MUSIC MINISTRY
Sanctuary Sessions provide the community quarterly live performances
to enjoy in an intimate and historic sacred space.
MISSION
Our mission is to create space for joy, reflection, and spiritual nourishment by welcoming the community into our historic sanctuary to enjoy sacred and secular music, supporting local and regional artists and creating connection consistent with the radical hospitality practiced by Jesus.
GOALS
Our music series welcomes the community, cultivates connection, and promotes local and regional artists. These actions fit well with Jesus’s mission because Jesus consistently brought people together, honored human creativity, and used gathering spaces as places of healing, hospitality, and belonging. We practice Jesus’s mission is the following ways:
Jesus’s mission was rooted in radical hospitality, which he demonstrated by inviting people of all walks of life into spaces of dignity and welcome to build relationships. By opening the church’s doors to our neighbors, we similarly practice radical hospitality.
Jesus built community around tables, shared stories, and shared experiences. Our receptions build community by gathering people not just to listen, but to meet, converse, and be known. The church becomes a place where relationships grow, which was central to Jesus’s work.
Jesus celebrated God’s gifts in each person. Showcasing local and regional musicians honors the God-given gifts within our community and supports those who dedicate their lives to sharing beauty with others.
Sanctuary Sessions offers a space for reflection, joy, and spiritual nourishment that can bring us closer to God. The universal language of music opens the heart. Though both sacred and secular music we create moments of peace, wonder, and renewal that echo the restorative nature of Jesus’s message.
Jesus lifted up those who needed encouragement or opportunity. By providing musicians with a place to perform, we affirm their value and give them a platform to grow in the spirit of nurturing that marked Jesus’s interactions with his followers.
FUNDING
The Sanctuary Sessions are funded through by St. Lukes and donations. Donations for this ministry can be made online. Thank you for your support!
Ministry Co-Chairs: Rev. Karen Goodell | Karin Dahl
Sanctuary Session 2026-2027 SEASON dATES Announced
The Pete Mills Quartet, featuring Pete Mills, Saxophone October 22, 2026
7:00-8:00 pm – St. Luke’s Church
Reception to follow in the Undercroft
A native of Toronto, Canada, saxophonist Pete Mills receives critical acclaim for his “virtuosic,” “gorgeous,” and “versatile tenor-kick-butt” playing (David Franklin, JazzTimes). The Columbus Dispatch describes Mills’ compositions as “impressive, with solos that are ear- opening...with a tone that is big and rich.” In 2025, he released For The Record with his B3 4tet, as well as four other albums as a leader: Sweet Shadow, Fresh Spin, Art and Architecture, and his debut album, the acclaimed Momentum. Mills has received grants from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and was awarded the North Carolina Arts Council Jazz Composer’s Fellowship. As a sideman, he appears on over a dozen recordings and performs regularly throughout the U.S. and Canada. Based in Columbus, Ohio, he is a featured soloist with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Pete holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of North Texas and currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Denison University.
Celts Crossing, December 5, 2026
4:00-5:00 pm & 6:00-7:00 pm – St. Luke’s Church
(during the Granville Candlelight Walking Tour)
Celts Crossing is a fantastic, rollicking, local Irish music band comprised of professional musicians, teachers, and students. They perform a lively mix of Celtic tunes and are highly sought for events in Licking County and the greater Columbus Metropolitan area. A special aspect of this working/teaching ensemble is their providing opportunities for students to learn and perform professionally.
UCelli: The Columbus Cello Quartet, February 4, 2026
7:00-8:00 pm – St. Luke’s Church
Reception to follow in the Undercroft
Described by WOSU Classical 101 as “breathing new life into music,” UCelli is an ensemble of four virtuoso cellists—Pei-An Chao, Mary Davis, Cora Kuyvenhoven, and Wendy Morton—who are also members of the Columbus Symphony and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. With a shared passion for the cello’s expressive power, UCelli delivers vibrant, genre-spanning performances that blend centuries of cello quartet repertoire with bold new commissions. Their concerts are known for their warmth, artistry, and the unique chemistry that emerges from four accomplished soloists performing as one. UCelli invites audiences into a rich soundscape where tradition meets innovation, and where every note is infused with curiosity, beauty, and joy.
Whirlybirds, May 8, 2026
7:00-8:00 pm – St. Luke’s Church
Reception to follow in the Undercroft
The Whirlybirds, a dynamic Columbus-based swing band that brings energy, joy, and timeless musical traditions to every performance. They blend jazz, funk, and R&B to put a contemporary spin on classic American swing. Their uplifting sound will transport audiences on a musical journey from the vibrant streets of New Orleans to the legendary jazz clubs of Harlem through a mix of original compositions, Dixieland favorites, and beloved Big Band-era standards. Featuring Joe Gilliland (vocals, guitar), Joseph Brenneman (vocals, clarinet, saxophone), Trent Sampson (vocals, upright bass), and Seth Daily (drums), the Whirlybirds deliver spirited performances filled with exceptional musicianship and infectious enthusiasm. Get ready for an evening of lively rhythms and toe-tapping music that is sure to lift your soul!
