Mission Hill Church, MI

Mission Hill Church in Traverse City, Michigan serves its 1000 members in a variety of worship styles, from traditional to contemporary. The  Sanctuary Choir, one of the oldest established choirs in the region, serves weekly in the Sunday morning “traditional service” as well as hosting a variety of concerts and special events in the region throughout the year. The concerts and special events are sponsored in conjunction with the Mel Larimer Concert Series at Mission Hill, featuring national and international performing artists in one of northern Michigan's finest acoustical settings. The Mission Hill Church Sanctuary Choir (MHCSC) annually hosts the Grand Traverse Area Choral Festival, performing major choral works with orchestra. Guest conductors have included Sir David Willcocks, Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, Dr. Jerry Blackstone, Dr. Charles K. Smith, Dr. Henry Leck and Dr. Sandra Snow to name a few. In 2001, the MHCSC hosted a performance of the Rutter “Requiem” to benefit victims of the September 11 bombing in New York City, and again hosted a benefit performance for victims of the Asian Tsunami disaster in 2004. In the summer of 2022 the MHCSC and Friends performed “Requiem for the Living” with composer Dan Forrest, organized as a benefit concert, and raised $35,000 for victims of the Russian invasion  of Ukraine.

This is the 11th international tour of the Traverse City Mission Hill Church Sanctuary Choir. Tours from 1999 to the present have featured performances in Scotland, England, Italy, Austria, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Ireland, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Switzerland. Notable performances have included Lincoln, Gloucester and Wells Cathedrals (U.K.), St. Peter’s Basilica (Rome), San Marco Basilica (Venice), St. Peter Stiftkirche (Salzburg), Melk Abbey and Basilica (Melk), Karlskirche and Stephan’s Dom (Vienna), Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption (St. Petersburg), Temppeliaukio Church (Helsinki), St. Michael's Church (Tallinn), Santa Clara Church (Stockholm), St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral (Dublin), St. Peter's Church (Drogheda), St. Michael's Collegiate Church (Galway), St. John's Cathedral (Cashel) and Bangor Cathedral (Bangor), St. Vitas (Prague), St. Paul's (Passau), St. Michael's (Budapest), Cologne Cathedral (Cologne), Strasbourg Cathedral (Strasbourg), Basilica of the Sagrada Familia (Barcelona), Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (Spain), St. Germain des Pres Church (Paris), Chartres Cathedral (France), Fourviere Basilica (Lyon), among others.

Traverse City, Michigan is known as "the Cherry Capital of the World," holding an annual week-long Cherry Festival the first full week in July to celebrate. Besides cherries, the surrounding countryside produces grapes and is one of the centers of wine production in the Midwest. Freshwater beaches, a mild summer climate, vineyards, a nearby National Lakeshore, prodigious snowfall, nearby ski resorts and thousands of square miles of surrounding forests make Traverse City one of the most popular tourist destinations in the midwestern United States.  

Russ Larimer - Director, Traverse City Mission Hill Church Choir
Russell Larimer is the Sanctuary Choir Director of Traverse City's Mission Hill Church, a position he has held since 2005. In addition to providing choral music for Sunday Traditional church services, he has led the Sanctuary Choir and friends on eleven European performance tours. In June of 2026, members of the choir will be touring to London to perform with the world renowned vocal ensemble, Voces8 along with composer and pianist, Dr. Dan Forrest.

Russ is Emeritus Director of Choirs at Traverse City Central and West Sr. High Schools, having retired from public school teaching after 33 years of service. His high school choirs toured and performed frequently throughout the U.S. and Europe, as well as having competed in International Choral festivals to high acclaim. Choirs under Russ's direction performed at State, Regional and National Conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and in recent years were recognized as the Most Outstanding High School Choir in Michigan and as finalists for the American Prize in Choral Music. Russ has directed three Michigan High School Honors Choirs and was recognized as the 2014 Teacher of the Year by the Michigan School Vocal Music Association. From 2015 to the present, Russ has served as a clinician and consultant for Michigan state choral festival events.