With so many talented composers in our catalogs, we want to take time to highlight the creativity, process, and passion of those with new music releasing. Each month of 2025 we will feature a composer who has a new piece coming out soon or who has recently published with us in an installment of "Beyond the Score."
Today, we are talking with Zebulon M. Highben.
What inspired you to begin studying music?
I didn’t really choose to begin musical study—it was part of my education and faith formation from an early age. My elementary school had a band, choir, and general music classes, all of which I enjoyed. I sang in the children’s choir at Faith Lutheran Church (Massillon, Ohio) and have fond memories of hymn festivals, Vacation Bible School songs, and campfire singing at Lutheran Memorial Camp (Fulton, Ohio). In third grade I started piano lessons, because my parents wanted all their sons—I’m the oldest of five brothers—to study piano. Music was always an integral and enjoyable part of my life. If I ever “chose” it, I suppose that happened in college, when I decided to study music education.
What motivates you musically today?
At the moment I’m deeply engaged with hymnody. I am editing a new hymnal for Duke Chapel, and I just finished a book on scriptural imagery in hymns that will be published in 2026 by Augsburg. Hymn texts and tunes, both old and new, have been continually swimming through my mind’s ear…so I expect my next few compositions will all be concertato arrangements of hymns!
What do you draw on for inspiration as you begin a new composition?
I always start with text, even if I am writing the text. My composition teachers were David Cherwien and Ronald A. “Ronnie” Nelson, both of whom emphasized attending to the words. Dave was a student of Alice Parker, who analyzed spirituals and folksongs in great detail and from them taught a method of composition that was text-driven and “naturalistic.” She advocated memorizing a text and then trying to tease out its natural musicality, beginning with rhythm and melody: What is the inherent rhythm of the words? What melodic contour is implied by the meaning of the lyrics? I use this technique in my own writing and in teaching. I find it exceedingly difficult to start a composition without a potent text. Usually, the more the text inspires me, the better I feel about the music when it’s finished!
What is your favorite piece of music (or one of the inevitable many) and why?
This is an impossible question since the answers change from day to day! But given that it is November, and Advent and Christmas are just around the corner, I’ll share two favorites.
Firstly, I love the whole family of buoyant Advent hymns, like Fling Wide the Door; People, Look East; and Prepare the Royal Highway. When I occasionally hear people say they think Advent is “gloomy,” I assume they haven’t been exposed to the joyful hope of these texts and melodies.
Secondly, I’ll name the Christmas cantata In Terra Pax by Gerald Finzi. The cantata sets the poem “Christmas Eve 1913” by Robert Bridges, with the King James Version of Luke 2:8–14 embedded in the middle. It’s a gorgeous piece, and the pianissimo ending (on the words “and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men”) is perfectly composed. I listen to this cantata at least once every Christmastide.
What draws you to write music for the church, and how do you approach text and music for ensembles that are mostly music-loving amateurs?
If one is interested in music composition (especially vocal music) and part of the Christian faith, there’s nothing better than writing for the church. The church has been responsible for much of the greatest music we have, by composers known and unknown. From the “simplest” chants and hymns to the most elaborate oratorios and passions, sacred music can move us with its beauty while also preaching the Gospel and helping us encounter Christ. To be a part of such a tradition—a communion of musical saints, if you will—even in a very small way, is a gift and blessing.
As to composing for amateurs: I don’t think it requires a special approach. Vocal music should always be carefully crafted and idiomatic to the instrument (the voice). From a technical perspective, there are certainly harder pieces and easier ones, and repertoire that is better suited to a choir of 8 or 12 voices then an ensemble of 20 or 30 or more. But any choral work that is composed in such a way as to be accessible only to professional singers may not be very well-crafted…and probably isn’t good church music. (Remember: all over the world, amateur choirs regularly sing Bach and Brahms and the most intricate polyrhythmic folk music…amateurs can do anything, if it is well-written and competently taught!)
What is one experience that you have had that wouldn’t have been available if you hadn’t been in the music world?
Performing and leading worship in some of the great cathedrals and churches of the world. As an undergraduate singer in the Ohio State University Men’s Glee Club, I took two tours to Europe and sang in places like Notre Dame in Paris and St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. As a conductor, I’ve been fortunate to lead choirs in performances at places like the Thomaskirche, Washington National Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral (London), and St. Giles’ Cathedral.
What is a favorite hobby or interest outside of music?
I love to read. Some of my favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Madeleine L’Engle, and (on the non-fiction side) Bill Bryson.
We are grateful for Zebulon's work and the impact it has on the ministry we serve. To learn more about Zebulon and his work, check out his releases through Augsburg Fortress here.