Author: Stan
“Some Thoughts on Biblical, Theological, and Wesleyan Foundations for Identity, Development, and Leadership”
Stan Pelkey November 15, 2025 Christian identity and leadership are grounded on two mutually informing foundations. First, God created human beings in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27). Second, we are called to become more like or imitate our Lord Jesus Christ. These foundations should shape how we grow, lead, and treat others. I unpack each in […]
Read More“John Wesley On Sanctification, Wealth, and Care for the Poor”
Stan Pelkey John Wesley (1703–1791) was an English (Anglican) priest and theologian trained at Oxford University who built a world-changing ministry as an evangelist, field preacher, organizer, and author and editor. With his younger brother, the Anglican priest and poet, Charles Wesley (1707–1788), John started the Methodist revival movement within the Church of England. He […]
Read MoreWhat I’ve Been Watching (Summer and Fall 2020)
Like so many of you, the current health care crisis upended aspects of my personal and professional life back in March, with lingering effects continuing to the present weeks. Gratefully, however, I managed to spend more time reading, reviewing books, and working on my research on television and television music. In addition to my concentrated […]
Read MoreWhat I’ve Been Watching (January 2020)
I really want to like the new season of Dr. Who (launched on January 1, 2020). The two-part season opener (“Spyfall,” parts 1 and 2) was pretty strong, but the most recent episode (“Orphan 55”): awful. I cannot think of a worse episode since the revived series launched. (Fellow fans: Feel free to offer alternative […]
Read MoreThe Job Search: Cover Letters
About a decade ago, I became concerned that my college students were not being intentionally trained in how to prepare cover letters and resumes so that they would be ready to apply for their first post-collegiate jobs. Because I was teaching classes many music majors took, I began to incorporate basic professional writing assignments into […]
Read MoreThe University of Kentucky’s School of Music Honored by the Commonwealth’s House of Representatives
It’s not often that the University of Kentucky School of Music, its faculty, and programs make their way into the business of the Commonwealth’s General Assembly. Yet that happened on March 28, 2019, when the House of Representatives adopted House Resolution No. 214, which had been introduced to the assembly by Representatives Ruth Palumbo, David […]
Read MoreA Tribute to My Father, II
Lyman Edward Pelkey (1937–2018) My kind father and friend, Lyman Edward Pelkey, passed away peacefully this morning(Tuesday, December 11, 2018) at the ManorCare Nursing Home in Montgomeryville,Pennsylvania. He was 81, having celebrated his last birthday on November 25. Back in November 2015, I wrote a lengthy blog in tribute to “My Musical Father.” I’ve […]
Read MoreSTEAM Before STEM: Lewis Mumford’s Ideas about Art and Technology
Digital Handout for: “STEAM Before STEM: Lewis Mumford’s Ideas about Art and Technology and Why They Matter Today” Stanley C. Pelkey, Director University of Kentucky School of Music 2018 College Music Society National Conference Vancouver, BC Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) Definition of “technics”: The field of “practical arts” and “that part of human activity wherein, by […]
Read MoreLeadership Challenge: Managing Your Emotional Week
During the past ten years, I’ve become acutely aware of the patterns of the more-or-less predictable ups and downs of my moods and associated emotions over the course of most seven-day cycles. I call these patterns my “emotional week”. My emotional week is shaped in large part by the rhythms of my work week, its […]
Read MoreWhat I’ve Been Listening to: All Kinds of Creatures… Big and Small
The music that has been occupying quite a bit of my attention during the past month was some of my own. As I have been sharing on the homepage for the past month or so, several of my new, short original compositions were featured on a program for families called “Libraries Rock!” at the Cape Girardeau Public […]
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