The Baptones Quartet...
was formed
in 1959 to meet the newly organized West Shore Baptist Church's need for
special music. Since that beginning, they have sung throughout the
Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states. Their repertoire includes
southern gospel songs, contemporary songs and the old hymns of the
church. They have sung in many churches of different denominations,
for service organizations and community functions. To date, they
have made several recordings.
BILL KEET... (tenor)
started
singing in a church choir as a bass around 1978. In 1985, he found
barbershop singing and was auditioned and placed in the tenor section
with the Keystone Capitol Chorus, based in Harrisburg. Being
trained to sing through barbershop schools, he started singing in
various quartets. He then entered the gospel scene in the early
90's, singing with an octet call Shofar. In 2005, he entered the
Jazz world, singing acappella with the Baltimore Vocal Jazz Ensemble.
Singing with the choir at West Shore Evangelical Free Church also helped
keep him busy. When not singing, he is supporting his own plumbing
company and spending time with his wife, Deb, since 1974. They
have two children, Megan & Brian. In his spare time, you can catch
him skiing, or volunteering at Mission Central in the computer ministry.
E.J. STEVENS... (tenor, piano) grew up in Mineral, Virginia
(northwest of Richmond, VA) and attended Virginia Commonwealth University
in Richmond, Virginia, where she majored in music. She joined the group in the
mid-sixties as their pianist; she also plays for various
soloists at her church. Her home is in Mechanicsburg, PA.
Over the years,
E.J. has been active in the music program, as well as served on various
boards at West Shore Baptist Church. With the Baptones,
she sometimes sings solo, but also sings the "high" notes, when
necessary. E.J. keeps busy with civic and church functions, but
also finds time for gardening, golfing, baking and her
grandchildren (Cary,
Tysyn, Sean and Samantha June). She and her husband, Cal, have two children: Kim
and Scott.
BOB ZOLL...
(baritone)
grew up locally and lives near Lisburn, which is near Mechanicsburg. He
joined the group in 1978. Prior to that time, he attending East
Stroudsburg State College, where he graduated in 1977, earning a
teaching degree in Secondary Education. Bob handles most of the
technical and promotional affairs for the group. Over the years,
Bob has been active in the church's music program, as well as served on
various boards at West Shore Baptist Church. He is involved in a
family business, where he works in the sales department for Kessler’s Inc., home of the famous Nittany
Lions Franks. Bob's wife's name is Kris.
JAY LEDVINA...
(bass) a
native of Iowa, Jay recently joined the group, having lived in
Harrisburg for nearly 30 years. He and his wife met as participants in a
choral group as undergradutes at Iowa State University. An avid pilot
and flight instructor, Jay is retired from being a sales executive and investment advisor
for StanCorp Equities, Inc., where he was specializing in retirement plans. He and
his wife Suellen have been active in their church, the historic Silver
Spring Presbyterian Church in Mechanicsburg and have raised two children
in this area. Their daughter now teaches elementary music in Dublin,
Ohio, and their son just graduated from the United States Air Force
Academy in Colorado Springs. For 28 years, Jay and Suellen have been
members of The Carolers, a caroling group comprised of 6 married
couples, sharing their music at nursing homes and hospitals each
Christmas. This group has also performed at the White House and Colonial
Williamsburg several times, and for each of Pennsylvania's governor's
open house celebrations.
BRUCE MONTGOMERY... (lead) joined the group in 1994. He lived in New
Castle (near Pittsburgh, PA) and earned a degree in engineering at Geneva College before coming to
Harrisburg to work for PennDOT. Having retired in 2005, he now
dabbles in engineering consulting and specializes in lawn mowing and car
washing.
Over the years, Bruce has been active in the music program, as well as
served on various boards at West Shore Baptist Church.
In his spare time, he has sung the national anthem for many
professional sports events, serving as a regular soloist for the
Pittsburgh Pirates and the Harrisburg Senators baseball teams, Hershey
Bears hockey team and the Harrisburg Heat, Wildcats and City Islanders soccer teams. Bruce and
his wife, Cheryl, have two children: T. Bruce, in Bainbridge and Scott, in
Harrisburg.
H.
ROD HITE... (bass) joined the group in 2010. Born in Altoona,
PA, he grew up in Harrisburg, graduating from John Harris High School.
He and his wife, Teddy, met at the Harrisburg Community Theatre during
the production of Pirates of Penzance. They became engaged during the
production of Music Man, where Teddy had the lead as Marian and Rod sang
in the Barbershop Quartet. Both have been active members of the Camp
Hill United Methodist Church for 40 years as soloists and members of the
Sanctuary Choir. Rod has served as Chair of the Staff-Parish Committee,
as well as serving on the Board of Trustees and Finance Committee. He is
also involved in the community, having served on the board of the
American Heart assn., the Central PA Food Bank and currently the United
Methodist Home for Children. They have two daughters, one living in
Plano, TX and the other in Northern Virginia. Rod and Teddy are also
members of the Carolers, having formed the group in 1967. Rod’s career
has been in the financial service industry and is self employed as a
Chartered Financial Consultant. Spare time allows for golf, travel and
Penn State football.
