John Antes

John Antes (24 March 1740 – 17 December 1811) was the first American Moravian Missionary to travel and work in Egypt, one of the earliest American-born chamber music composers, and the maker of perhaps the earliest surviving bowed string instrument made in America. Although Antes is often recognized for his choral works, such as Go Congregation Go! and Surely he has Bourne our Griefs, his three string trios have also attracted attention and the lost “six Quartettos” remain a tantalizing mystery. Biography John Antes was born on March 24, 1740, in Frederick, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In 1745, Antes entered the Moravian Boys Boarding School, where he received music education from Johann Christoph Pyrlaeus. Although Pyrlaeus might now be first-known as a teacher of Antes, he was the founder of the Bethlehem collegium musicum, a capable singer, instrumentalist, and organist, and was also a missionary to Native Americans. In 1752, John entered the boys school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and in 1760, was admitted into the Single Brethren’s choir, also in Bethlehem. Antes was ordained as a Moravian Minister in January 1769, and he left for Egypt that same month to serve as a missio