Sounds of Faith Welcomes New Director: Dee Hamner

Second-Ponce de Leon welcomes Dee Hamner as the new director of Sounds of Faith. Dee follows Charley Snell, who served as Sounds of Faith director for the past three years.

Becoming Sounds of Faith director came through inspiration, Dee admits. "The music-making within Sounds of Faith, and singing with a director [Charley] that has a God-given talent, is inspiring," he says. "The members of Sounds of Faith are an inspiration, as well as the family of Second-Ponce. To have an opportunity to serve God in any capacity is a blessing, and to serve Him alongside a great mentor as Dr. Eric Nelson is a bonus!"

God and music have always been a major part of Dee's life. He was raised in church music and loved to sing.

"Music is my gift from God," emphasizes Dee, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Alabama. Dee moved to Atlanta two years ago and made Second-Ponce de Leon his church home about six months later.

Dee has performed with the Sanctuary Choirs of First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa; Tarrytown United Methodist in Austin, Texas; and the Sanctuary Choir and Sounds of Faith at Second-Ponce. He also will begin a second season singing with the Atlanta Sacred Chorale. Dee teaches choral and general music at Sandtown Middle School in Southwest Atlanta.

Saying Thank You to Charley Snell

Although Charley Snell will no longer direct Sounds of Faith, he will continue to use his musical talents as he takes a full-time position at Lakeside High School as the Chorus Director, Drama Director, and AP Music Theory teacher.

"When Charley began his work at Second-Ponce de Leon, he was one of my graduate students at Emory," recalls Dr. Eric Nelson, Minister of Music. "It has been quite wonderful for me to watch Charley grow and change from being a student to becoming a teacher himself. He is a man of extraordinary gifts and we will miss having him as a part of our staff."

Every person in Sounds of Faith is an extremely fine musician, so making music was the easy part, Charley says. "God has always spoken to me most powerfully through the medium of music," he adds, "and over the course of the three years, I definitely felt the presence of God through Sounds of Faith. I learned so much from each individual and will treasure our time together."