Prelude on An Ancient Melody (Wachet Auf)

Born into a family of German and Dutch immigrants, Russell Schulz grew up northwest of Chicago, near the village of Hebron, Illinois. He graduated with honors with a B. Mus. from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. He received his M. Mus. from the School of Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and his D.M.A from The University of Texas at Austin. He also studied at the Royal School of Church Music in London/Croydon. In 1988 he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Valparaiso University. In 2012 The Seminary of the Southwest awarded him the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters.

In 1971, while he was a student at The University of Texas, he and his wife Suzanne Widmar took over as co-Directors of Music at University United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas.[1] In 1993, Schulz left University United Methodist Church to take a position as the Director of Music at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin, Texas. He remained in the position until July, 2008.