As Handbell Director, Pat Cates brings a wide and varied
background to the Handbell Program of First Presbyterian Church,
Marietta.
Pat currently directs the Ecclesia Ringers (middle school), Kirchenglocken (high school) and two adult ensembles, the Carillon Ringers and the Kirk Ringers.
Pat is a member of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and is the Georgia Chair for Area IV of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers.
He has been a handbell ringer for over twenty years and has studied conducting through private lessons and has coursework at Kennesaw State University. He has also participated in a number of AGEHR conferences and workshops.
Pat has sung in a number of ensembles in both the sacred and secular arenas and has been a cast member in “West Side Story”, “South Pacific”, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
He is a retired elementary school principal and a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He is married to the former Carol Brent, and they have one son and three grandchildren.
