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Key Chorale just celebrated its 25th anniversary of bringing great choral music to audiences in southwest Florida. Located in Sarasota, the chorale was founded in 1985 by Ann Stephenson-Moe, Organist and Choirmaster of the Church of the Redeemer and Don B. Ryno, Minister of Music at St. Boniface Church.
It delighted the audience at its opening concert on March 3, 1985 with a performance of Handel’s rarely heard Israel in Egypt. The chorale is comprised of 110 voices with a professional base of section leaders and core singers. As the Official Chorus of the Sarasota Orchestra, the chorale has collaborated with arts groups such as the Sarasota Opera, Sarasota Ballet, and the Players Theatre to bring celebrated musical works to the community.
 For 21 years, Daniel Moe was the Artistic Director and Conductor of the chorale. Referred to as the “Dean of Choral Conductors” by the New Yorker magazine, Dr. Moe previously conducted the internationally renowned Oberlin College Choir. He announced his intention to retire in October 2005, which allowed the chorale to conduct a nationwide search for a new artistic director. Dr. Moe’s last concert was April 30, 2007 with a glorious performance of Verdi’s acclaimed Requiem. His tenure with Key Chorale established a standard of choral excellence that has been continued by Joseph Caulkins.
Collaborating with the Sarasota Orchestra under the baton of Leif Bjaland, the chorale has performed such magnificent works as The Creation, Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, and Poulenc’s Gloria. It also has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Slatkin presenting Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. To celebrate its 20th anniversary season, Key Chorale commissioned a suite of pieces by Gwyneth Walker entitled, Three Days by the Sea. These compositions were performed in the presence of the composer to conclude the 2005 season. Also during its anniversary season, Key Chorale was the subject of public television station WEDU’s Gulf Coast Journal hosted by noted television personality, Jack Perkins. In its just completed 25th anniversary season, Key Chorale again performed Three Days by the Sea along with a work commissioned for this anniversary by Dale Warland, Prayers of the Earth.
Key Chorale has taken its music to Europe on several occasions. In 2001, the chorale toured Prague, Vienna and Budapest performing Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass along with selected American music. More recently, in 2009, the chorale completed a successful tour of France and Italy in collaboration with the Southwest Florida Symphony Chorus of Fort Myers. Capacity audiences enthusiastically received a musical program of American music. The tour, which included two concerts in France—Chamonix and Nice—as well as two concerts in Italy—Milan/Bresso and Treviso/Asolo—concluded with a moving and memorable participation in evening Mass at the historic San Marco Basilica in Venice.
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chorale chorus Sarasota choral music symphonic music arts and culture entertainment performing arts Florida |
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