Susanne (Sue) Sechrist joined the FPC staff in November of 2004. A native of northern Germany, Sue completed her Master’s Degree in Music and English Education at the Universität Kassel in Germany, majoring in bassoon with a minor in voice and piano. Upon moving to the U.S. with her husband Steve in 2002, she continued her music training in choral music at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana.

As a bassoonist, she has performed in a variety of orchestras and chamber music ensembles in Europe and the U.S. Her vocal background includes performances in numerous choirs, including the Kasseler Bachchor in Kassel, Germany, the African-American Choral Ensemble at Indiana University and Cantori in Williamsburg, VA. Her music career has also led her to tour England and the Baltic States as a member of the Orchester Göttinger Musikfreunde and the Göttinger Universitätsorchester.

Sue grew up in a Lutheran and Presbyterian family and was confirmed in the German Presbyterian Church (Reformed Church). Sue and her husband Steve were married in 2002. He serves as Assistant Director of International Students and Scholars at the College of William and Mary. In her free time, Sue enjoys hiking with her husband Steve, her sons Adrian and Nikolai and dog Mika, horseback riding and running.

"I should add a story about how I have been nervous around donkeys for 27 years because of an encounter with 'Pepe', a donkey on the horse farm where I used to go horseback riding. Pepe was not very social, however, someone needed to clean him. It took 3 kids to hold and groom him, and he only let it happen bucking and kicking. The donkey at FPC Norfolk's Petting Zoo has redeemed the whole donkey population in my eyes."