About the Key Chorale

Key Chorale completed its 27th season 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. This past season, Reaching Out, took the Chorale as far north as St. Petersburg, south to Venice, and east to Miami. It will conclude this remarkable year bringing American music to Ireland and Scotland in July.

The Chorale is comprised of 110 voices with a professional base of section leaders and core singers. It has collaborated with other arts groups such as the Sarasota Opera, Sarasota Ballet, Circus Sarasota, Sarasota Young Voices, and Sybarite5 to bring celebrated musical works to the community.

For 21 years, Daniel Moe was the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Chorale. Dr. Moe previously conducted the internationally renowned Oberlin College Choir. He announced his intended retirement 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 performance of Verdi’s acclaimed Requiem. His tenure with Key Chorale established a standard of choral excellence that has been continued by current Artistic Director Joseph Caulkins. Our beloved Daniel departed this life this past May and he will be truly missed. The upcoming November 4, 2012 concert will be a tribute entitled The Living Legacy of Daniel Moe. 

Collaborating with the Sarasota Orchestra under the baton of Leif Bjaland, the Chorale has performed such works as Poulenc’s Gloria, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, and Haydn’s The Creation. It also has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Slatkin presenting Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

To celebrate its 25th season, Key Chorale performed Three Days by the Sea by Gwyneth Walker (commissioned for its 20th anniversary) along with a work commissioned for this special occasion by Dale Warland, Invocations: Prayers for the Earth and performed in the presence of the composer.

Key Chorale has released several recordings that reflect the diversity of its repertoire. Opening the 2010-11 season, the chorale launched a new CD INVOCATIONS featuring the commissioned works noted previously and various selections of Eric Whitacre, Bonia Shur, and Daniel Moe.