First Christian Church Expands Music Program

OurTownDeKalb.com

Edmondson directing a rehearsal of the Tucker Community Singers.

First Christian Church Expands Music Program

OUR TOWN DEKALB STAFF

First Christian Church of Atlanta has expanded its music program with the addition of a minister of music and outreach. Ann Edmondson, who has worked part-time at the church since 2019 as the minister of music, has now moved to full-time to develop a full range of programs that will serve church members and the community.

Edmondson founded Tucker Community Singers in 2017. Her plan is to add two new musical programs per year, beginning with Tucker Community Orchestra, for former musicians and those looking for a place to play, and Tucker Young Festival Singers, for grades 1-8. The Orchestra is still being formed, but the Festival Singers have already started meeting weekly for rehearsals, where they are learning a variety of music including xylophone, handbells, drumming, musical theater, and chorus. She also will continue to direct the musical and creative aspects of the church’s worship services.

Born and raised in South Korea, Edmondson moved with her parents and two sisters to Atlanta in 1986. She earned a B.S. in music and Bible from Point University, and an MRL (Master of Religious Leadership) in worship and music from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She has taught music and chorus for twenty-four years in Georgia, most recently from 2007 to 2022 at Woodward Academy. She is married to Tom Edmondson, senior pastor of First Christian, and they have two sons and two grandchildren.

“I want to provide musical opportunities for both young children and adults to learn, practice, and perform,” said Edmondson about her new position. “I hope to inspire, heal, lead others through music, and to be an ambassador to the Tucker community and beyond.”

First Christian Church of Atlanta is located in Tucker at 4532 Lavista Road. Tucker Young Festival Singers meets on Wednesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.; Tucker Community Singers meets Tuesdays (starting September 13) from 7:00 to 8:45 p.m. No audition or fee is required to join either group; walk-ins are welcome. Tucker Community Orchestra is actively recruiting members, with plans to begin weekly meetings in the fall. For more information, go to firstchristianatlanta.org or tuckercommunitychoir.wordpress.com, or email ann.edmondson@ firstchristianatlanta.org.