Adult Choir
It’s said that, “he who sings, prays twice” and St. Anne’s Adult Choir embodies that belief. Under the direction of Music Director J. Ernest Green, the choir provides most of the music for our worship services and at other special services during the church year. Feel called to lift your own voice in song? For more information, contact Ernie Green. Due to pandemic restrictions, the choir is not meeting now but will resume when it’s safe to do so.
Church Circle Consort
Put a multi-generational group of amateur and professional musicians together with strings, winds, and percussion instruments and hear the magic happen! The Church Circle Consort, conducted by Kari Shea, offers a wide variety of music for St. Anne’s worship services and other special events. Whether as a large group, in a smaller trio, duo, or soloist, this talented group plays from the heart.
Bach+ Music Series
Presented in concert with Live Arts Maryland, our Bach+ series explores the infinite creativity and joy that is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his influence in a variety of genres. Lovers of jazz and modern composition will find as much to love in this series as true Bach fans.
May 9 at 7:30 pm, St. Anne’s Episcopal Church
Choral Celebration for Ascension Day:
Monteverdi's "Vespro della Beata Vergine"
The final concert of the Bach+ Series again highlights choral works within the liturgical context in a choral celebration for Ascension Day and performed at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church
J. Ernest Green, Artistic Director of Live Arts Maryland and Music Director at St. Anne’s, the Bach+ vocal consort, and members of St. Anne’s Choir and Annapolis Chorale Chamber Chorus present Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610) (Vespers of the Blessed Virgin), a compendium of vocal styles matched only by Bach’s B Minor Mass.
The Bach+ Series is a collaboration between St. Anne’s Episcopal Church and Live Arts Maryland.
Featuring:
Conductor: J. Ernest Green, Bio
Soloists:
Chorus: St. Anne’s Parish Choir, Members of the Annapolis Chorale Chamber Chorus
Continuo: Roger Cline, Viola da gamba; Larry Molinaro, Organ
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The Bach+ Series, a partnership between St. Anne’s Church, Annapolis, and Live Arts Maryland, offers excerpts from Monteverdi's famous 1610 Vespers (Vespro della Beata Vergine), one of the most significant compositions in the early Baroque on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 7:30 PM at St. Anne’s Church.
As with Faure’s Requiem in November 2023 and Bach’s St. John Passion this past March, the work will be presented within a liturgical context—in this case the Anglican tradition of Choral Evensong—incorporating the psalms and sacred concerti that Monteverdi wrote for the related Roman Catholic service of Vespers. In both Vespers and Choral Evensong, psalms and canticles are sung or chanted as part of the service. In his collection, Monteverdi used traditional and modern (for 1610!) musical techniques, such as concertato, which paired expressive writing for solo voices or groups of voices with that for the full choir. Monteverdi also used basso continuo, a new form of musical accompaniment that became popular during his lifetime, one that moved away from strict “note against note” counterpoint to a more fluid, harmonic motion that became the basis for Baroque and early Classical music.
This Choral Evensong will feature Psalms 110 and 122, three sacred concerti, and the 6-voice Magnificat. By placing Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers within the context of Choral Evensong, Bach+ is honoring the timeless, spiritual nature of the music in a way that will be transformative for listeners.
J. Ernest Green, Artistic Director of Live Arts Maryland and Music Director at St. Anne’s, the Bach+ vocal consort, and members of St. Anne’s Choir and Annapolis Chorale Chamber Chorus present Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610) (Vespers of the Blessed Virgin), a compendium of vocal styles matched only by Bach’s B Minor Mass.
Good Friday, March 29 at 7 pm, St. Anne’s Episcopal Church
St. John Passion by J.S. Bach
Join us at St. Anne’s Church on Friday, March 29th at 7 pm for a Good Friday evening service that features a complete performance of St. John’s Passion written by Johann Sebastian Bach for Good Friday of 1724, 300 years ago. This presentation is part of the Bach + Series, a collaboration of St. Anne’s Church and Live Arts Maryland, and commemorates the 300th Anniversary of this work. J. Ernest Green, Artistic Director at Live Arts Maryland and Music Director at St. Anne’s Church will be conducting. This service will feature world-class soloists, the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, and members of the Annapolis Chorale and St. Anne’s Choir.
Featuring soloists:
Music Staff
J. Ernest Green, Music Director Bio
J. Ernest Green is the Music Director of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, the Artistic Director of Live Arts Maryland and the Music Director of the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Annapolis Chorale. He served as a Cover Conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he worked with such artists as Metropolitan Opera star Denyce Graves, Sir James Galway, Pinchas Zuckerman, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Osmo Vanska among others. He received acclaim for conducting the National Symphony Orchestra for a subscription weekend with a last-minute call when Bill Conti was unable to appear – he had less than 20 minutes to prepare and conduct an entirely new program!
