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? This summer, join us for Summer Choir. We meet at 9 a.m. in the Acolyte Room for rehearsal and then sing at the 10 a.m. service.
For more information about the Adult Choir, contact Ernie Green.
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.
/music#summer-series
St. Anne's Episcopal Church will observe the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with a five-Sunday musical series tracing the parish's journey from royal Anglican parish to Episcopal church in the American republic.
Founded in 1692 as one of Maryland's original Anglican parishes, St. Anne's belongs to the world shaped by William and Mary, the English Bill of Rights, and the establishment of the Church of England in colonial Maryland. From its place on Church Circle, St. Anne's has stood for more than three centuries where worship and civic life meet — a vantage few American parishes can claim.
The series unfolds in two complementary layers. Within each 10 a.m. service from June 7th through July 5th, anthems by Thomas Weelkes, Richard Farrant, John Goss, Felix Mendelssohn, George Frideric Handel, and Gustav Holst will trace the Anglican inheritance that shaped St. Anne's founding and continued to nourish its worship after independence.
Following each service, the organ postlude will turn outward toward civic celebration with organ music written in the American patriotic tradition: James Hewitt's The Battle of Trenton (1792), Christopher Pardini's Toccata on 'New Britain' (2001), Charles Ives's Variations on 'America' (1891), John Philip Sousa's march 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' (1896), and Dudley Buck's Concert Variations on 'The Star-Spangled Banner' (1868).
"The service music remembers the tradition from which we came," notes music director J. Ernest Green. "The postludes celebrate the republic in which that tradition found new life. Together they let us mark the anniversary with gratitude and joy."
The music will be offered as part of the 10 a.m. Sunday service at St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Church Circle, Annapolis, from June 7 through July 5, 2026.
Photo: St. Anne’s Organ Keyboard by Laura Sullivan
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
Alec Green - Acoustic Ensemble Leader
Lindsay Espinosa - Soloist/Section Leader
Laurie Hays - 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.