Music For All Ages

Steven Schaefer, Director of Chancel Choir

Steven Schaefer, a native of Flagstaff, Arizona, is a recent Portland resident and a graduate from Northern Arizona University. He earned his Masters of Music degree in Choral Conducting in Spring 2020 and his bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance in 2013. After completing his BA degree, he taught music and Spanish to grades 1-8 at the Montessori Schools of Flagstaff. For the following three years, he worked as a choral director at BASIS Flagstaff, where he conducted five choirs and grew the music program from 90 to more than 200 singers. He has served as conductor of the NAU Chamber Choir, the NAU Harold M. Harter Memorial Handbell Ensemble, and the Artistic Director of the Flagstaff Youth Chorale. Steven also served as the Director of Music for the First Congregational church of Flagstaff for eight years and was the Principal Organist for the Peace Lutheran Church. Currently, Steven teaches middle school choir at the Oregon Episcopal School and sings in the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland.

Dan Anajovich, Director of Handbell Choir

Dan started playing bells in 2010 after a hiatus from any musical performance since high school. He was drawn to the bells as a place where the whole really is more than the sum of the parts. Dan started in a non-audition church choir and moved to audition and then a community ensemble (Pacific Ringers) within a few years. Dan is a self-taught conductor, although he has been very lucky to be mentored by his current director at Pacific Ringers.

Dan feels that his job as director is to enable the group to bring their offering to the congregation. All the bells together form one single instrument, which means it takes everyone connecting to everyone else to create a moving experience. The pursuit of that experience is what keeps him going.