Founders & History
Dr. S. Carroll Buchanan
Founder and Musical Director
May 11, 1927 – December 19, 2010
“Music was in his veins. Seeking to bring unity to the community through music… his passion.” These are the words Linda Poteat-Brown used to describe her stepfather during her remarks at the choir’s 25th anniversary concert in April 2025.
Dr. Carroll and his wife Carol moved to Sarasota from New York City in 1992 after he had been involved in the music business for more than 50 years. Forming choirs was one of his passions. At Linda’s high school where he was a music teacher, he formed a choir that sung at the NYC World’s Fair and on CBS and NBC TV. With Mr. Hill, a friend, he formed a choir with nine singers that grew to a group of 40 singers who were invited to sing in Vienna, Austria. It was perhaps hardly surprising that in Sarasota he combined his passion for music with his vision to gather a volunteer group of singers to form a choir to support charitable organizations in the community, beginning with a benefit concert for NAACP. In 2001, the Gulf Coast Community Choir, the area’s first multiracial, multicultural choral group was born.
Dr. Buchanan’s legacy in the Manasota area extends beyond the Gulf Coast Community Choir. Together, he and his wife Carol were co-founders and active board members of many well-known local organizations and initiatives including Embracing our Differences, the Democratic Party’s annual Kennedy King Dinner, Florida Studio Theatre, West Coast Black Theatre Troupe, the Opera Guild, and the Selby Library Music Archives.
Dr. Carroll was trained at Julliard School of Music, Columbia University, and New York University. In addition to being a choral director, his resume included serving as a music teacher, music history lecturer, broadcaster, producer, composer, arranger, and choral director. As a singer, he performed with the Charioteers Quartet, as a backup singer for Patti Page and Brook Benton, recorded with MGM Records, and held actor, TV, and commercial credits.
Karen Chester-Amengor, the choir’s current director and founding member of the choir has acknowledged Dr. Carroll’s ongoing pursuit of musical excellence and invaluable contributions to the world of music but stated that “perhaps his greatest legacy was his profound love of humanity” as she encourages Gulf Coast Community Choir members to continue to be “trailblazers and beacons of light.”
Carol Poteat-Buchanan
Vice President and Business Manager
March 29, 1929 – June 15, 2018
Working closely alongside Dr. Carroll Buchanan, founder of the choir, was his wife Carol, who served as vice president and business manager. She shared her husband’s fondness for the arts and tireless commitment to making the places where they lived better for everyone. An educator by profession, the Buchanans were both actively involved in their communities as civil rights and human rights advocates.
After moving to Sarasota, Carol’s dedicated service on many boards and with a wide range of non-profit organizations led to her recognition as a beloved local leader and philanthropist. On her passing, this statement was issued by Embracing our Differences: “There are no words to describe the profound impact co-founder Carol Buchanan has left on our community. Anyone who had the privilege of meeting her was in awe of her incredible resilience and passion and was undoubtedly changed for the better. Embracing Our Differences wouldn’t exist today without her vision and guidance and we are forever grateful for her dedication and will miss her dearly.”
Following Dr. Carroll’s death, Carol who was described by a fellow board member as “a quiet, wonderful, powerful force of good in the world” served as the “voice” of the choir and played a key role in keeping the choir going. Thanks to the foundation she helped to build with her husband and the network of support they cultivated, their legacy of uplifting spirits and inspiring unity in community endures through the Gulf Coast Community Choir twenty-six years later.
Choir Directors
2000 - Today
Accompanists
2000 - Today
Founding Choir Members
Back Row, L to R: Evelyn Miller, Shelia Atkins, Karen Chester-Amengor, Steve Wicker
Front Row: Yvonne Brown, Rosa Dennis, Marcia Page, Peggy Ward
It has remained a multicultural choir with a primary mission to support local organizations.”
Still singing joyfully after 26 years
Of the original singers who came together in 2001 to perform the first Gulf Coast Community Choir benefit concert, we recognize and celebrate the eight members who continue to be devoted and enthusiastic members of the choir: Shelia Atkins, Yvonne Brown, Karen Chester-Amengor, Rosa Dennis, Yvonne “Peggy” Ward, Evelyn Miller, Marcia Page and C. Stephen Wicker.
They were there in 2000 when Dr. Carroll Buchanan began assembling a volunteer group of singers in Sarasota to form a community choir. Twenty-six years later, these original members are still devoted Gulf Coast Community Choir singers.
What has kept them so committed to the choir? The “camaraderie and fellowship, the love and the learning,” said Peggy Ward. “Variety and fellowship and the way in which the choir has made me read music again,” is what Steve Wicker values most. While Evelyn Miller enjoys “the sense of oneness and fellowship”. For Shelia Atkins it is quite simply “Singing!” In addition Shelia has loved the diversity and meeting new singers over the years, plus, she adds with a smile “the harmony when the choir is on cue.”
One of the favorite memories of these choir members is singing with other choirs from around the world during tours in Barcelona/Spain and Italy. Marcia Page is excited about the multifaceted nature of the choir: “A group of singers with multiple skills, talents, interests and singing abilities, which makes us versatile, well-rounded, and creative. This has kept us open to learning 10-15 new songs for each of the 26 years!!!”
Among the choir’s signature eclectic range of songs, Rosa Denis observed she is “partial to sacred music, spirituals, and show tunes.” While Yvonne Brown “loves all styles of choral music,” she also recognizes that “learning new songs has widened her knowledge and understanding of various cultures.” Echoing the sentiments of the other charter members, Marcia happily noted, “This diverse group lasted 26 years, and we are as excited today as we were in 2001 at the first concert!”