The East Texas Musical Convention, now usually called the ''East Texas Sacred Harp Convention'', is an annual gathering of shape note singers. Songs are sung

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

from the

Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music which developed in New England and perpetuated in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a historically important shape notes, shape-note tunebook printed in ...

tunebook. The Convention was organized in 1855, and is the oldest Sacred Harp convention in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and the second oldest in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The East Texas Convention was modeled after the older (now defunct) '' Southern Musical Convention'' established in 1845 by

Benjamin Franklin White Benjamin Franklin White (September 20, 1800 – December 5, 1879) was a shape note "singing school, singing master", and compiler of the shape note tunebook known as ''The Sacred Harp''. He was born near Cross Keys in Union County, South Carolina ...

, the compiler of ''The Sacred Harp''. The East Texas Convention has a continuous history from 1868, the earliest year notated in its minutes.

William Russell Adams William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, President of the Convention in 1874, 1884, and 1885, wrote to Aldine S. Kieffer, explaining that the convention missed a few years of meeting because of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Re-established after the war, a large influx of Georgia and Alabama settlers added to its strength. In its early years it was generally considered a forum of Christian worship. Today many are attracted to its

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

aspect. Throughout its history, the East Texas Musical Convention has convened annually in six

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

counties: Gregg,

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places Australia * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin Canada * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Port H ...

Panola Panola may refer to: * Panola, Crenshaw County, Alabama, an unincorporated community in Crenshaw County * Panola, Sumter County, Alabama, a census-designated place in Sumter County * Panola County, Mississippi * Panola County, Texas * Panola, Illin ...

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...

Smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...

and Upshur. The Convention presently meets for two days in

Henderson, Texas Henderson is a city and the county seat of Rusk County, Texas, United States. Its population was 13,271 at the 2020 census. Henderson is named for James Pinckney Henderson, the first governor of Texas. The city has functioned as a major crossr ...

on the weekend of the second Sunday in August. The current "textbook" of the Convention is ''The Sacred Harp (2012 Revised Cooper Edition)'', first revised by W. M. Cooper and others in 1902.

Early officers

* John T. Holloway * James Pendleton Holloway * Mathew Mark Wynn * Thomas Jefferson Allison * Charles Absalem Mangham * John Franklin McLendon

References

*''Approaching 150: A Brief History of the East Texas Musical Convention'', by R. L. Vaughn *''The Chattahoochee Musical Convention: 1852-2002'', Kiri Miller, editor *''The Musical Million and Fireside Friend'', periodical, Dayton, VA; Aldine S. Kieffer, editor; Volume XI (1880), page 135 *''The Sacred Harp: A Tradition and Its Music'', by Buell E. Cobb *''White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands'', by George Pullen Jackson

External links

East Texas Convention
- 2004 online minutes

Texas Sacred Harp Historical page
Sacred Harp Shape note Organizations based in Texas Culture of Texas Recurring events established in 1855 1855 establishments in Texas 1855 in music Festivals established in 1855 Music festivals established in the 19th century {{Texas-stub