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.
ds/2013
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.