St. Luke's Concert Series

St. Luke’s Concert SeriesSt. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Oviedo, FL, was founded in 1912, but in 1993 the congregation completed construction of a huge new sanctuary which can seat over 1,000 and is a very fine venue for musical performances. (Mark Fischer, General Manager of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, indeed, ranks it second only to the new Tiedke Performing Hall at Rollins College as “the finest acoustical space” in all of Central Florida.) In gratitude for God’s blessings, the members of St. Luke’s decided to share their fine new sanctuary with the whole community by sponsoring a series of concerts for which there would be NO tickets and NO admission charged. (Remuneration for the performing groups and other production costs are covered entirely by private gifts from individuals, local corporations and small cultural arts grants.)

That was 15 years ago and in the earliest years only 3 or 4 concerts were produced each season and the audiences ranged from 200-500 at each performance. But as Internet use grew, so did the Concert Series! These days the Concert Series maintains a data base of about 2,000 people who have requested that program information be sent directly to them and news about the Series is also available from St. Luke’s website, as well as through weblinks with community-based entities. In this, the 15th season of St. Luke’s Concert Series, EIGHT concerts are scheduled (TOTAL of eleven performances) from September through April. More than 10,000 people attended the live concerts last year, in addition to which each performance was viewed via closed-circuit TV by 300+ residents of an adjacent retirement community. St. Luke’s Lutheran Church also operates a school (PK-8th grades) for 850 students. The concerts benefit those children, as well, by providing them with FREE, quality entertainment, appropriate for the whole family.

So what’s the motivation?? The members of St. Luke’s view music to be one of God’s finest gifts to humanity and cherish this opportunity to share this wonderful gift with people of all ages – inspiring children to listen to and learn more about quality music; providing access to live concerts for the elderly and others who could not afford to pay for tickets at other expensive venues. But we also cherish the opportunity we have had to support the performing arts groups – especially those right here in Central FL. These range, for example, from professional groups (the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra) to university orchestras (UCF, Stetson University and others) to quality non-profit ensembles like the Brass Band of Central FL, the Orlando Concert Band and the Bach Festival Chamber. Without music, without the performing arts, our community would be a bleak place, indeed! So we are very thankful for the small role God has given us to play in making Central Florida a better place to raise our families.