Hal H. Hopson (born 12 June 1933) is a full-time composer and church musician residing in Cedar Park,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. He has over 3000 published works, which comprise almost every musical form in church music. With a special interest in congregational song, he continues to make a significant contribution to the new repertoire of hymn tunes and

responsorial psalm Responsorial psalmody primarily refers to the placement and use of the Psalm within the readings at a Christian service of the Eucharist. The Psalm chosen in such a context is often called the responsorial psalm. Although often associated with ...

settings as evidenced by the proliferation of his settings that are included in newly published

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...

s and psalm collections. His cantata, ''God with Us'', was one of the few compositions selected by a panel at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

, Washington, DC, to be placed in a capsule during the

American Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

in 1976. The capsule will be opened at the Tricentennial in 2076 and will be heard again as a representative piece of American choral composition of this century. Hal is active as a conductor and clinician, having conducted choral festivals and workshops in United States, Europe, and Asia. More recently he has been recognized for his contribution to music by being included in The International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England, and by being awarded the esteemed title of National Patron by

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

, a national professional fraternity of musicians. He has loved music and composing since a child.Delta Omicron
He is active in several professional organizations, having served on the national boards of the

Presbyterian Association of Musicians Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM) is a national organization of the Presbyterian Church (USA) for people who are involved in the areas of Reformed Christian worship, Church music, and liturgical arts. The national offices for this 1,600 ...

and Choristers Guild.

References

External links

Cyber Hymnal entry
Composers of Christian music Living people American Presbyterians 1933 births People from Cedar Park, Texas {{US-composer-20thC-stub