ORGANIST AND CHOIRMASTER

Elizabeth Anderson is no stranger to St. Thomas’s, having arrived as a chorister under former director John Tuttle in 1989, holding various positions ever since, including Organ Scholar (1992), Assistant Organist, and Associate Organist, as well as Interim Organist and Choirmaster twice (July 2016 to September 2017 and August 2022 to February 2023). She was officially appointed Organist and Choirmaster in March 2023. She has sung professionally with Soundstreams’ Choir 21, the Elora Festival Singers, and the Exultate Chamber Singers; has been a vocal coach for the Choral Scholars of Trinity College, Toronto; and frequently collaborates as conductor or accompanist with the Toronto Chamber Choir. She studied organ with John McIntosh and conducting with Deral Johnson at the University of Western Ontario, and later studied organ with John Tuttle at the University of Toronto, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance. While at the University of Toronto, she held the posts of Organ Scholar of Trinity College and Assistant Organist at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. Elizabeth happily shared conducting and playing responsibilities with John Tuttle both at home and abroad. St. Thomas’s choirs made three successful tours to the UK, where they sang in residence at York Minster and Gloucester Cathedral (2005), Salisbury Cathedral and St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (2010); and Canterbury Cathedral, St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, and Westminster Abbey (2013).   

“I am honoured that Corporation has appointed me Organist and Choirmaster of St. Thomas’s Church. It is a great privilege to serve in this capacity, and I am excited about this next chapter. I am grateful to Father Humphrey, the Wardens, the choirs, and the parishioners who care so deeply for excellence in liturgical music, and I look forward to working with the exceptionally talented Manny Piazza.”

ASSISTANT ORGANIST AND CHOIRMASTER

Manuel Giovanni Piazza, who was appointed Assistant Organist and Choirmaster in July 2023, also first encountered St. Thomas’s as a student of John Tuttle when completing his undergraduate studies in Organ Performance at the University of Toronto, during which time he also studied conducting with Ivars Taurins. While in Toronto, he served as choir director and organist at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, organ scholar at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, organ scholar at St. James’ Anglican Cathedral, and one of the five organists of St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica. In May 2022, he graduated with a Master of Music degree from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied organ repertoire with Martin Jean, improvisation with Jeffrey Brillhart, and choral conducting with Dale Adelmann and Gloria Yin. Additionally, he served as senior organ scholar at Trinity Church on the Green, where he was mentored by Walden Moore and worked with the young choristers there. He was also an organist for the Yale Schola Cantorum, conducted by David Hill.

Manuel developed a passion for sacred music while attending St. Michael’s Choir School in Toronto, where he served as a chorister and began organ studies. From September 2019 to July 2020, he was organ scholar at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall (UK), where he played at Evensong three times a week, accompanying a dedicated group of choristers under the direction of Christopher Gray. While living in the UK, he also taught theory and organ, led chorister rehearsals, and performed with ensembles such as the London Sinfonia. Before coming to St. Thomas’s, Manuel served as the Interim Associate Director of Music at Trinity Church in the City of Boston. At Trinity, Copley Square, he was very involved in their large chorister program for girls and boys.

Manuel has performed in masterclasses led by organists such as Olivier Latry, William Porter, Stefan Engels, David Briggs, James O’Donnell, Ben van Oosten, Jürgen Essl, Wolfgang Zerer, Christophe Mantoux, Olivier Penin, and Fréderic Blanc. In 2021, he won first prize in the Royal Canadian College of Organists’ National Organ Playing Competition and in 2023 was the recipient of the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Prize, administered by the RCCO. Other awards include the Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship (RCCO), the Mary Baker Scholarship in Organ Accompanying (Yale Institute of Sacred Music), the Julia R. Sherman Memorial Prize for excellence in organ playing (Yale School of Music), and the Aidan Kavanagh Prize for Academic Achievement (Yale Institute of Sacred Music). 

“St. Thomas’s has been an extremely important community in my musical and spiritual formation—it’s where I first discovered Anglo-Catholicism and its ethereal musical tradition, which aims to help the faithful encounter the divine through the experience of beauty. St. Thomas’s is also where I had my first organ lessons with John Tuttle, who opened my mind to the world of French symphonic organ music and taught me invaluable service-playing skills. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to serve the congregation as Assistant Director of Music, with the goal of creating numinous and transcendent musical experiences for the glory of God and building a program that will share this timeless tradition with a younger generation.”