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Children's Church Choir: When Church of the Covenant and Heritage Presbyterian Church became Farragut Presbyterian Church on July 14, 1985, not only did two churches merge, but also two music programs. At the time of the merger, Norris McMullen was the Music Director at Church of the Covenant and Phyllis Rigsby the pianist at Heritage. Mr. McMullen became the Music Director of Farragut Presbyterian and Ms. Rigsby the accompanist.
Mr. McMullen resigned his post in September of 1985 and Beth Flickinger became Music Director. Ms. Rigsby remained as pianist until June, 1987, at which time Melia Peters became pianist. When she resigned her post in June, 1988, Victoria Bolen became our accompanist. Ms. Bolen faithfully served in that capacity and was also Interim Director of Music during periods of 1992 and 1995. After a valiant battle with cancer, she passed away in May, 2003. After our move to the new sanctuary, Tami Newsom joined the Music Ministry as organist in January, 2000.
Doug Shipman became Music Director in June, 1991. He remained in the position until March, 1992. Ms. Flickinger graciously returned as Interim Volunteer Director until July, when Loy Boncek became Director. She continued until August, 1995, at which time Melissa Powers took the post.
Adult Choirs - The Chancel Adult Choir has been in existence since the merger of the two churches in 1985. In 1998, Dr. Batey formed the Farragut Singers, a youth/adult vocal ensemble.
Youth Choirs - During the 1986-87 school year a Youth Choir was organized and directed by Becky Thomason and Ms. Flickinger. From 1987-89 this choir was directed by Sandra Hipsher and Beth Martin. A Senior High Choir was organized in the 1991-92 school year.
Children's Choirs - The Children's Church Choir from 1983 to 1993 was incorporated into Children's Choir and was led by Cathey Sharp. From 1993 until the present, the Children's Church Choir has been led by Brian Davison. At that time, a separate Cherub Choir was started and led by Joanie Scheuer until the end of 2000 choir season. In 1993, a Youth Choir was formed for grades 3-6. This group, initially called Kids for Christ, which became Youth Club Choir, was led by Ms. Boncek and Ms. Flickinger from 1993-94, George White from 1994-95, Ms. Powers from 1995-98, Mary Boyd, Gary Heck and Nancy Pevey from 1998-00, by Ms. Boyd and Beth Martin from 2000-01, and Amy Gray in 2002.
Handbell Choirs - A Youth/Adult Handbell Choir met from 1986-89 and played for special occasions. From 1990-95 the choir was directed by Lona Hood. Ms. Powers incorporated this group with the Kids for Christ Choir using a set of Handchimes for the younger members. She also organized the Carillon Adult Handbell Choir. The group was led by Mr. White, Janet Treadway and Ms. Pevey from 1998-00 and is presently led by Mr. White and Ms. Pevey.
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Dr. Angela L. Batey, Director of Music
She is Conductor of the Roane Choral Society in Kingston. Dr. Batey has been Associate Conductor of Schola Cantorum of Florida, a professional chorus; and Associate Music Director of the Florida Ambassadors of Music which tours Europe biannually. She is also Festival Director of the International Cathedral Music Festival (www.icmf.org) held annually in the United Kingdom.
Dr. Batey is a frequent adjudicator, clinician and guest conductor of choral festivals, honors choirs and educational workshops. This season, she serves in those capacities for National Music Festivals in Atlanta, Gatlinburg, Nashville, Orlando, Toronto, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg. She also serves as the American Choral Directors Association State President, as well as faculty sponsor for the University of Tennessee Student Chapter. The chapter recently received the National Outstanding Chapter of the Year Award.
Dr. Batey holds two degrees from Birmingham-Southern College in Music Education and Musical Theatre, a master's degree from The Florida State University in Music Education and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of South Carolina. Her professional affiliations include Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, the American Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference, Tennessee Music Educators Association, East Tennessee Vocal Association, and Presbyterian Association of Musicians.
Tami Newsom, Organist
Tami Newsom is an accomplished musician and choral director, proficient on a
variety of instruments including the piano, organ, flute, and mountain
dulcimer. She is the Dean of the KNoxville Chapter of the American Guild or
Organists. Ms. Newsom's accomplishments are many and she has performed a large number of
music from all genres. She first began her musical career at the age of 6,
learning
to play piano. At age 13, under the guidance and tutelage of her music
instructors, Robbie Roseberry and Peter Picerno, she began playing the
organ at First Cumberland Presbyterian in Memphis, where she remained for
25 years. As an accomplished singer, Ms. Newsom was a member of a Memphis based
auditioned chorus group called The Wolf River Singers. Simultaneously, she
was part of their elite Ensemble Singer program. She has sat in as a
juried member in the euphonium section of many music students' final exams.
