Untitled

Biographies

David Touchette

Music Director for the Spirit of St. Anthony Choir

David Touchette is the Music Director for the Spirit of St. Anthony Choir. His involvement began as a volunteer commitment to the first MUSIC AT ST ANTHONY'S fund-raising Concert and Tea in May 2004. That experience uplifted the group and inspired them to officially form the Spirit of St. Anthony Choir, an ecumenical 60 voice group from 30 different area churches. To date, under David Touchette's direction, over 170 singers and musicians in 14 different bi-annual concerts have rejoiced together in song.

David's community involvement began as a Choral Clinic Host in 1993, bringing nationally-known composers to New Bedford for an annual workshop for local singers, teachers, and choir directors. He has sung with, conducted or played trumpet with area groups such as the Interchurch Council Chorus, Dartmouth Community Band, and Church Women United.

A Dartmouth High School graduate, David received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education at Barrington College RI (now merged with Gordon College). David is a graduate of Rhode Island College, in Providence where he completed several graduate level courses toward a MAT in trumpet performance. For specialized private trumpet instruction, he studied under professional musicians John Coffey, George Hearst, Julio Tancredi and Leon Merian.

In his varied performance career, he toured with the Bedfords Show Band, and played trumpet with numerous concert and stage bands, including the American Band of Providence, The Eddie Phillips Big Band, the Leon Merian Big Band, and the Rochester Regional Symphonic Band. As a teacher in both New Bedford and Dartmouth for 35 years, he taught music, chorus and brass, creating and implementing a first-year elementary band curriculum as the Director of the elementary and middle school band programs. He has mentored many young musicians as a teacher with a philosophy that all children, regardless of physical or developmental challenges, can participate in, and benefit from, involvement in a band program.

David has taken that philosophy to his choir involvement where he began as Choir Director for the Congregational Church of Dartmouth Mass, serving for over 25 years. He since has been the Choir Director for the Pilgrim Church of Christ in downtown New Bedford. The First Congregational Church of Fairhaven Mass is where he currently fulfills his service as the Choir Director, and as the Choral Clinical Host for his annual workshop.

David J. Langevin

Spirit of St. Anthony Concert Organist

DJLangevin@gmail.com

David Langevin is the Spirit of St. Anthony Choir concert organist. In May 2004, when the MUSIC AT ST. ANTHONY'S program was launched to begin a fund to restore the 1912 Casavant Organ at St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford, David was a key ingredient to the success of this remarkable program. As a lifelong parishioner, his musical background is rooted in sacred classical compositions and steeped in French-Canadian hymns. He was significantly influenced by Michel Labens, a Flemish born immigrant who was solicited from the Royal Institute of the Blind in Brussels to serve as St. Anthony's organist from 1953 until 1999. Listening to and learning music by ear, David's ability improvise on any theme raises his skill to artistry. A sample of his improvised music can be heard on this website on the MUSIC page.

David was born in New Bedford to a St. Anthony parish family, and went to the parish's elementary school, until he transferred to a specialty school for deaf pupils. He started playing piano at 3 yrs old after listening to his mother play and gave his first public recital at St Anthony's School at 5 yrs old. At 7 years old, he began professional studies in piano and music theory with Professor Jose da Costa.

At 10, David started concertizing professionally; appeared in many of Jose da Costa's Recitals at "Half Rest A Beira Mar" performed with the New Bedford and Fall River Symphonies, and was the featured soloists for many Festivals such as The French Festival, The Portuguese Festival, The Seafood Festival among others.

By 12 years old, David won a scholarship to study at the Juilliard School in New York. For his piano instruction, he studied with Lily Dumont, Cecile Clement Grobe, Virginia Eskin at the New England Conservatory, and Dr. Henry Doskey at East Carolina University. He also studied with Naumberg Prize Winner, Jane Carlson at the Juilliard School.

He was a full scholarship student at East Carolina University, winning the Young Artists Competition and the Concerto Competition there. He performed as Piano Soloist with the East Carolina Symphony and the Gardner Webb Symphony. He has participated in Piano Master Classes with such artists as Lily Dumont, Seymour Bernstein and Menachem Pressler. In 1987, David was Piano Soloist during New Bedford's Bicentennial Year with the New Bedford Symphony at the Zeiterion.

In South Coast Massachusetts , David has been Music Director and Organist at St Anthony's, St Josephs Church, Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Sts. Peter and Paul in Fall River and Our Lady of Fatima in Swansea.

Thomas Clough Sargent, Sr.

Part Time Organist, Youth Choir Director and Cantor Director

186 Metcalf Street, New Bedford, MA 02745-2553

TSargentSr@aol.com

Married to Donna A. (Dahlberg) Sargent - Oct. 1968

Three children: Thomas Jr., Dana, & Caroline

Six grandchildren

Sept. 1958 Thomas entered the U. S. Navy for two years active duty and served on board the aircraft carrier USS Independence CVA-62. The ship was sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to act as a back up de-salinization plant for the Naval base in case Castro was to cut off the fresh water supply from the island. After his release from active duty he attended Boston University and earned a BMus Degree in Church Music. Following further study a MMusEd was earned at Lowell State Teachers College which is now U Mass Lowell. Then teaching music in the public schools in Littleton, New Bedford, Raynham, MA and finally retiring as Music Director of Classical High School in Providence, RI in 2000.

Elected to 'Who's Who Among America's Teachers' 1998 Edition

Author of four music articles for Footsteps Magazine

As the Parish Music Director and Organist at St. Anthony of Padua Church, New Bedford, MA, Thom plays for 3-4 masses each weekend, directs two choirs and supervises seven cantors. In addition, last year he played for twenty weddings, twenty-two funerals and a number of special feast day masses. Also currently a facilitator for study groups for "The Second Half" at UMass Dartmouth.

Former church positions include: First Congregational Church, Wareham, MA; Grace Episcopal Church, New Bedford, MA; St. Andrew's Church, Ayer, MA; Calvary Methodist Church, Arlington, MA; St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Southboro, MA; Emmanuel Church, Boston, MA; Littleton Congregational Church, Littleton, MA; Congregational Church, Groton, MA.

Richard Hill

Music at St. Anthony's Recital Coordinator

smhill42ne@earthlink.net

Richard Hill is in his 32nd year as organist and music director at Unity Church in North Easton, MA where he also directs the handbell choir, and the children's and sanctuary choirs. He also previously served as organist at St. John's Episcopal Church in Taunton, the First Universalist Church in North Attleboro, First Unitarian in West Bridgewater and Porter Congregational Church in Brockton. As a recitalist, he has performed in several series including Trinity Church, St. Paul's and St. Thomas Aquinas in Boston, St. John's Bangor, St. John's Southwest Harbor, First Parish, Portland, and several churches in the northeastern states. He has also played at Bruton Parish, Williamsburg and at the National Cathedral. He has performed at national conventions of the Organ Historical Society, the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network, the American Guild of Organists, and the International Society of Organ Builders.

Past Dean and present Secretary of the Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter, American Guild of Organists, he has served as chair of the Organ Advisory Committee of the Boston Chapter, AGO for several years.

At Unity Church, he performs monthly recitals on fourth Wednesdays at 12:15 on its 1875 Hook and Hastings organ. These are free and open to the public.

He co-chaired the 2005 National Convention of the Organ Historical Society which was held in Southeastern Massachusetts and in which the St. Anthony's organ was featured after several years of being partially unplayable. This recital began the drive to completely restore this splendid instrument to its capabilities, a crusade which continues with this concert.