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.
E.J. STEVENS... (piano,
soprano and alto) 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). 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.
JIM
PHILLIPS...
(tenor) originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Jim graduated in 1975 from
the U.S. Naval Academy, earning a degree in Electrical Engineering. He
spent six years in the U.S. Marine Corps flying AV-8A Harrier jets,
before accepting a position with IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York as a
computer design engineer. In 1987, IBM moved Jim and his family to
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jim is currently a Division General Manager
with CAI, a privately owned, Pennsylvania-based computer services firm.
He and his wife Ann teach Sunday School, along with serving on various
boards at West Shore Baptist Church in Camp Hill. He lives in
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania with his wife. Their youngest daughter,
Abby, is now a junior at the Naval Academy. Their son, Allan and
daughter-in-law, Jenny both graduated from the Naval Academy in 2006 and
are Ensigns in the U.S. Navy and stationed in San Diego, CA. Their
oldest daughter, Betsy, is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard, where
she and her husband John reside in Towson, MD.
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 a sales executive and investment advisor
for StanCorp Equities, Inc., 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 is a sophomore at 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,
tenor & bass guitar) 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.
With
the Baptones, Bruce plays the bass guitar on many of the songs the group
sings. 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 and Wildcats soccer teams. Bruce and
his wife, Cheryl, have two children: T. Bruce, in Bainbridge and Scott, in
Harrisburg.
