The Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music aims to increase the number of capable, experienced musicians equipped to serve worshiping communities, by offering subsidized apprenticeship opportunities to amateur and developing musicians.
IILM is an ecumenical non-profit organization, established to fund and recruit interns. Interns are hosted by local churches and work directly for and with parish clergy and staff.
This musical evening will feature songs of all kinds, from a traditional spiritual and a contemporary art song to classic and contemporary Broadway tunes—and even some Italian opera! With more than a couple show-stoppers on the program,
and a featured performance by guest ensemble Coro Latinamericano, it’s going to be a night to remember!
The mission of Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music mission is to recruit and fund interns for local church music programs. Musicians who participate in this program will go on to lead music in other local churches, empowering congregations far and wide to join in song. Thanks to a significant legacy gift, IILM is nearing our goal of funding a part-time Director of Operations. In addition, a generous donor is offering a $10,000 matching gift for this special night. Please help us spread the word, and join us on August 20 so we can raise another $10,000!
Special thanks to our fiscal sponsor, The Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Through their partnership, your gifts in support of IILM are 100% tax-deductible!
About the Program
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As churches are getting smaller in this generation, it’s uncommon for a congregation to need—or be able to support—a full-time musician. The Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music provides a model for training church musicians that is more like trade school than conservatory, allowing developing musicians to spend a year assisting a local church musician at two different churches, and receiving one-on-one instruction and mentorship in all aspects of the craft and ministry of being a church musician.
Donate
IILM will be able to receive tax-deductible donations directly beginning in August 2026. To support this program today with a tax-deductible gift, you can make a donation to the music funds of one our sponsor parishes. Use the links below to access their online giving portals.
Apply
About the Director
Susan Powell is Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Mary Catholic Church and Precentor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. She studied organ, voice, composition, and conducting at St. Olaf College and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She is passionate about her vocation as a leader of congregational song and brings years of experience to her work as a teacher.
Testimonials
"With an awareness of the breadth and diversity of potential constituents and supporters, and a tone and language that conveys hope and joy even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, Susan is undertaking an extraordinarily visionary mission from the platform of part-time church work, something I've tried and failed to accomplish at two metropolitan cathedrals and from within the academy. Susan's initiative is just getting started, but there is a clarity of purpose and rightness of scale here by which I think this program will succeed. I've tried to turn ocean liners with one oar in the water, but she seems to have an easy hand on the rudder of an agile sailboat. She seems to intuitively understand the advice "THINK BIG and be small!"
—Kevin Vogt, Director of Worship and the Arts, St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish, Leawood, KS
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The Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music has been one of the best learning experiences I've had. Susan is patient, encouraging, and knows how to help you improve while giving you the confidence to keep growing. This internship helped me become much more confident as a church musician and gave me practical experience that I couldn't have gained anywhere else. If you are willing to work hard, ask questions, and learn from experienced musicians, you will gain so much from this program.
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—Yang Xu, Spring 2026 intern