Music Ministries:
A NOTE FROM OUR CHOIR DIRECTORS
"I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" (Isaiah 6:8)
Being in a choir simply means being willing to lift our voices in praise to God on a regular basis. If you are called to become a member of an FPC vocal choir or handbell choir, please prayerfully consider saying "yes". When we hear God's call and answer it with a "yes", we receive great blessings.
Call Alan Bunn at 706-378-1918 for Sanctuary Choir and Bell Choir or Alice Walker at 770-787-6915 for Ambassador Choir.
MUSIC PROGRAMS
Music is integral to our lives together as a community of faith. It is through music that we glorify and worship God in uniquely talented ways. A wide variety of music programs, groups and special presentations minister to the needs and tastes of our entire church family.
Choirs, including the Sanctuary Choir, Ambassador Choir, Children's Choir and Handbell Choir rehearse weekly and bring musical offerings to worship services on a regular basis. Rehearsal schedules are as follows:
• Sanctuary Choir - Wednesday evenings 7:00 - 8:00 pm
• Ambassador Choir - Thursday mornings 10:30 - 11:15 am
• Children's Choir - Sunday mornings 9:30 - 10:00 am
• Handbell Choir - Sunday mornings 9:00 - 9:55 am
MUSIC STAFF
Alan Bunn, Director of Music, is an accomplished musician who also directs the choral programs at East Jackson Comprehensive High School, in Commerce, Georgia.
Alice Walker, Organist, has an extensive background in church music and is also accredited by the AGO, with the CAGO, and the AAGO standards of excellence.
WICKS PIPE ORGAN
First Presbyterian Church, Covington, boasts an outstanding pipe organ built by the Wicks Organ Company, Highland, Illinois. The Sanctuary houses the two-manual, 31 rank instrument with 99 memories, installed when the new Sanctuary was completed in 1995. The Sanctuary Organ, the firm's Opus 6292, was designed for the new building under the direction of Dr. John H. Roark,
Numerous concerts have been given on the Wicks Organ, including recitals by Alan Morrison of the Curtis Institute, Samuel Metzger, formerly Senior Organist at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, in Ft. Lauderdaile, FL, and currently, Senior Organist at The New Presbyterian Church, Pompano Beach, Florida, and by Dr. Roark, Retired Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Buford, GA, and currently
Associate Organist, Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta.
The church's organist, Alice Griffin Walker, CAGO, AAGO, has performed many concerts on the organ, and sometimes with her twin sister, Becky Griffin Ramsey, organist at First United Methodist Church, Covington. In 2007, FPC Covington, along with FUMC Covington, hosted concerts as part of the April meeting of the American Guild of Organists, Atlanta Chapter.
A truly classic American organ, the Wicks instrument has been used to provide a wide variety of music for both worship and concert, and its sounds are complemented by the superb acoustics found in the Sanctuary.
The Wicks Organ was the result of a very generous donation by the Patrick Family Foundation (Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Patrick, Sr. and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Patrick, Jr.) in memory of Sadie Patrick Greer and Lee Alvin Patrick.
An upgrade was made to the Wicks Pipe Organ in 2009, with the installation of an Allen Organ Company Vista Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), along with a transposer and a digital recorder for the organ. The Allen Vista MIDI enhanced the organ with 128 general MIDI sounds, 94 organ stops, including principals, reeds, flutes, and percussions, plus 21 instrument sounds.
In 2010, a Rodgers MX-200 MIDI (Sound Module) was also added to the Wicks Pipe Organ. The MIDI contains a total of more than 1,100 sounds, personally selected by Dan Miller and Hector Olivera, both of whom are widely acclaimed organ recitalists. Miller is remembered in Covington for his playing the "Festival Concert for Three Organs" in October, 2007, at FPC, Covington, with FPC Organist, Alice Walker, and her twin sister, Becky Ramsey.
Both of these MIDI additions were given by Carol and Ellis Dunbar in honor of FPC Organist, Alice Walker, CAGO, AAGO.