The Music Board of First Baptist Church of Philadelphia is proud to present the annual Frederick Maxson/Walter Baker Memorial Recital on December 6, 2009 at 2 PM.  We have made this an earlier time this year to make it more convenient for members to stay around after coffee hour.  Our soprano soloist Rebecca Carr will be featured along with me in a Winter/Christmas themed program.  Rebecca has recently been featured as a soloist in NYC’s Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium) and is certainly a well known talent to Philadelphia audiences.

Some of you may ask “Who is Frederick Maxson and Walter Baker?”  They were both former Directors of Music of First Baptist Church who both had very prominent careers. 

Frederick Maxson served FBC from 1902-1934 when he died suddenly following a Sunday service.  He lived at the time in what is now the Rectory of St. Francis de Sales in West Philly.  Maxson held other church positions in Philadelphia before moving on to FBC after a few years of study in Paris with the great famous organist Alexander Guilmant.  Guilmant performed at FBC on one of his concert tours in 1904.  Maxson was also a well known and loved teacher who had over 100 students serving area churches. 

Walter Baker served as Director of Music from 1934-1949.  He began the long standing tradition of Sunday afternoon oratorio concerts at FBC.  He had been a student at The Curtis Institute of Music when he was offered the job.  He went on to have a very prominent touring recitalist and was later well known for being the chorus master for The New York Philharmonic on several occasions for performances and recordings.  He left FBC when the fire destroyed the sanctuary and accepted a position in NYC where he remained for years.  His sister-in-law Lois Baker is still a member of our church.

Rebecca Carr and I will take turns performing music with themes of Winter and Christmas.  Some works will be familiar and others will be a delightful surprise!