Welcoming Sean Burns
Following a national search led by Pastor Eric and a small advisory team comprised of Lilia Abron, Sarah Hodges-Austin, Aurelio Dominguez, Diane Gardner, Dennis Lambert, and Rosemary Plovnick, we are pleased to announce that Sean Burns has accepted the call to serve as our new organist. His first Sunday on the organ bench will be Sunday, June 4.
Sean is a Philadelphia-area native who relocated to Washington, DC in 2021. He is a recent graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, will be sitting for the bar exam this summer and pursuing a legal career in the DC area.
When asked what drew him to apply for the organist position, Sean said, "After spending my time as a law student working as a substitute organist, I attended an organ recital at First Baptist and was both immediately struck by the sheer scope of the instrument and reminded of how much I love having a regular place to play on Sundays. I resolved to start looking for positions after the new year, and as fate would have it, the very first posting I saw was the position at First Baptist."
Sean completed formal organ study at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ in 2016, where he studied with Alan Morrison and earned a Master of Music in Organ Performance. Before moving to DC, he served as the principal organist first at Corpus Christi Church and later at Abington Presbyterian Church, both in suburban Philadelphia.
Beyond the walls of the church, Sean has used his extensive love and knowledge of opera to serve as an accompanist for young singers who are either pursuing upper-level studies or who are at the forefront of a professional career. At the academic level, Sean has worked with voice students at Westminster as well as Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. Professionally, he worked at Sarasota Opera House in Florida along with the summer programs CoOPERAtive in Princeton, NJ and Canto in Louisville, Kentucky.
As he looks to begin his tenure at First Baptist, Sean said he is most excited about two things: the opportunity to get to know the people of First Baptist better, and the chance to add to First Baptist’s creative, thoughtful, and extensive use of music in worship. Welcome, Sean!
