Our Music Programs

The church is very proud of our variety of Music Programs and the talent of all of our musicians.  We believe that our music ministry is not only an important part of out overall ministry but one of our strongest assets.

First Baptist Concert Series

Sanctuary Choir

This adult choir performs at all religious services. The ensemble consists of singers of greatly varied abilities including a core quartet and some talented soloists as well as members who simply seek the opportunity to make a personal musical expression and gift of their talent to their church.

Rehearsals are Thursday evenings at 7:30 PM.

Dr. Robert P. Eaton - Minister of Music

Dr Eaton is founder and director of the Assabet Valley Mastersingers, a 70 voice regional chorus dedicated to the performance of major choral masterworks, and also the sixteen voice Assabet Valley Chambersingers.  Dr. Eaton has a long career in church music and is currently Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Lexington, MA.  He is a Past President of Massachusetts American Choral Directors Association and is currently the Vice President and Treasurer of the chapter. He also serves as Honors Choir Coordinator for the Eastern Division ACDA conferences in 2006 and 2008. 

Dr. Eaton was Choral Director at Algonquin Regional High School, Northborough, MA for many years.  Dr. Eaton’s choruses won numerous awards at festivals and competitions, including gold medals for Jazz Choir,  Camerata Choir, Chamber Choir, and Concert Choir.   Dr. Eaton’s students have been selected for National and Regional Honors Choirs and were always well represented in District and All State Choruses.  In 1994 he was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award at Algonquin for his work in developing Humanities courses and a Senior Interdisciplinary Pilot Project.

In addition Dr. Eaton has been an organist/choir director for most of his career, active in the American Choral Directors Association, the American Guild of Organists, Music Educators National Conference, and Central District Massachusetts Music Educators Association. He has served as adjudicator and manager of All-State and District choruses and clinician/adjudicator for Festivals of Music. He received a Master of Music Education degree from Hartt School of Music with Dr. Gerald Mack and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting with Dr. James Jordan, also from Hartt. His DMA Dissertation was on Duruflé’s Requiem.   Dr. Eaton has also studied conducting with Allen Lannom, Joseph Flummerfelt, and Sir David Willcocks.
 

Frank Levar, Tenor

attended the School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington where he performed in several operas. He was the District Winner and Regional Finalist in 1984 for the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. In 1982, he made a guest appearance with Garrison Keillor’s Minnesota Public Radio show “A Prairie Home Companion”. Most recently, Frank performs as the tenor soloist at the First Baptist Church of Lexington and as a cantor at Our Lady of Snow’s Catholic Church in Woodstock, Vermont. Some of his past credits include the roles of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Alfredo in La Traviata with Longwood Opera and Rodolfo in Lake George / Longwood Opera’s production of La Boheme. He was a tenor soloist in the Bernstein Mass with the Opera Company of Boston under the direction of Sarah Caldwell. In 1983 he was an apprentice artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera in Iowa. As an apprentice artist with the Central City Opera Company of Colorado he performed the roles of Macduff in Macbeth, Larry / Matt in The Face on the Barroom Floor and Sam in The Ballad of Baby Doe. For the Opera Company of Boston, he performed the roles of Macdonald Karlovich and Manilov’s father in Dead Souls and Guiseppi in La Traviata. As a guest artist at Wolf Trap, he performed the roles of Sid in Albert Herring and Carl Magnus in A Little Night Music. He has been a featured soloist with the Salem Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tufts University Chorale. His other credits include performances with the San Francisco Opera, Kentucky Opera, Boston Concert Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Marlborough Symphony and the New Life Symphony of Massachusetts. Of all the singing Frank has done, some of the most rewarding was performing in many Massachusetts’ schools with the 1988-89 Young Audience’s “Opera to Go” Ensemble.

Melynda Davis - Soprano

Ms. Davis graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth with a Bachelor in Vocal Performance and Education. She completed her Master of Music in Opera performance at the Longy School of Music, Cambridge, MA in 2003, under the direction of Ms. Donna Roll. She has performed the role of ‘Dido” from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Harvard Early Music Society. She has participated in Operafest Boston in 2000 and 2001 as well as the Lake Placid Institute in 2002. She also placed Second in Boston’s Leontyne Price Vocal Arts Competition in 2002. Melynda has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra in their Holiday Chorus in 2002 and 2003. She has performed with the Opera Providence chorus in their production of Tosca and with Opera Boston chorus in their production of Luisa Miller. She has been a soloist with the Providence Singers and the Junior Providence Singers. She has been a faculty member at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School as well as Roger Williams University. Melynda also placed First in the 2005 Rhode Island NATS Competition. She is currently a student of Maria Spacagna. For more information see melyndadavis.com.

Gail Hatfield, Alto

Ms. Hatfield has studied voice at Dean Junior College and New England Conservatory. She has had a long tenure as church soloist and is frequently requested for solo performances at weddings and funerals throughout the area. She is the Music Director of YESS, a youth choir at First Baptist Church. Gail also helps manage the Joyful Noise Coffeehouse with her husband, David. The purpose of the coffeehouse is to bring the best folk and acoustic music to Lexington and to generate funds for local charities. The Joyful Noise Coffeehouse started in the fall of 1991, is in its fourteenth season and has raised over $65,000 for local charities. For more information go to www.joyfulnoisecoffeehouse.org. Gail is employed full-time at Carleton-Willard Village, a retirement community in Bedford, Ma as their Director of Learning in Retirement.

Patrick Nay, Bass

Patrick Nay is a 2003 graduate of Anna Maria College, and is currently working in Franklin, MA as an Inventory Analyst.  He has a Bachelor of Music in Voice and is a private voice instructor as well as a member of the Assabet Valley Mastersingers and Chamber Choir.  Patrick grew up in the Worcester, MA area where he was a member of the First Congregational Church in Holden's church choir as well, and has sung in a variety of choirs and festivals throughout high school and college.  Patrick's solo experience includes leading roles in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, MAME, HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and other musicals as well as solo experience in classical works such as Handel's Messiah, Brahm's Requiem,  and Mozart's The Magic Flute, as well as participating in various recitals and concerts since age 14. 

YESS - Youth Engaged in Spiritual Song

This group is open to young people in Grades 3-8. It is an opportunity for young people to share their musical talents with each other and with the church. Musicians rehearse and prepare performances for small vocal and instrumental ensembles. Rehearsals are Sundays, following the worship service, 11:45-12:30. Gail Hatfield, director.

 (picture of YESS Choir)

Community Outreach

The Joyful Noise Coffee House, presented monthly in the church sanctuary, . The Joyful Noise Coffeehouse started in the fall of 1991, is in its fourteenth season and has raised over $65,000 for local charities.