Welcome! I am a pianist, composer, educator, and liturgist. In 2016, I was given the opportunity to design and launch the Worship Arts Program at Grace College. With experience as a professor and over 20 years of leadership in worship ministry, I am passionate about preparing students for the multi-faceted role of shaping the spiritual lives of Christians in a local church context through liturgy. As you will be hear, my musical tastes are eclectic; I don't like musical labels, but my music falls into contemporary sacred pieces for worship in different forms and improvised music in other forms. I enjoy acoustic and electronic instruments and many times will blur the lines between genres.
I have had the pleasure of traveling internationally as worship leader, musician, and educator. I earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, a Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology from Liberty University, and a Doctorate in Worship Studies from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. I am a member of Society of Ethnomusicologists (SEM) and the International Council of Ethnodoxologists (ICE).
I will forever be grateful to God for my amazing wife Shana, and my 3 children, Graydon, Karissa, and Levi. We enjoy the journey of life together!
My colleagues at Grace College and I have experience in some of the most influential churches in the U.S., including Bethlehem Baptist Church (Minneapolis, MN - John Piper), and Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL). We offer consulting on 3 levels:
Some questions we can help you process:
1. What is our worship philosophy?
2. Does the Bible help us plan weekly worship?
3. How can we help our worship team grow in their musicianship?
4. How can we help our tech volunteers feel a part of the worship team?
5. How do we improve the quality of our streaming online?
6. How do we build a worship ministry? (We only have a pianist or a guitarist - how do we attract drummers? Other musicians?)
7. What are ways we can evaluate our worship services?
8. How can our pianists learn to play chord charts/improvise?
9. Should our church be more culturally diverse?
10. How does the worship service help with discipleship?
Contact Wally Brath at wally.brath@gmail.com or 763-227-5197
Mar 13 2023
This podcast explores the ancient tradition of sacred listening. The episodes will explore ways in which the listener can encounter the Living Word, Jesus Christ, through combining music with Scripture, prayers and Creeds.
This version of Psalm 34 was recorded…
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Mar 4 2023
The jazz group, Every Tribe and Tongue, was created by Saxophonist Greg Tardy and pianist Wally Brath. The two musicians met on a jazz tour to Poland and Belarus in 2019 when Brath was asked to fill in for the…
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Mar 4 2023
The Grace College worship arts program released an album titled “Reclaim/Proclaim” on March 24, 2022 featuring five songs written and performed by worship arts students and faculty.
“The project title, ‘Reclaim/Proclaim,’ comes from the idea of reaching back into church… Read more
Dec 14 2020
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed in the Grace Story Podcast, speaking about my philosophy of worship, liturgical jazz, and ethnomusicology.
Jun 3 2020
My family lived in Minneapolis for almost 13 years not far from where George Floyd was murdered. I was a worship pastor in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center. My heart breaks for friends who fear for their families lives not only…
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May 27 2020
This season of quarantine has affected all of us in different ways. I am a professor of worship arts at Grace College in Winona Lake, IN and a part-time worship pastor at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church. As I reflect…
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Apr 16 2020
I have been contemplating how this season of quarantine will permanently affect us. Will we slow down once it is over? Will personal space be protected more cautiously? What will be the long-term spiritual effects on Christ-followers around the world…
Read moreDr. Brath will give a lecture to students at Károli Gáspár Reformed University on the Puritans legacy of the Regulative Principle and its effects on worship.
Join us for the 2022 Village at Winona Jazz Fest featuring Thana Alexa and Antonio Sanchez. Visit https://www.grace.edu/about/campus/clubs-and-campus-involvement/music-opportunities/musicfestival/ for more details
Jazz fest, 1-7p, featuring the Mark Guiliana Quartet https://www.grace.edu/about/campus/clubs-and-campus-involvement/music-opportunities/musicfestival/
Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, 1200 Kings Hwy, Winona Lake
Free event showcasing Grace College worship arts faculty.
Free jazz festival featuring Truth in Jazz big band, 1:00 PM; Jim Catalano’s VibeNation, 2:15 PM; Chuck Webb’s Guru Tonic, 3:30 PM; and Tenor saxophonist Gregory Tardy and his quartet, 5:00 PM.
Free event
