Patricia B. Burton, Music Director

First Baptist Church

Washington, Georgia

Patricia Bonner Burton became Director of Music at First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia in August of 1996.  Her husband is a native of Washington and she and her family moved back to Washington following his military career.

Patricia was born at Montgomery, Alabama and attended the public schools of Wilcox County.  She received the Bachelor of Music degree cum laude from Wesleyan College (Macon, Georgia) with a major in vocal performance in 1962.  Her graduate studies resulted in  a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in 1964.  She attended the Ecole d'Art Americaine (Fountainebleau, France) on a scholarship for study with Mlle. Nadia Boulanger in 1967.  Subsequently, she studied voice at the Mozarteum with Susanne Anders in Salzburg, Austria in 1968.

Her professional experiences include public school music supervision in Beverly, Massachusetts and Wilcox County, Alabama and college instruction at Oglethorpe University (Atlanta, Georgia), Christopher Newport University (Newport News, Virginia), and Augusta State University (Augusta, Georgia).  She served as the Director of Music and organist at the Protestant Chapel at Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe in Brunssum, the Netherlands and has operated a private voice studio for more than thirty years.

It is Patricia's prayer that the musicians at First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia will be seen as leaders in worship and not as entertainers.  She strives to insure that the selections are relevant to the needs of the congregation and that those participating in the program receive the joy of having performed to glorify our Lord.

Click on any picture to view an enlarged version of Patricia directing, singing and enjoying music at First Baptist Church.