Dear Friends,

Our more than year-long search process for a permanent Director of Music has been completed. The Advisory Search Committee has done an outstanding job of gathering feedback about each of the three final candidates from all of the choirs, as well as from other music staff, program staff and congregants. They conducted interviews, checked references and engaged in open-hearted discernment as they led this process.

Special thanks go to the members of our music staff who made the candidate visits so effective and to the Unitarian Choir, which sang in worship under the direction of each of our candidates.
Each of the three candidates is a talented musician.

Each would offer new energy and opportunities for our outstanding ministry of music.

The recommendation of the Advisory Search Committee is unanimous. Based on that recommendation and my own careful reflection, I have invited DeReau Farrar to become the Director of Music for First Unitarian and he has accepted.

There is much to celebrate in this decision. High on my list is the confidence we can have in the musicianship and leadership we have already experienced DeReau providing through this year of “Acting Director” service. People have other favorites among the three finalist candidates, to be sure. But DeReau’s skill is very widely appreciated, and his personal qualities as well.

A statement from the Advisory Search Committee about the process they followed and their recommendation is below.

I hope you will join me in congratulating DeReau.

Bill Sinkford