Pursuing a career in worship music

While pursuing degrees in health studies and music at the University of Waterloo, Mykayla Turner stumbled into a plethora of worship songs that left her wondering why and how she’d never heard them before. 

Growing up, she attended Zurich Mennonite Church in Ontario. In this rural congregation, music consisted of what Turner describes as contemporary worship music. Songs from a hymnal were not the norm there.  

When she began taking courses at Conrad Grebel University College, she discovered that her experience of what it is to be Mennonite was different from others’. “I felt frustrated that no one had told me that we were part of this larger church with this wealth of different traditions,” Turner says.

Turner is a trained pianist and cantor. She graduated from high school with top grades in the sciences and thought she would pursue a career as a healthcare professional. However, her focus shifted while taking courses with Kate Steiner, Conrad Grebel’s director of church music and worship. 

She was more drawn to music then the health courses. 

“It struck me that we don’t often think very hard about the music that we’re singing,” says Turner. 

Prior to studying at Conrad Grebel, Turner’s observation was that people sang worship songs simply because they liked them. People did not necessarily gain an appreciation of the origins of the songs. 

Becoming aware of the different genres inspired her to dig deeper into worship music, to reflect critically and take part in conversations about how to best engage with a piece of music. 

Midway through her undergraduate degree, Turner helped launch a Sunday night hymn-singing group, with encouragement from a friend. By her final year of studies, the Sunday night group consistently attracted 15 or so students. 

As an undergraduate student Turner also played piano for The Church at Nairn, a rural congregation that is part of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. She now serves as their worship coordinator. 

The Master of Sacred Music Degree offered at the University of Toronto began to intrigue Turner; however, she decided it was important for her to gain a foundation in theology to better comprehend worship music. 

After completing her undergraduate degree, Turner completed a year in Conrad Grebel’s Master of Theology program before transitioning to the Master of Sacred Music program at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Texas. She says that her time at SMU helped her realize that liturgy and church music are immensely rewarding research areas. 

While participating in Steiner’s chapel choir back at Conrad Grebel, Turner found that singing medieval chants had a distinct impact on her. She was fascinated by the fact that some pieces were best experienced without any instruments or harmonies. 

During this past Advent, Turner grew particularly fond of a medieval chant called “Creator of the Stars at Night.” 

“We encounter God in different ways through different kinds of music, and that’s worth paying attention to,” says Turner. 

“And why would we restrict ourselves to only one way or one kind of encounter with God, when we could explore so many others?” 

Probing into the various songs that have made their way into worship settings now brings up more questions for her than they did before.

For instance, when is a good time to sing a capella?

Or how does a white-majority congregation include the music of other cultures with integrity? 

Turner says this sort of sensitivity “applies not just to the music of minorities, but even just like music from a different century.”

Turner says she cares more about the participation of as many people as possible than the quality of sound produced. 

If she had to pick  favourite piece of music it would be “Could it be that God is Singing,” arranged by American composer Alice Parker. It's not always clear which line is the melody, while a driving beat carries the lyrics forward. When sung properly, everyone sings their part as loud as they can regardless of their proficiency.

“I kind of love that idea,” says Turner. 

“The sound that results is what it is, and that’s great and pleasing to God’s ears.”

Turner is considering schools to do PhD work in Canada or the U.S. next fall.