Staff & Lay Leaders

Peter Sykes came to First Church in October 1985 as Acting Music Director and was appointed permanently in May 1986. His association with First Church goes back further, however, as he practiced on the Frobenius organ as a student of then-Music Director Robert Schuneman starting in 1977. He studied at the New England Conservatory and Concordia University in Montreal, earning degrees in piano and organ performance. As well as serving First Church as music director, he has taught at the Longy School of Music and the New England Conservatory, and currently teaches at Boston University and The Juilliard School in New York City. He has released numerous CD recordings of harpsichord and organ music, including his award-winning solo organ transcription of Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite “The Planets.”