A one year appointment as the Organist at Resurrection Catholic Church in
Memphis, preceded Ms. Newsom's transition to the Choral Director/Organist at
First Cumberland Presbyterian in Oak Ridge,Tennessee. She became Organist
at Farragut Presbyterian Church on January 1, 2000.
Ms. Newsom's other interests lie in her career in the medico-legal setting. In 1985 she began working at the Medical Examiner's office and Regional Forensic Center in Memphis, Tennessee, where she also served as Office Manager for the Medical Examiner's office and Toxicology Laboratory. After setting up the Regional Forensic Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, she took a position as Administrator at the Regional Forensic Center in Knoxville, where among her many duties she also coordinates numerous forensic meetings and conferences with students, residents, law enforcement officers, and medico-legal personnel.
2004 Spring Concert Series Will Feature
Children’s Choirs, Keyboard, & Vocal Jazz
Concert Series offering will be announced soon!
- © 2000 Farragut Presbyterian Church (USA)
209 Jamestown Blvd • Farragut, TN 37922 • 865-966-9547
Email: fpc@tds.net- © 2000 Farragut Presbyterian Church (USA)
The three manual Renaissance (R-350) organ of Farragut Presbyterian Church was designed and built by the Allen Organ Company of Macungie, Pennsylvania. The organ is the first such instrument of its kind in Tennessee. It is the digital equivalent of a 3 manual, 79 rank pipe organ with 15 second voices for a total of 83 ranks of tonal resources. The instrument also has chimes, handbells, a harpsichord, orchestral harp, and a celesta. In addition, the organ is equipped with a MIDI division, which adds 100 additional voices to the instrument for a total of 184 voices available to the organist.
The instrument has a full antiphonal division, which allows the entire organ to also speak from the rear of the sanctuary. The Festival Trumpet en Chamade crowns the instrument, sounding boldly even above the full organ. The custom oak console was designed especially for the decor of the sanctuary, and may easily be moved to the center of the chancel for recitals and concerts.
Featured on the instrument is Virtual Acoustics, allowing recreation of any acoustical environment from a pipe organ chamber to a majestic cathedral. The computer contains 256 megabytes of stop sample memory, with stops sampled at 80 MHZ for the most realistic pipe organ sound available on any digital organ. Tracker responsiveness is available on the Choir/Positiv manual.
The organ console is custom finished for our sanctuary in oak, with walnut trim, including sharps and draw knob stems.
About our Piano...
Farragut Presbyterian Church celebrates the installation of the Yamaha C7 (7' 6")
concert grand piano. Crafted with uncommon care and integrity, for nearly a century,
Yamaha grand pianos have defined a singular standard of excellence. Continuing
consultation between Yamaha staff and prominent performing artists augments internal
research, evaluation and development.
The new Yamaha C Series represents a fundamental restructuring of the grand piano line.
The C7 boasts improved tone, touch and appearance, as well as increased strength and
stability. The solid soundboard is shaped from clear, fine-grained timber and is
permanently crowned and reinforced with full-length ribs, mortised into the inner rim. The
bridge is crafted from select hardwood, precisely notched, pinned and fitted. Our C7 has
direct bass bridges, improving lower-register performance.
Strings are produced from special steel wire and pure copper windings, then strung to lathe-cut tuning pins in a laminated hardwood pinblock for tuning stability. Featuring duplex scaling, the C7 tunes non-speaking lengths of strings to enrich primary tones with complementary harmonics.
Hammers are formed from premium felt, bonded and T-fastened to hardwood heads and shanks. The famed Yamaha action mechanisms are produced with exceptional precision and incorporate a metal action rail to ensure solid support and alignment. Beautifully finished V-Pro iron plates carry the string tension, and a metal tone collector connects back posts and plate, reflecting sound back through the case for a fuller, sustained resonance.
Our piano features a black satin finish. The padded leather concert bench is adjustable to enable people of differing statures to play the instrument with correct posture. The instrument is mounted on a heavy-duty dolly, which allows it to be moved around the chancel area to meet varying musical needs.