Wolgang Hans M. Stefani

Wlofgang Stefani, a pastor in the Adelaide, South Australia Seventh-day Adventist church, has had extensive training in music. He graduated from Avondale College with a degree in theology in 1976 and from Andrews University with an M.A. in music education in 1981. He also earned an L.Mus.A. in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of music.

While pursuing a Ph.D. in religious education at AU, he held the Oliver S. Beltz Chair in Music at the seminary full time from 1993 until 1995. He completed his degree in 1994. His doctoral dissertation was titled The Concept of God and Sacred Music Style.

After teaching theology for two years at Newbold College in England, Stefani and his wife, Julie Price, returned to their native Australia in 1997, where he has since pastored and, beginning in 2010, has served as Ministerial Secretary in South Australia.

Stefani has given numerous presentations and seminars on music in the United States, Central and South America, Europe, Iceland, and in Australia and Papua New Guinea. He presented a music seminar at the 2010 General Conference Session in Atlanta, Georgia. A typical seminar, titled Music: Message, Ministry and Mission, includes presentations on topics related to “Contemporary Music Issues Facing Today’s Church.”

Included in the seminars are talks about ”Music in the Christian Church: Twenty-first Century Directions,” an introductory foundation to the discussion of the music issue; “Language of Praise,” a discussion of the biblical and Ellen White materials on music; “The Touch of Music,” an introduction to the discipline of sentics (communication of emotions) and how it applies to music; ”Belief and Sacred Music Style,” a discussion of the relationship between theology and the development of music style; and “Endnotes: Music as Ecumenical Force or Endtime Aesthetic Witness?” Closing presentations include “An Adventist Statement on Music,” a discussion of the South Pacific Division statement on music; “Practical Implications for Today’s Church,” and a contemporary application of the issues and ideas presented in the seminar series.

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Sources: biographies and outlines of the seminar at numerous websites; “Endnotes: Music as an Ecumenical Force,” was printed as an article in the Spring/Summer 1999 issue of IAMA’s publication Notes, 13-16; Australasian Record, 9 November 1981, 14, and 12 August 1989 (Sentics), 8; Record, 28 September 2010, record.net.au.