Jesus, Lover Of My Soul – SATB

IN TRADITIONAL HYMN STYLE, WORDS BY CHARLES WESLEY, MUSIC BY SIMEON MARSH.
About Dr. Michael Cox

A glance through the music of Dr. Michael Cox reveals a composer unwilling to remain in a single lane. His published works include sacred anthems, music for men’s and women’s voices, congregational settings, brass music, orchestral accompaniments, and chamber works. Titles such as The God of Abraham Praise, We Believe, and Come, Holy Spirit reflect his extensive contribution to sacred music, while pieces including The Prayer of the Tortoise, The Prayer of the Cricket, and The Flea reveal a more playful side of his musical imagination. His catalog even includes Nowell for Two Violins and Piano, demonstrating the instrumental range found throughout his work.

An ASCAP award-winning composer, conductor, pianist, and educator, Dr. Cox has more than 160 published compositions. His music has appeared through more than sixteen publishers and includes works for mixed choir, treble voices, men’s ensembles, keyboards, brass, strings, and orchestra. This breadth reflects a career spent not only writing music, but also working directly with the performers who bring it to life.

Dr. Cox’s understanding of performers was developed over many years in the classroom and rehearsal hall. After earning his Bachelor of Music with honors in piano performance from Oklahoma Baptist University, he returned to the university as a faculty member in 1972. During the next eighteen years, he taught composition, conducting, music theory, and church music. He also directed the Bison Glee Club for thirteen years, contributing to one of the university’s most enduring choral traditions.

His conducting responsibilities at Oklahoma Baptist University extended beyond choral music. Dr. Cox led the university’s annual Concerto-Aria Competition, which featured student soloists performing with members of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra. The event placed developing musicians in a professional orchestral setting and reflected the kind of practical musical education that characterized his teaching career.

One of the most meaningful later connections to OBU came through Symphonic Psalms, Dr. Cox’s eight-movement composition for chorus and orchestra. The work sets texts from Psalms 8, 23, 47, 90, 95, 103, 117, and 148, with the joyful spirit of Psalm 100 serving as a unifying idea. Its movements range from the stately, hymn-like character of “O Come, Let Us Sing” to the syncopated rhythmic energy of “O Clap Your Hands.”

The story behind the work was especially fitting. Symphonic Psalms was commissioned by Scott Oyer, a former student of Dr. Cox and a member of the Bison Glee Club. In 2004, Oklahoma Baptist University selected the composition for its annual Oratorio Project, bringing together the university’s choirs, instrumental students, faculty musicians, alumni, and members of the surrounding Shawnee community. The performance allowed Dr. Cox’s work as a composer to return to the institution where he had first studied and later taught.

In 1990, Dr. Cox began a new chapter in Fort Worth when he joined the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served for nineteen years as Professor of Music Theory and Composition, helping students develop both analytical understanding and practical compositional skill. His involvement in the seminary’s performing life included directing the Men’s Chorus from 1993 through 2003 and the Southwestern Singers from 2006 until his retirement in 2009.

Fort Worth also became an important center for his conducting and church-music activities. Dr. Cox appeared as a guest conductor with the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra and the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving, while continuing to travel around the country as a choral clinician. He currently serves as Composer-in-Residence at Broadway Baptist Church, where his work remains closely connected to the musical and worship life of the congregation.

The wider musical community has repeatedly recognized Dr. Cox’s work. He began receiving the ASCAP Standard Award in 1987, and in 1995 he was selected as the commissioned composer of the Texas Music Teachers Association. The association’s commissioning program supports the creation of a new work, presents it at the TMTA Convention, and submits it for consideration in the Music Teachers National Association Distinguished Composer of the Year program.

Dr. Cox continued his education at two institutions known for advanced musical training, earning a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Doctor of Music in composition from Florida State University. He has also worked as a music copyist and engraver, skills that require precision, patience, and a thorough understanding of musical notation.

Whether writing an anthem for choir and congregation, creating an unaccompanied work for men’s voices, preparing an instrumental score, conducting an orchestra, or teaching the inner workings of musical form, Dr. Cox has approached his profession from the perspective of a complete musician. His body of work reflects technical discipline, creative curiosity, and a lasting commitment to the communities that study, perform, and hear his music.