As a Pops Conductor, Mr. Green regularly worked with and conducted for the late Marvin Hamlisch. In January 2013, he conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s tribute to Mr. Hamlisch, featuring Idina Menzel, Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz, Maria Friedman, Brian D’Arcy James and Klea Blackhurst. In fall 2012, he was the Musical Advisor for the Memorial Concert for Mr. Hamlisch at The Juilliard School where he worked with Mike Nichols, Liza Minnelli, Aretha Franklin, Chris Botti, Kevin Cole, Maria Friedman, Lang Lang, and Barbra Streisand.
Mr. Green was the Musical Supervisor and Conductor for a new production of “Sweet Smell of Success” at the Hudson Theatre on Broadway. In June 2013 he was the Music Director and Conductor for “One Singular Sensation” a Broadway celebration honoring Mr. Hamlisch at the Hudson Theatre featuring, in addition to the artists listed above, Donna McKechnie, Marissa McGowan, Matthew Morrison, John Lloyd Young, Stephanie J. Block, Teal Wicks, Capathia Jenkins, Michael Douglas, Bernadette Peters, and Joel Grey. Recent engagements include concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Adrian Symphony and this fall he will conduct Verdi’s “La Traviata” with the Baltimore Concert Opera. Last season he conducted a new production of “Pagliacci” with Opera Naples.
Known for his adventurous and creative programming as he pushes the boundaries of the concert hall, Mr. Green has created several “fusion” programs combining standard concert repertoire with popular and contemporary music, which he has lead with orchestras both here and abroad. In addition, he has received acclaim for his concert productions of operas and other stage works, among them Verdi’s “La Traviata,” “Sweeney Todd” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific.” He has also been engaged to develop similar programs for other orchestras. Mr. Green also created a new concert production of “Don Giovanni,” which premiered in 2010.
Referring to his creativity and innovation in and beyond the concert hall, The Baltimore Sun recently said, “Green should be commended for his downright prodigious programming.” Mr. Green has appeared with many orchestras including: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra with Marvin Hamlisch, The National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, The Florida Orchestra, The Tuscia Festival Orchestra (Italy), The Queen’s Orchestra (at the Aaron Copland School of Music), Cumberland Valley Chamber Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, the Sophia Symphony and Varna Symphony (Bulgaria), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony, Orquestra Sinfonica Nacional (Santo Domingo), Mesa Symphony, Cumberland Valley Chamber Players and the Trinity Chamber Orchestra (Cleveland). He has toured with the Ballet Arabesque (Bulgaria) the Ballet Theatre of Maryland, MozartFestival Opera and the Teatro Lirico d’Europa.
Mr. Green’s opera credits include the Opera Naples, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Teatro Lirico d’Europa, Boston Aria Guild, Indiana Opera North, Associacão Opera de Brasilia, Boston Academy of Music and the Young Victorian Theatre Company. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1993 and in 1986 made his international debut conducting performances with the Fundacão Orquestra Sinfoni ca de Brazil, Associacão Opera de Brasilia, and the Orquestra Jovem de Brasilia.
Mr. Green is also a Lecturer in Music at Washington College. He is an avid advocate for the arts and an active fundraiser for his own company as well as other community organizations. He has served as a music panelist for the Maryland State Arts Council and has served as an advisor on its Strategic Planning Committee. In 2002, he was given the Performing Arts Award (also known as the “Annie”) by the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County and, in 2012 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.
J. Ernest Green, Music Director
Larry Molinaro, Organist
Carolene Winter, Organist Emerita
Kari Shea - Director, Church Circle Consort
Lindsay Espinosa - Soloist/Section Leader
Laurie Hays - Soloist/Section Leader
Jason Hentrich - Soloist/Section Leader
Bri Webster - Soloist/Section Leader
Ryan Webster - Soloist/Section Leader
Resonate with St. Anne’s
Where words leave off, music begins.
St. Anne’s believes that art can be a form of prayer; it has the ability to reach people and their emotions, wherever they may be. Annapolis is alive with music and we’re blessed to be able to share through St. Anne’s Adult Choir, our dynamic instrumental groups, and a music partnership with Live Arts Maryland featuring some of the region’s finest performers. The church itself is a glorious instrument, resonating with brilliant acoustics and the soaring sounds of our Freiburger pipe organ.
Wherever you are at this moment, let St. Anne’s music find you.
You can listen to more of St. Anne’s music on YouTube.