Leadership of the Alliance of Christian Musicians
Executive Director, Paul S. Jones
Paul S. Jones, D.M., has been Organist and Music Director at historic Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA, since 1998. He is also a pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, recording artist, and author. He holds the doctor of music degree in conducting and masters degree in piano from Indiana University as well as undergraduate degrees in piano, composition, and Bible from Philadelphia Biblical University. Dr. Jones is president of Paul Jones Music, Inc., a group of composers writing new music for the 21st-century church. He has composed or arranged more than 200 sacred works, has recorded eight CDs, and performs regularly with David Kim, concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He published Hymns for a Modern Reformation with the late James Montgomery Boice and also authored Singing & Making Music: Issues in Church Music Today (P&R, 2006) and What Is Worship Music? (P&R, 2010). He serves as council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and as Adjunct Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of the Concert Choir at Temple University's Boyer College of Music.
Regional Directors
Philadelphia
Lisa Ridenour
Since 1999, Lisa has served as Music Director at Christ the King Presbyterian Church (PCA), Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. A longtime member of ACM, she joined the board of directors in 2009 and accepted the appointment as ACM's Philadelphia Regional Director in 2010. After graduating from Temple University with a Bachelor of Music in piano pedagogy, she has enjoyed a career of piano teaching and music ministry. In addition to leading the music for Sunday worship services as an organist and pianist, Lisa's service at Christ the King has included the development of a 22-voice adult choir, instrumentalists, an internship program for a college-student musician, the beginning of a children's music ministry. Her church choir has teamed with other churches in special music presentations. Lisa also maintains a private piano studio. She and her husband Glen live in Conshohocken, PA, raising three school-age children.
Pacific Northwest
Ron Bechtel
Ron serves as the Regional Director of ACM's Pacific Northwest Chapter. Since 1993 Ron has participated in the music ministry of Faith Presbyterian Church (PCA), Tacoma, Washington, where he is currently Organist and Music Director. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, he began studying piano at age 11 and organ at 16. During his high school years, he was given many opportunities to grow as young church musician at Grandview Park Baptist Church. He went on to become a church music major and earned a BA degree in church music from Cedarville University (Ohio). Graduate studies for the Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary prepared him to serve in pastoral and music ministry roles.
Having a quest for fellowship with other church musicians, he came to associate with ACM in 2007. With the encouragement of Vince Treadway, then ACM's Executive Director, and Dr. Paul Jones, he organized the first Pacific Northwest Church Music Symposium in Tacoma in October 2007. In 2008 he established ACM's Pacific Northwest Chapter as a registered not-for-profit organization in Washington State. Now as Regional Director he works with a team of volunteers in hosting periodic events for church musicians. Ron is married to Ruth and they live just outside Gig Harbor, Washington. Ruth serves with him at Faith Presbyterian as church pianist and Adult Choir accompanist.
Board of Directors
Paul S. Jones, Executive Director
Jim Browne, Treasurer
David Moneymaker, Esq., Legal Counsel
Ron Bechtel, Pacific Northwest Regional Director
Lisa Ridenour, Philadelphia Regional Director
Martha Alford
Martha Alford holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Houghton College and a Master of Flute Performance from the University of Idaho. She taught elementary, junior high, high school and college level music. She spent 7 years as handbell director at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, and developed a secondary school music theory and history curriculum using bells as practical application.
Currently, Martha directs four handbell ensembles and the instrumental ensemble at Proclamation Presbyterian Church. She also directs the orchestra program at The Baldwin School, and maintains a large private flute studio.
Martha is the Pennsylvania State Representative for the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers. She directs the Main Line Ringers, an advanced level community handbell ensemble.
William Byrd
William Byrd, III, is currently the director of the Delaware Valley Concert Choir and has served as Organist and Choirmaster in churches in the Philadelphia area since 1977. His musical background includes styles from Bach to Kirk Franklin. He studied organ with Frederick B. Sponsler. He is married and has four children.
Joe Kempf
Joe Kempf is a member of Proclamation Presbyterian Church where he is an elder and sings in the choir. He is also CEO of Geo. F. Kempf Supply Co.
Evelyn Larter
Evelyn Larter was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. She won the prestigious Governor's Recital Prize for piano, and graduated with honors in concert piano and music education. She performed with the Highlands Sinfonia, and on Scottish television. Since moving to the United States with her husband and family in 1988, Evelyn has been active in the Philadelphia area, performing with well-known soloists and ensembles. She was on the music staff of historic Tenth Presbyterian Church for 11 years, regularly substituting on the organ.
In September 2003, Evelyn became Director of Music at Deerfield Presbyterian Church, South Jersey, where she organizes regular recitals with world class musicians. As a composer, Evelyn writes anthems for her small church choir, and instrumental and vocal solo hymn arrangements for use as preludes and offertories. Six of her anthems have been published by the Lorenz Corporation and two by Saint James Music Press. More anthems are currently awaiting publication by St. James Music Press, Augsburg Fortress and Abingdon Press. She recently served as Dean of the SouthWest Jersey Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Evelyn has a strong interest in maintaining the goal of excellence in worship music, and has consulted with many churches on issues concerning the introduction of contemporary worship. She enjoys all kinds of music, and teaches many gifted students. Every summer she serves on the faculty of the Csehy Summer School of Music in Langhorne, PA, where she teaches piano and composition. She is married to Rev. Dr Ken Larter, the minister of Deerfield Presbyterian Church. They have four adult children, and three grandchildren.
Vince Treadway
Recognizing the need for a fellowship of like-minded Christian musicians who serve the church, Vince provided the leadership to found the ACM in 2002, and became its first Executive Director. Vince's professional musical career started at age eight when he began as organist/pianist at First Baptist Church of New Castle, Delaware. He was involved in solo performances as well as accompanist for several choral groups throughout his high school years. He won a full scholarship to Indiana University and studied Piano and Music Education there. Later he attended Virginia Commonwealth University as a Piano/Music Education Major, and obtained a B.R.Ed. from Trinity Theological Seminary in Evansville, Indiana.
He holds two masters degrees from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey; a M.M. in Church Music and a M.M. in Organ Performance. Throughout his life he has served as Director of Music in churches, and is currently serving at Proclamation Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. His duties at Proclamation include overseeing a full music program which includes a graded choral program for children; the adult choir, a concert series, handbell choirs, instrumental ensembles, worship teams, educational classes offered in the spring, children's musicals, composing and arranging, and leading worship from the organ. Vince teaches piano, organ and voice privately. He also performs in the United States as well as abroad, including concerts in Tokyo, Japan; Kyiv, Ukraine; and Paris and Aix-en-Provence, France. Vince is married and has one daughter.
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