Music

The Music program at Church of the Redeemer is one of its great strengths and is central to our rich liturgical life.
Great Music SeriesUpcoming Music

Music & Culture

About Our Music

Every Sunday, our choirs perform anthems expressive of the great diversity found in Christian choral literature.

Throughout the year, music fills our church and campus with the sounds of rehearsals, concerts, and community recitals from some of the best and most talented instrumentalists, vocalists, ensembles, and orchestras not only in Sarasota but
throughout the world.

Great Music Series

Redeemer’s Great Music Series, under the direction of Organist-Choirmaster Sam Nelson, promises exceptional music in a sacred space. Click here to learn more about our upcoming concerts.

Evensong

This beautiful service is a time-honored Anglican tradition originating in the 16th century and is enjoyed by many music lovers regardless of their religious affiliation. Evensong closes the Lord’s Day with the choir and congregation singing much of the liturgy and organ accompaniment and improvisation. The wealth of literature composed for Evensong is brought to life when offered in this sacred space.

Evensong is performed monthly from September through May by the choirs of Church of the Redeemer. Typically, Evensong is at 5:15 p.m. on the third Sunday of these months. Several times a year, a wine and light hors d’oeuvres reception follows this service.

 

Sam Nelson
Organist-Choirmaster

Organist-Choirmaster

Sam Nelson started at Redeemer in November 2020. He conducts a large choral program and music series at the parish. Redeemer ensembles have become so popular that a number of music CDs have been produced as a result. The most recent release, Red Hot Vivaldi, features the girls of the Canterbury Choir.

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A native of Lynn, Massachusetts, Sam held his first organist position at the age of 12. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance from Gordon College in 2011, under the tutelage of Dr. Roy Brunner and Douglas Marshall. He then earned a Master of Music at Boston University, studying with Peter Sykes. Sam was the organist at Washington Street Baptist Church in Lynn, from 2002 to 2013 and Music Director at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, from 2013 to 2019. He was named Assistant Organist-Choirmaster at Redeemer in 2019 before becoming Organist-Choirmaster.

Sam served as Tour Manager and Organ Technician for Cameron Carpenter and The International Touring Organ during the 2015 and 2016 U.S. Winter Tours as well as during the 2016 premiere of Carpenter’s arrangement of Variations on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in China.

Choirs

The Church of the Redeemer has multiple choral opportunities for people of all ages.
Through each group, we teach liturgy skills as well as music.

Adult Choir

The adult choir sings at the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. masses on Sundays, Evensong, and special feast days. Members may sing at one or both masses.

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Rehearsals

Thursdays, 7-9 p.m.
(September-May)

RSCM/Canterbury Choir

This choir prepares music in the Anglican tradition and sings once per month at the 9 a.m. mass. This is part of the Royal School of Church Music training program.

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Rehearsals

Wednesdays, 5-5:45 p.m.

Ages

Grades 6-12

RSCM/Westminster Choir

This choir prepares music in the Anglican tradition and sings once per month at the 9 a.m. mass. This is part of the Royal School of Church Music training program.

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Rehearsals

Wednesdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Ages

Grades 1-5

The Redeemer Organ

The magnificent Redeemer Organ is a 64 rank Nichols & Simpson, and it was installed in in 2003. It is perfectly suited to the works of the greatest composers for organ. The console is constructed of oak with a burl eucalyptus interior. The pipe shades draw their inspiration from the chapel’s wrought iron screening. To learn more about the organ, click here.

Dr. Ann Stephenson-Moe

Organist & Choirmaster Emeritus

Dr. Ann Stephenson-Moe serves as Organist-Choirmaster Emeritus at Church of the Redeemer. She served the parish as Organist-Choirmaster from 1974-2020. 

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Hailed by former Sarasota Herald-Tribune music critic Florence Fisher as an “outstanding organist whose musical interpretations always reflect the integrity and the period of the composer,” Ann Stephenson-Moe is a major musical force in the greater Sarasota area as harpsichordist, accompanist, organist, and conductor.

Her reach, however, extends well beyond Southwest Florida. She has performed solo recitals at St. Thomas Church (Fifth Avenue) in New York City; at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; at Trinity Church (Copley Square) in Boston; and at the American Cathedral in Paris, France.

Dr. Stephenson-Moe co-founded the renowned and much-loved Key Chorale – the Symphonic Choir of the Florida West Coast Symphony. She also co-founded, and performed as associate conductor and keyboardist, for Gloria Musicae, a widely popular chamber chorus which performs throughout Southwest Florida. In an ecumenical spirit, Dr. Stephenson-Moe has been directing choirs at Sarasota-area synagogues since 1984. She is currently Organist and Music Director at Temple Beth Israel on Longboat Key.

Dr. Stephenson-Moe holds a masters in Sacred Music, summa cum laude, from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she studied with Alec Wyton and Robert Baker. While living in New York, she served on the music staff of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine alongside Dr. Wyton. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Florida State University, and a Masters in History from Rollins College. She received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary in 1997 in recognition of her leadership in the field of church music.

The Legacy of Daniel T. Moe

Dr. Daniel Moe served as Composer in Residence at Redeemer for more than 21 years. He was the much-beloved Music Director for Key Chorale–the official chorus of the Florida West Coast Symphony in Sarasota, Florida. He also served as Adjunct Professor of Music at New College in Sarasota, where he conducted the choirs of New College. Hailed by New Yorker music critic Andrew Porter as “that Dean of choral conductors,” Dr. Moe was a major educational force in conducting and choral literature, having developed distinguished graduate programs in these specialties at the University of Iowa. He served as Professor of Music at Oberlin Conservatory of Music for 20 years until 1992. To read more about Dr. Moe’s tremendous contribution to music, click here.

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