--- title: John MacInnis date: 2022-02-02T16:21:00-06:00 author: Click Rain Admin canonical_url: "https://www.dordt.edu/people/john-macinnis" section: People --- [ View Directory](https://www.dordt.edu/academics/faculty-information) ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/people/68a815b11dfbecc0bfd.jpg?mode=crop&pos=top-center&w=25&h=25&f=webp&c=6f5ee974&v=eaa1a9ad5a4f19b1ddc69f28841e85e774724489f2e9c919f7083b26f2812b09) [Music](https://www.dordt.edu/academics/faculty-information?department=music) # Dr. John MacInnis Professor of Music ![]() [712-722-6202](tel:712-722-6202) ![]() ![]() Dr. John MacInnis serves as professor of music at Dordt University. Research plays a prominent role in his teaching, with interests in music as a liberal art from Antiquity through the Middle Ages, music and media, and the intersection of music and humor. MacInnis has conducted research in prestigious institutions such as the Library of Congress, the New York Philharmonic Archive, and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in Munich, Germany. “I am driven by a profound curiosity about music – its history, its cultural impact, and the emotional and intellectual experiences it evokes in both performers and listeners,” adds MacInnis. A skilled pianist and organist, MacInnis also enjoys collaborating with colleagues in chamber music settings. He holds certification through the Music Teachers National Association for teaching piano (NCTM) and as a colleague of the American Guild of Organists (CAGO). Additionally, he is also a member of the American Musicological Society, American Guild of Organists, College Music Society, and National Association of Schools of Music. Additionally, he remains an active contributor to the field of musicology, with recent publications in prominent journals such as *Religions*, *International Journal of Christianity and Education*, and *Christian Scholar’s Review*. **Publications:** - ["Language Translation in Localizing Religious Musical Practice." *Religions*, Special Issue, 2022. Coedited with Jeremy Perigo.](https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/Language_Practice) - ["Reading Igor Stravinsky's Poetics of Music in Christian Higher Education." International Journal of Christianity and Education, Vol. 26, Issue 2, 2022.](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20569971221087689)[ Coauthored with Mark Peters.](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20569971221087689) - ["A Medium for Meeting God: C. S. Lewis and Music (Especially Wagner)." *Christian Scholar's Review*, Vol. XLIX:1, 2019.](https://christianscholars.com/a-medium-for-meeting-god-c-s-lewis-and-music-especially-wagner/) - [Book Review: *Lou Harrison: American Musical Maverick* by Bill Alves and Brett Campbell in *Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association*, Vol. 76:1, September 2019.](https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/1232/) - [“Music and the Myth of Apollo’s Grove” in *Music, Myth, and Story in Medieval and Early Modern Europe*, edited by Katherine Butler and Samantha Bassler, Boydell and Brewer Publishers, 2019.](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/music-myth-and-story-in-medieval-and-early-modern-culture/602A0FEACEFE4CB3D666057EC63A8F6E#) - [Book Review: *Hildegard of Bingen and Musical Reception: The Modern Revival of a Medieval Composer* by Jennifer Bain in *Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association*, Vol. 73:2, December 2016.](https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/669/) - [Book Review: *Mendelssohn, the Organ, and the Music of the Past: Constructing Historical Legacies* by Jürgen Thym in *Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association*, Vol. 72:3, March 2016.](https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/671/) - [Augustine's *De Musica* in the 21st Century Music Classroom." *Religions*, Vol. 6:1, 2015.](https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/6/1/211/htm) - [“Multilingualism in Religious Musical Practice." Religions, Special Issue, 2026. Coedited with Jeremy Perigo.](https://www.mdpi.com/books/reprint/12859-multilingualism-in-religious-musical-practice) **Education:** - Ph.D. in Musicology, Florida State University - M.Mus. in Historical Musicology, Florida State University - M.Mus. in Church Music (Organ), Bob Jones University - B.Mus. in Piano Performance, Bob Jones University --- ## Articles by John MacInnis [ ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/iat-hearing-mystery.jpg?mode=crop&pos=center-center&w=56&h=33&f=webp&c=640dec3f&v=aca36eec6b495d2777a9db77cef1c244a73b372c44d7ff13079396583a8845a5) Essays Apr 24, 2026 ### Hearing the Mystery: Musical Diversity and the Search for Beauty By John MacInnis What changes in our perception of beauty when we allow ourselves to be re-formed by encounters with the unfamiliar? Read More ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/hearing-the-mystery-musical-diversity-and-the-search-for-beauty) [ ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/iat-secret-cord.jpg?mode=crop&pos=center-center&w=56&h=33&f=webp&c=435f4254&v=43b5c0ce1b28daded00f338e9e010dafd40f410cb6adeff28f65835182753a96) Essays Oct 21, 2025 ### A Secret Chord: Finding Meaning in Music, Science, and Faith By John MacInnis In this essay, Dr. John MacInnis considers how the beauty of music points beyond itself to the order of creation and the God who made it. Through music's harmony, we catch echoes of the Triune God who calls the world good. What might it mean to listen as an act of attending to God's presence? Read More ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/a-secret-chord-finding-meaning-in-music-science-and-faith) [ ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/iatmusic.jpg?mode=crop&pos=center-center&w=56&h=33&f=webp&c=241d1f4b&v=cd7a48b7fd2254ca8c73423074a39450627f0c3601e29ebec15d209fd41a45b1) Essays Mar 25, 2025 ### What Makes Music Christian? By John MacInnis While the answer is complex, music should reflect truth and guide us to lives more focused on God and others, serving as an expression of faith that shapes our daily lives. Read More ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/what-makes-music-christian)