Anna Maria Island Community Chorus And Orchestra

About Us

The Anna Maria Island Community Orchestra and Chorus, founded by Holmes Beach resident Willem Bartelsman in the winter of 1992, has since grown to become a centerpiece of this community’s cultural life.

Both orchestra and chorus, made up mostly of volunteers, are unique in the Manatee-Sarasota County area, in that they form a cohesive unit, rehearsing and performing together. The group presents four concerts from November through March, and uses the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church for rehearsals and Island Baptist Church for performances. Typically, audiences are attracted from the Island as well as from Bradenton and beyond. Recognition for high performance quality has engendered strong community support, excellent press coverage, and the acquisition of several grants awarded by state and local agencies.

We consider ourselves extremely fortunate in having as our leader Alfred Gershfeld, who, after a distinguished career, emigrated from the former Soviet Union. Maestro Gershfeld takes time from his busy schedule as Professor of Conducting at the New World School of the Arts in Miami to direct our musical program. He believes strongly in community musical activities, and his rapport both with musicians and audiences is outstanding. He has been our Artistic Director and Principal Conductor since 1993, and we all benefit enormously from his knowledge and inspiring artistry.

Over much of our first 10 years our musical repertoire was drawn largely from the Baroque period. Our performances of Handel’s Messiah have become a beloved community tradition. Recently, however, we have achieved high audience enthusiasm for programs including American music and choral selections from operas.

An important part of our mission is that of nurturing musical talent in youth of the community. Each season we feature students with exceptional musical ability as soloists, and we encourage the participation of youth as regular members of our orchestra and chorus.