The 2026 International Network for Music Theology conference was held from June 25-27 at the University of St Andrews. Building on the success of the 2024 INMT Durham conference, a student-led committee put together a compelling programme of 75 presentations. The conference drew in scholars from around the world, and from various disciplinary perspectives, to present their research on the relationship between music and theology. The University of St Andrews was a fitting host institution, and its Laidlaw Music Centre provided the perfect venue; all plenary sessions took place in the impressive McPherson Recital Room, and the frequent musical examples benefited from its pristine acoustics. The conference was ably supported by students and staff from St Andrew’s theology department, especially those affiliated with its Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA).

The CFP asked presenters to attend to the concepts of incarnation and inculturation in particular and this was echoed throughout the programme, including in papers on such diverse musical sources as Christian metal (Elspeth Manders), the Baroque solo violin tradition (Benjamin Shute), Les Misérables (Ian Bradley), and the Song-dynasty melody ‘Shenren Chang’ (Ming Wilson). These themes also permeated throughout another area of prominence in the conference programme: composition. A session on setting the passion narrative saw composers Chris Massa and Kenneth Tay present their approaches. Massa expounded a “compositional metaphor” of incarnation through techniques allowing text to control musical parameters such as pitch, interval, and harmony; Tay discussed his own Redhill Passion as a case study in musical inculturation, where western sacred choral music is integrated with Southeast Asian musical idioms. Many papers focussed on the act of compositional through a historical-analytical lens, interrogating the theological thinking and significance of different composers. Some of these focussed on traditional subjects of musical-theological study, and it was encouraging to see fresh approaches here: K. Thomas Tobin’s approach to the ‘Kitsch, Camp, and Communion’ of Messiaen’s music was a particular highlight. Other papers focussed on under-researched composers from this perspective such as Jackson Hill (Joseph Sargent), Mark Andre (Jan Christiaens), Hans Zimmer (Sam Clifford-Hassan), and Wolfgang Rihm (Richard McGregor). The focus on composition was also enhanced by Luis Meseguer Mira’s sound installation Sacred Heard, which occupied the top floor of the Laidlaw Music Centre throughout the conference.

Sir James MacMillan provided a focal point for the themes of the conference in his keynote presentation, delivered at the end of the second day. Speaking on the title “A Catholic Composer in the 21^st Century: Some Contexts and Some Self-Assessments”, MacMillan weaved together the themes in a thought-provoking and deeply inspiring presentation. The committee made the most of the conference’s location and keynote speaker by requesting papers on the specific topics of MacMillan’s music, and on Gregorian Chant. An excellent panel on MacMillan’s music preceded his keynote address, and saw scholars address his use of chant (Gilbert Donohue), the theology of Mary’s Lament in his Stabat Mater (Chelle Stearns), and the remembering of violence in his passion settings (Ariana Phillips-Hutton). MacMillan’s generous response to these papers, and his subsequent presentation, showcased a wonderful and rare example of the fruitful dialogue that is possible between musicologists and composers. Both perspectives were well articulated in a joint endeavour to understand the significance of music to faith and theology. MacMillan’s approach also resonated well with various papers on Catholic liturgy and liturgical reform, especially Cameron Shippee’s paper on The Church Music Commission for Scotland.

Several papers focussed on congregational music, and it was fascinating to see the common themes of this area of research reflected through different case studies and contexts including women musicians in charismatic worship bands (Abigail Cawte), Chinese diaspora choirs (Chia-An Tung), and the ring shout tradition in Black gospel (Sylvia D. Jones). Popular music also received good attention, including fascinating theological perspectives on Billie Eilish (Michael Tang), Kendrick Lamar (Alex Sosler), and Kris Kristofferson (Charles Howell).

The conference benefited from several panel sessions that took time to focus on particular areas of study in greater depth. Byron Wratee, Lauren Warner, and Chanelle Robinson’s ‘Sacred Music Traditions of the African Diaspora’ put mystical, sacramental, and womanist theologies together in interdisciplinary dialogue. Bennett Zon, Chiara Bertoglio, and Christopher Blakey provided fresh perspectives on their topic of ‘Theology, Music and Time’, pointing to promising areas for future research. Three of ITIA’s recent PhD students- Victoria Costa, Wade Bellesbach, and Joel Clarkson, put together one of the most creative and thought-provoking panels of the conference, entitled ‘Faith, Materiality, and Music-Making’. This session focussed both on music’s ability to function as a technology, and its relationship to modern AI technology, and formed a fitting conclusion to the conference.

INMT 2026 was a fantastic showcase for the growing research area of music and theology. The enthusiastic response to the CFP, the quality and creativity of the presentations, and the number of postgraduates – encouraged and supported by more established scholar and composers – all point to a healthy future for this area of study.

Christopher Blakey is the Theomousikos Coordinator at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford.