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Worcester Baptist Church Competition

May 19, 2014

The First Baptist Church of Worcester, Massachusetts, announces the winning entry of the 8th Annual International Anthem Competition, Steven R. Seigart’s anthem entitled Rejoice in the Lord Always based on Philippians 4:4–7 NRSV, for SATB choir, organ, and flute. Seigart is currently pursuing a master’s degree in choral conducting with Ann Howard Jones at Boston University. He is director of music and liturgy at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Westwood, Massachusetts, and teaches undergraduate aural musicianship at Boston University. Seigart completed undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, where his teachers were David Higgs, William Porter, and Stephen Kennedy. An avid improviser in a variety of styles, he was a semi-finalist in the 2012 National Competition in Organ Improvisation, was featured on Pipedreams Live! in 2008, and has had several transcriptions of his improvisations published.

Judges for this year’s competition were Eleanor Daley of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Bruce Neswick of Indiana University; and Robert J. Powell of Greenville, South Carolina. The winning entry was premiered along with anthems by all three judges at First Baptist Church on May 4 by the Chancel Choir, Sarah Sams, flute, with William Ness conducting.