About the Organist

Newly installed in 2007 as organist at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Sarah Garner leads congregational singing and worship from the fifty-four rank Schlicker Organ (1997). As director of the Evangel Choir (girls choir grades 3-6) at St. John’s, she aims to instill in the girl choristers a love for liturgy, singing and the Lutheran church.

A baptized and confirmed Lutheran, Sarah grew up as a daughter of Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina, MN. There, Sarah was given the opportunity to begin accompanying choirs at age 13. After taking a beginning organ class at Interlochen Music Camp at age 16, Sarah began studying organ as a high school student with Dean Billmeyer at the University of Minnesota. She could see that her love of music and church could develop into a life career.

Sarah studied organ with Robert Anderson at Southern Methodist University where she received her Master of Music in Organ Performance. She graduated with High Honors in Organ Performance (Bachelor of Music) from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. While studying in New York, Sarah was under the tutelage of three of America’s leading organists: David Higgs, the late Michael Farris, and Gerre Hancock.

Garner placed first in the Twin Cities’ American Guild of Organists’ Scholarship Competition and continued on to win first prize in the AGOs’ Regional Competition for Young Organists in 1995. Other competitions allowed her to study in masterclass with Gillian Weir, one of the world’s most highly sought after organ performers, and Christoph Wolff, the world’s foremost scholar on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Prior to moving to Des Moines, Sarah was Associate Director of Music/Organist at the First United Methodist Church in Lubbock, Texas. There, she performed the Handel Fourth Organ Concerto with the Lubbock Symphony. Her broad range of experience includes having been Music Director for Guys & Dolls and Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Lubbock Civic Center Theatre.

It was in Lubbock where Sarah met her husband, Mark, a noted baritone and Texas Boy Choir alumnus. They have a daughter, Katie, who Sarah stays home with during the day. Previously, Sarah was affiliate organ faculty at Simpson College.