STAFF

Don Byrd

Researcher and writer

Email: [email protected]

Don Byrd is the award-winning author of the latest news section of BJC’s website, previously known as the Blog from the Capital.

Since 2005, Byrd has been keeping readers informed of the events, statements, court decisions and commentary relating to faith freedom and the institutional separation of church and state. He was honored multiple times for his work with a DeRose-Hinkhouse Award of Merit from the Religion Communicators Council.

A professor of music theory at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., Byrd earned his J.D. from the Belmont University College of Law in 2014 and is a member of the Tennessee Bar. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Pittsburgh and bachelor’s degrees in Music Theory/Composition and Philosophy from Belmont.

In addition to writing about church-state legal news, his academic work includes a popular undergraduate class on The Beatles as well as writings and lectures on diverse topics, including the Supreme Court’s copyright decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft, Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” through the lens of Kierkegaard, the songs of Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso in the 1960s, the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and Martin Scorsese’s re-make of the film “Cape Fear.”

Byrd and his wife, Lisa, live in Nashville, Tenn.

Learn more about Don in his BJC staff Q&A.