Tom Keumsup Song
Tom Keumsup Song
Senior Professor of Church Music
CONTACT
EDUCATION
(Current) Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice and Conducting, University of South Carolina
Dissertation: "The Biblical Examination and Application of Traditional and Contemporary Church Music in a Rapidly Changing Society"
(Honorary) Doctor of Fine Arts, Mississippi College, 2004
Master of Church Music in Voice, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1985
Bachelor of Music in Voice, Chung Ang University, 1972
RESEARCH INTEREST
Dr. Song has research interest in : traditional and contemporary church music in a rapidly changing society; church music leadership across Asian Baptist contexts; vocal performance and conducting pedagogy.
A native of Korea, Tom Song graduated at the top of his class from Jung-Ang University. An accomplished opera performer, Song became drawn to church music while working with Youth For Christ in Seoul, where he also began his association with his friend and mentor, Dr. Billy Kim. He received the Master of Church Music degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He continued to study, receiving the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance and conducting from the University of South Carolina, and combined his musical talents with his calling to become a minister of music. Song answered the call to the full-time music ministry in 1985.
After returning to Korea in 1993, Song has become a leading figure in church music in Asia. For more than a decade, he served as Minister of Music at Suwon Central Baptist Church, one of the largest churches in Korea, where Dr. Billy Kim had been senior pastor and is now pastor emeritus. Since 1976, Song has traveled with Dr. Kim’s global ministries. In 2002, Song was music director for the National Combined Christian 5000 Member Choir at the Seoul World-Cup Stadium. He has also taught for many years as adjunct professor of church music at the Korea Baptist Theological Seminary.
Song has received numerous awards for conducting and vocal performance, both in opera and church music. He has also distinguished himself as Music Coordinator of the Baptist World Alliance and Vice President of the Asian Baptist Federation, a forum that represents 22,000 local Baptist churches in 20 countries across Asia. His radio program, featuring the Korean Singing Ambassadors, is broadcast through the Far East Broadcasting Company and reaches many parts of Asia. In 2004, recognizing Song’s remarkable talents as a church musician and his marvelous service to the cause of Jesus Christ throughout the world, Mississippi College bestowed on him an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. Song continues to reach out to the world through his innovative work in music ministry.
1993–present: Minister of Music, Suwon Central Baptist Church, Korea, (Dr. Billy Kim, Senior Pastor Emeritus)
1993–present: Adjunct Professor of Church Music, Korea Baptist Theological Seminary
2002–present : Vice President, Asian Baptist Federation
1995–present : Music Coordinator, Baptist World Alliance
1976–2002 : Music Director, Korean Singing Ambassadors, Far East Broadcasting Company, Seoul, Korea, including mission tours for Dr. Billy Kim’s global ministries and Billy Graham’s “Amsterdam 2000”
1991–1992: Music Minister, Korean Baptist Church of Washington, and Music Director, Korean Children’s Choir of Washington
1986–1990: Music Minister, Atlanta Korean Community Church
1982–1985: Associate Music Minister, Bethany Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky
Dissertation (in progress): “The Biblical Examination and Application of Traditional and Contemporary Church Music in a Rapidly Changing Society,” University of South Carolina.
Music Director, National Combined Christian 5,000-Member Choir, Seoul World Cup Stadium, Korea, 2002
Leading operatic roles (1969–1989), including: Carmen (Bizet); The Barber of Seville (Rossini); Gianni Schicchi (Puccini); Rigoletto, La Traviata, and Un Ballo in Maschera (Verdi); Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti); Cinderella (Massenet); and the world premiere of Die Schuldigkeit des Ersten Gebotes (Mozart)
Leading soloist for major cantatas and oratorios with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Savannah Symphony Orchestra, Columbia Lyric Opera Symphony Orchestra, Myrtle Beach Orchestra, and Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, 1990–1992
D.M.A. Graduate Recital, “Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Op. 22” (Britten), Fraser Hall, Columbia, SC, 1990
Solo recitals in Columbia, SC; Atlanta, GA; Louisville, KY; and Seoul and Suwon, Korea, 1971–1990
First Place, Mid-Southern Region, National Association of Teachers of Singing (Post-Advanced Division, 1983; Division IV, 1982)
“Church Music Specialist” Award, Georgia Baptist Convention, 1989; “Performer’s Certificate” Award, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1985