Nov. 12, 2025 - Amazing Sounds in a Midwestern Town: Columbus, Indiana: Small City with a Big Musical Heritage (Sept. 24, 2025) by Byron Cartwright of Alabama caught the attention of the Columbus newspaper. The Republic’s Hallie Gallinat interviewed Byron about the book and wrote a story that posted Oct. 14. Cartwright was also featured in his local newspaper with a story in the Times-News (Lanett, Ala.) The book centers on the time period from 1846 to 1966 and the musical innovation that prevailed in the Columbus area. Performers, educators, and philanthropists brought forth new ideas. Worlds of church, school, and community overlapped and interacted almost seamlessly for decades as a backdrop for musical creativity.

After completing a fifty-plus year professional career in music and ministry with two colleges and five congregations, Cartwright has found time to write during retirement: first, his memoirs, Connections and Reflections; second, his introduction to philosophy of music, All About Music ... Nothing About Music, and now Amazing Music. He holds degrees from the Cincinnati Bible Seminary, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.