Name: Poetry & Music Series: Poetry in Song
Start: 2025-12-11T11:00:00-05:00
Location: 1901 23rd St, Vero Beach, FL, United States, Florida 32960

This unique offering developed in 2016 as a series of the spoken word and organ improvisation, and has since enriched our Advent and Lenten seasons while welcoming nationally-recognized and published poets from across the country and around the world.
In 2024 our series expanded to include piano and other instruments, prompting the title change, “Poetry and Music.”
Each year promises a different approach to the themes and emotions the seasons of Advent and Lent can evoke, skillfully curated by Sean Sexton and Director of Music & Fine Arts, Jill Truax.
Rachel Carter Murphy is Resident Soprano at The Community Church of Vero Beach and has been a featured soloist in masterworks and special concerts since 2017. Rachel is a frequent soloist throughout the Treasure Coast, including performances with Palm City Presbyterian Church, First Baptist Church in Vero Beach, and First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach. Rachel is also a “regular” with the Melbourne Municipal Band, having performed with them various times since 2018. Rachel recently joined the roster of the Vero Beach Opera Chorus performing in both fully-staged productions and scenes concerts. In 2023 Rachel was named as a semifinalist in the CS Music Vocal Competition in San Francisco, CA. In addition to singing, she conducts the Community Ringers, our resident handbell ensemble.
Sasha Korczynski, a Barnard College graduate who studied violin at Manhattan School of Music, performs with Nova Era, the Orlando Philharmonic, and Brevard Symphony (where she serves as a board member). She’s toured with artists like Michael Bolton and Il Divo, and plays regularly at Disney World events. Sasha and her husband John perform as the Golden Arrow Duo and cherish time with their seven children—especially by the ocean.
Jill A. Truax is Director of Music and Fine Arts at The Community Church of Vero Beach. She is an accomplished pianist and organist and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in piano performance from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. As part of her undergraduate study, Jill was an intern with the National Symphony Orchestra's Education department at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. There, she researched and wrote educational concerts for young audiences. She was awarded a full performance scholarship to the Cincinnati Conservatory of the University of Cincinnati where she earned a Master of Music degree in piano performance. Jill has served churches in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida for more than 25 years as director, pianist and organist. Her piano accompanying skills are always in high demand for chamber performances.