The Spirituals Project 2026 National Conference
Friday, May 15, 2026
We are thrilled to announce our National Conference for 2026! Our conference title is “Spirituals in the 21st Century.” We invite professionals and laypersons of all backgrounds to join us for this conference to explore the Spirituals and their multi-layered cultural legacy through the lens of this year’s theme: The Modern Spiritual.
The Negro Spiritual inspired and invigorated an oppressed people during the period of slavery in the United States. First sung by enslaved Africans in the 18th and 19th centuries, these songs affirmed the humanity of the enslaved and were used to resist oppression. In the mid-twentieth century, the Spirituals became foundational to the Freedom Songs that were sung during the Civil Rights Movement. They were adopted and transformed to address the obstacles to freedom particular to that time, be they instruments of abuse such as fire hoses or threat of jail, or individuals such as Police Chief Pritchett of Albany, Georgia and Bull Connor, Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham, Alabama.
Spirituals and the Freedom Songs they inspired were communal and participatory, inspiring people to fight for freedom and justice—even helping them enact new societal models. Often led by a song leader, their simple melodies and repetitive lyrics, many times strophic in nature, helped people easily participate in their singing—in churches, outdoor marches, sit-ins, and other community spaces. As circumstances changed, singers altered lyrics to address specific challenges and contexts. These songs are regarded as historical documents, conveying the struggles, hopes, imaginations and triumphs of the communities of the times in which they were sung. As we reflect on the history and legacy of Spirituals, we seek to understand how Spirituals are part of our lives and music cultures today.
The conference will conclude with a performance by The Spirituals Project Choir, presented by CPR Classical. This will take place the day after the conference on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 7:30pm. The performance will include the premiere of a new work that The Spirituals Project commissioned to highlight the conference theme. The new work, written by Lonnie Norwood Jr., is entitled “Dat’s Alrigh’” which creatively blends qualities of the historic music of the Spirituals while engaging modern musical idiomatic expressions and addressing contemporary social concerns.
The keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Lee Butler, President and CEO and the Bishop Henry White Warren and Elizabeth Iliff Warren Professor of Africana Pastoral Theology at the Iliff School of Theology.
The plenary speaker will be Dr. Kim R. Harris, Associate Professor of African American Religious Thought and Practice in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University.
The Spirituals Project is a secular, community-engaged program of the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. The Project seeks to preserve and revitalize the artistic, educational, and social justice teachings of “Spirituals,” songs that were created and first sung by enslaved Africans in America in the 18th and 19th centuries. We are a community outreach and artistic program centered around a core 55-member multi-ethnic, multigenerational community choir. In addition to a core group of singers from widely diverse segments of the Denver metropolitan community, the choir includes University of Denver students, as well as staff and faculty members.
All events will take place at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Denver campus in Denver, Colorado.
Contact: lamont.spirituals@du.edu
For more information about The Spirituals Project: https://liberalarts.du.edu/lamont/spirituals-project
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Conference Schedule
All events will take place at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Denver campus in Denver, Colorado.
Friday, May 15, 2026
8:00am - 9:00am Day-of Registration and check-in
9:00am - 10:15am Plenary
10:15am - 11:45am Breakout Session 1
11:45am - 1:00pm LUNCH
1:00pm - 2:30pm Breakout Session 2
2:30pm - 4:00pm Breakout Session 3
4:00pm - 5:00pm Keynote address
Saturday, May 16, 2026
7:30pm - 9:30pm Performance by The Spirituals Project Choir, "Le Nouveau Spirituel: The New Spiritual." A ticket is required to attend. Reserved parterre seats are $5, and general admission seating elsewhere is free. A $3 fee applies to online ticket purchases, including on free tickets. Purchase/reserve tickets here. You may also do so in person at the Newman Center Box Office.
Address:
Newman Center for the Performing Arts
Gates Concert Hall
2344 E Iliff Ave
Denver, CO 80210Schedule subject to change
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Rev. Dr. Lee H. Butler, Jr.
The Rev. Dr. Lee H. Butler, Jr. has had a distinguished career as a theological educator that spans more than three decades. He currently serves as the 17th President and CEO and the Bishop Henry White Warren and Elizabeth Iliff Warren Professor of Africana Pastoral Theology at the Iliff School of Theology. He is the first Baptist to lead this school. Before Iliff, he served as the Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, and the William Tabbernee Professor of the History of Religions and Africana Pastoral Theology at Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, OK. For a period, he led Phillips as Interim President. He was the first African American to lead that school. Before Phillips, he was the Distinguished Service Professor of Theology and Psychology at Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL. He was the first African American to be promoted to the rank of full professor, a former director of the Master of Divinity program, a former Acting Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, and the founder of the Center for the Study of Black Faith and Life at Chicago Theological Seminary. Before Chicago, he served as Assistant Academic Dean and Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA. He is a past president of the Society for the Study of Black Religion, a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Society for Pastoral Theology, the Institute for Signifying Scriptures, Society for Process Consulting, the Association of Black Psychologists, and a Board Member of the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation. He holds a PhD and Master of Philosophy in Psychology and Religion from Drew University; a Master of Theology in Pastoral Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary; a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary; and a BA in Religion from Bucknell University. He is the author of Listen, My Son: Wisdom to Help African American Fathers (Abingdon Press, 2010), Liberating Our Dignity, Saving Our Souls (Chalice Press, 2006), A Loving Home: Caring for African American Marriage and Families (Pilgrim Press, 2000), and numerous articles on the subject of pastoral psychology.
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Dr. Kim R. Harris
Dr. Kim R. Harris is the Associate Professor of African American Religious Thought and Practice in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. In addition to teaching courses on Black liberation and Womanist theologies, Harris leads music in a variety of liturgical and academic settings. She is a liturgist, composer and recording artist, presenting lectures on the music of the Black Catholic experience, the spirituals of the Underground Railroad and the freedom song of the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Harris is a member of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and the North American Academy of Liturgy. She is an academic member of the African American Catholic Center for Evangelization in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. A gifted cantor, leader of song and a passionate cultural advocate, Harris earned a PhD in worship and the arts from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. In fulfillment of her degree, she composed Welcome Table: A Mass of Spirituals, one of the complete Mass settings included in the Lead Me Guide Me Black Catholic Hymnal 2nd edition and the new Gather Hymnal 3rd edition (GIA Publications Inc).
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Conference Registration and Payment
Please register for the conference by clicking here.
The registration fee is $25.
The fee is waived for members of the The Spirituals Project as well as University of Denver faculty, staff, and students.You may make your registration payment by clicking here.
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Hotel Bookings
We have partnered with several area hotels to secure a reduced rate. Please click here to find the list of participating hotels and instructions for how to reserve them at the discounted rate.
