History of the Joyful Noise and Allen Pote*

In 1969 Bob Ball was the pastor at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church (MDPC).  He believed that the church should hire a full time music minister. In 1970, Allen Pote was hired as MDPC’s the first music minister.  Allen arrived from Union Theological Seminary in New York. He also had been in Belgium, on a Fulbright Scholarship studying the organ performance.  “The Good Lord had a plan, and that plan translated into ten years of glorious, exciting music”, recalls Allen.

Bob Ball told Allen Pote that he should get some high school kids together to form a choir for a new Folk Service on Sunday mornings. Bob Ball thought that Allen could start this group in the fall. When fall came, Allen had recruited a hundred kids, thirteen guitarists and a full set of percussion. Allen played the piano, as well as directing the choir. The choir was named the Joyful Noise. The Folk Service was to be an experiment held at 11:30 a.m. The church session said they would give the service a trial run of three months. The 11:30 time was chosen because it had the lowest attendance.  The Folk service became the most popular service and MDPC became the place to be at 11:30.  The church realized that MDPC was the cutting edge for the renewal in music and worship.  

The Joyful Noise practiced every Sunday evening from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.  The members were expected to be at every Sunday morning service.  Allen wrote many of the songs they sang. He would hand write the music and copy it onto colored paper. The choir members were expected to memorize the songs.

Allen formed another choral group called the Joyful Echo, which was comprised of thirty kids.  They sang more challenging music and toured every summer.  One summer they went to Europe.

Three recordings of the Joyful Noise music were made in 1971, 1974 and 1977.  Allen Pote and Carole McCann wrote a complex musical. 

Allen Pote also directed the traditional adult choir for another Sunday service.  A new organ was purchased in 1972 for over $70,000.

“Across the board and across all age groups, MDPC was known for its music, but it was Allen Pote’s work with youth that was most significant foe the church.”

Allen’s Life After MDPC

After leaving MDPC, Allen worked with churches in Texas and Florida. He also co-founded the Pensacola Children’s Chorus. For more information on his career please see Allen’s Pensapedia page.

*Some of this information came from the book, "Growing in God’s Grace, MDPC at Fifty" by Ron Stone.