Sanctuary Session 2025-2026 SEASON
Heru Peacock, April 23, 2026
7:00-8:00 pm – St. Luke’s Church
Reception to follow in the Undercroft
Heru Peacock is a dynamic, award‑winning violinist whose music bridges classical training with the energy of hip‑hop, R&B, jazz, and more. He has built a sound that blends soulful string performance with modern rhythmic drive, inspiring young musicians and bringing fresh representation to violin performance. “ Hip-Hop Today describes his music as “…an electrifying cocktail of genres – classical, hip-hop, trap, rock & roll, Go-Go, R&B, Jazz, Soul, and more” (Tucker 2023, hiphoptoday.com).
His work has reached audiences across the U.S. and internationally, where his genre‑fluid style invites listeners into an expressive, uplifting musical experience. Known for transforming the violin into a lead voice over contemporary beats, Heru brings both artistry and purpose to the stage, using music as a tool for hope and creative empowerment. z
His music is available on Spotify and Instagram.
If you can, please let us know you are coming! RSVP HERE
Tower Duo, February 26, 2026
7:00-8:00 pm – St. Luke’s Church
Coffee & cookie reception to follow in the Undercroft
St. Luke’s music series, Sanctuary Sessions, presents Tower Duo for a concert in our beautifully restored and acoustically vibrant sanctuary on February 26 at 7:00 pm. This concert is free and open to the public with open seating on a first come, first served basis. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Join us for a coffee and cookies reception with the performers in our lower level (the Undercroft) directly following the concert.
Tower Duo, the innovative flute and saxophone ensemble of flutist Erin Helgeson Torres and saxophonist Michael Rene Torres, has been captivating audiences since 2007 with performances that champion the music of living composers. Based in Columbus, Ohio, the Duo is known for its narrative‑driven programs that blend contemporary chamber music with improvisation, multimedia, and cross‑disciplinary collaboration. Tower Duo has performed across the United States and internationally in Canada, Cuba, and Spain. Tower Duo’s debut album Crosswind (2019 Ravello Records), is described as eclectic, rhythmic, virtuosic, moving, and energetic, featuring collaborations with contemporary composers. Their current touring program, flora y fauna, explores nature‑inspired sound worlds through fixed media, video, improvisation, and new works by Ohio composers.
Celts Crossing, December 6, 2025
Performances 4:00-5:00 pm and 7:00-8:00 pm (during the Granville Candlelight Walking Tour) – St. Luke’s Church
Irish music has always been about community. Plan to carry on this tradition by joining Celts Crossing at any one of their live shows where the lines between band and audience, and between Celtic and world music genres are constantly blurred in a delightful and engaging blend.
Celts Crossing burst onto the Central Ohio music scene on St. Patrick's Day in 2003. Since then they have delighted audiences at local pubs, clubs, festivals, seasonal events and private Ceili’s. The band released its debut CD, Celts Crossing - Etched in Time, in 2004.
Truly a local treasure, Celts Crossing members include: Leah O'Brien Bernini Cronin and Danyelle Phelps on fiddle; Liz (Donahue) Redrow on guitar and vocals; Paul Mumma on guitar, tin whistle, bagpipes and vocals; Frank O’Brien-Bernini on world percussion and vocals; and Scott Rawdon on bass and vocals. In addition, guest appearances by Celts Crossing's many musician friends, are common.
All band members are also engaged in other musical collaborations that reach across musical genres including rock, punk, folk, classical, Americana and blues. These influences find their way into the traditional Celtic base of the Celts Crossing repertoire, in an eclectic, yet very approachable, world-music melting pot vibe. On any evening, you are sure to hear traditional tunes, original compositions, and original arrangements that are influenced by virtually all genres.
Whether you are an Irish dancer, (and if so, bring your soft and hard shoes) or simply out for a fun evening of wonderful music, food and drink, you won’t want to miss the re-sculpted and radically reconfigured trad/folk/rock/blues genre-melding fun that is Celts Crossing!
UCelli: The Columbus Cello Quartet, October 23, 2025
Performace 7:00 -8:00 pm – St. Luke’s Church
Reception following in the Undercroft
The violoncello is many peoples’ favorite instrument, so what could be better than one cello? Four cellos, of course!
UCelli is a quartet of virtuoso cellists that has appeared to enthusiastic audiences around Columbus including performances for City Music, TV 10, Medicine and the Arts, St. John's Concert Series, Granville's Music 4U chamber music series, Garden Theatre and full recitals at the MAC, Newark’s Urban Art Space, Ohio Wesleyan University, The Refectory and Bexley Public Library.