Rev. Wiggers was born in Westfield, NY and was raised in the 'deep south of Chautauqua county' village of North Clymer. He is a graduate of Clymer Central School,Alfred Tech and Cornell University in 1978.
 

After a first career as a Dairy Production Specialist Rev. Wiggers responded to God's call to ordained ministry. He graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore KY in 1991,with a Master of Divinity degree. He is an ordained Elder in the Upper New York Annual Conference.  He has served in Magnolia, North Harmony,Arkport and Panama United Methodist churches prior to being appointed as Pastor at Fredonia in July 2010.

Rev Wiggers believes all persons are called to follow Christ and be witnesses to the Good News of faith life. He invites all to explore the ministries of First United Methodist Church of Fredonia on this site and in person.
 

I am an ordained elder in the Western New York Conference of the United Methodist Church.  I retired July 1, 2004.  I served as Interim Pastor from August 2006 to June 2007 at Fredonia First United Methodist Church.  On March 15, 2009 I was consecrated as Pastor Emeritus and Visitation Pastor at Fredonia.  When called, I am open to preaching in other churches in our community.  I am confident that there are no small churches and no great preachers, only our great God!  My focus and goal is to be an encourager in the Christian faith!  At your convenience, please allow me the joy of hearing about your faith in Jesus Christ.  Oh Yes! Amen!  To God be all the glory!!!

Casey Gray - Organist

Email Casey

Casey R. Gray is currently a graduate student at the State University of New York College at Fredonia, pursuing the Master of Music Degree in Voice Performance as a student of Prof. Laurie Lasher Tramuta. In May 2009, he earned the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music: Voice, cum laude from Bethany College where he was a Voice student of Prof. David J. Rudari. He is a native of Wheeling, WV, a 2005 graduate of Wheeling Park High School, and is the son of Jeff and Cindy Gray. Mr. Gray was the Senior Fellow for Spring 2009, and served for four years as accompanist for the Bethany College Choir and studio accompanist to Prof. Rudari.

In the summer of 2008, as the recipient of the Benjamin Chandler Shaw Travel Award, Mr. Gray spent three weeks at the Schlern International Music Festival in Fie all Schilar, in the Tyrol region of Italy, where he appeared in a number of solo recitals and ensemble programs. He has appeared as the Tenor soloist in the Bethany College Choir performances of excerpts from Händel's Messiah; in Dubois' The Seven Last Words of Christ, and as the Defendant in Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury. He was a member of the College Choir Quartet and he appeared in two theatre productions at Bethany. Mr. Gray is a Bethany Kalon Scholar, Kalon Society member, a member of Alpha Phi Omega, and was the President and Vice President of Phi Chapter, Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity at Bethany. Also, he is a member and past President of Sigma Tau Epsilon, the Bethany College Honor Society in Music. He received a Circle of Vision Scholarship Award through the Bernard McDonough Foundation, a Bethany College Music Service Scholarship, and the George Hauptfuerhrer Award for excellence in Music.

In addition to his Music studies at Bethany, Mr. Gray was, for four years, the Organ Scholar/Assistant Organist, and a Choral member at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Wheeling, WV; and a two-year scholarship recipient to the Royal School of Church Music, New York. A former Piano student of Mrs. Yih-Ching Wang Schoolar, and former Organ student of Mr. Robert F. Troeger of Wheeling, West Virginia, he has accompanied numerous solo, choral, and musical theatre performances in the Upper Ohio Valley. Moreover, he has appeared as a Cantor for St. Joseph's Cathedral, Wheeling, as part of their live Saturday night mass broadcast. Mr. Gray continues to be active as an accompanist, as well as, a church musician. He is a member of the Fredonia State Opera Theatre and the Fredonia College Choir.

Tim Antonacci - Choir Director

Email Tim

 Timothy Antonacci holds a Bachelors Degree in Music Education and is a recent graduate of SUNY Fredonia.  He has studied both choral and instrumental conducting with Dr. Donald P. Lang, Dr. Gerald Gray, and Dr. Paula Holcomb.  Throughout his undergrad, Tim has conducted the SUNY Fredonia Chamber Singers as well the SUNY Fredonia Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra. 

Through his course work at SUNY Fredonia Timothy was granted many opportunities including two independent studies in, choral literature: Renascence to The late Baroque, and choral arranging.  He was also granted the opportunity to partake in International Music Institute of Leipzig’s conducting symposium, where he studied with Dr. Kate Tamarkin of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and Gunter Berger of the Hochschule für Musik, Franz Liszt and the Middle Deutschlandradio’s Kinderchor.  While there he conducted members of the Weimar conservatory in selections of Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat, the first movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, and selections from Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll.

Independently, Timothy has Music Directed as well as composed and conducted several of his own pieces.  In the fall of 2009 he acted as Music Director of the Fredonia Performing Arts Company, during which time he arranged and conducted Stephen Sondheim’s musical comedy COMPANY.  The following spring Timothy conducted selections from Robert Ward’s The Crucible in the Student Opera Theater Association’s  opera scenes program.  This coming spring he returns to the 1891 Fredonia Opera House and SOTA’s opera scenes program to conduct Michael Torke’s one act opera, Strawberry Fields.

Timothy is very excited to have joined the Fredonia First United Methodist Church and has the best of intentions to, strengthen and progress, not only the Chancel Choir but the Music Ministry in general.