TX 75205

Lecture Information

12:45 - 2 p.m. (approximately)
Great Hall, Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall

There will be a short break for lunch between the service and lecture. Lunch will be available for $5 advanced request from the Perkins refectory. If interested in purchasing lunch, please RSVP before noon on April 18 to Teresa Rosado at teresar@smu.edu. 

Both the service and lecture are free and open to the public.

Dr. Derick Cordoba

Commercial and jazz guitarist Derick Cordoba has toured over 20 countries and has performed on over 20 recordings. His recordings have sold over 150,000 copies. He is currently the Unit One Music Coordinator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He formerly taught guitar and various music history courses at Richland Community College as well as guitar at University of Illinois at Springfield. Derick completed his doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017 where he studied with Larry Gray and Gabriel Solis. His Dissertation: "Liturgical Jazz: The Lineage of the subgenre in the Music of Edgar E. Summerlin" was finished in 2017. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (DMA), Florida International University (MM), and University of North Florida (BM).