Chorister Spotlight: Tom Martin

Many of us know Tom Martin from various committees he has served on during his time at FPC.

If you’ve ever worked alongside him on any of the multitude of projects he has tackled over the years, you know what a joy it can be.

As a chorister at First Presbyterian, Tom came to the choir later than his wife, Barb. He began in 1993 when the choir sang the Rutter Requiem. We can thank Barb for recruiting Tom to sing Bass.

While Tom and Barb raised a family and sang in the choir, Tom worked for 27 years at Denison University in Alumni and Development. Pursuing his love of travel in 1998, he bought Welsh Hills Travel, which he ran successfully until 9/11/2001. He then began working as Senior Development Officer of Major Gifts at Muskingum University, traveling 55 miles one way from 2001-2010. Throughout his career, Tom continued to sing with the Denison Concert Choir and First Presbyterian Chancel Choir; he loved the blend of orchestra and choral voices singing together in larger choral works.

In 2015, Tom had the chance to combine his love of travel and choral music! He was deeply involved in our 2015 Scotland Tour, where the choir sang at St. Giles in Edinburgh, an Episcopalian church in Aberdeen, and culminated in a performance at Iona Abbey. Tom said of this trip, “As we were getting off the bus for the first time in Edinburgh, I found myself in the best mood, and it lasted throughout our tour.” Tom was instrumental with fundraising and working with the travel company that organized our trip.

Join me in thanking Tom for 32+ years of singing with us. His strong, dependable bass is still in the back row. He is greatly appreciated!