Coming Out of His Shell

Pianist and choral composer Lawrence Rooney has been flourishing in Arts Fellowship Orlando this year, thanks to people like you! He says, “I think the biggest point I’ve appreciated with this program is that it’s brought me to a point of connecting with, yes, like-minded people, but also people who have different ideas, and it’s creating a space for us to explore each other’s beliefs and ideologies. I just really appreciate that space they’ve created.”

As a self-proclaimed optimist with a “shyer” personality, Lawrence Rooney has had a tendency to keep his melancholic emotions more or less tucked away. However, as a pianist and choral composer, he has always felt energized by creative collaboration and shined in performance. When the chance presented itself for him to be a part of Arts Fellowship Orlando (AFO)—made possible by the generosity of people like you—he hesitated, then leaped. Because of the program, he’s opening himself up and learning to notice “new beauties”—in his emotional landscape, in this unique arts community, and in music.  

“If you’re not pushing yourself to do new things, you’re going to stay stagnant,” says Lawrence. Thank you for ensuring Christian artists have this transformative space within Arts Fellowship Orlando to learn, grow, and share their talents with others!

Growing up, Lawrence experienced some big moves—from Ohio, to England, to Indiana for college, and finally, to Florida for his early career. A few years ago, he also experienced a significant change in his family dynamic as his parents chose to separate. Change is inevitable, and it comes with a complexity of emotions, some of which feel more helpful to ignore. 

After working for a few years as a high school English teacher as well as choral director at a Christian school and church in Deltona, Lawrence decided he was ready to seek out a new congregation. He started singing with Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus and through Orlando Sings met Karen Roberts, First Presbyterian Church of Orlando’s traditional worship leader. That Christmas season, she asked him if he’d like to sing with our church’s choir, and he enjoyed the atmosphere so much that he decided to stay.

Lawrence remembers, “When I first joined the choir, it’s funny, one of the choir members asked me, 'Oh, are you one of the arts fellows?’ At the time, I didn’t really know about the program, so I was kind of confused.” Thankfully, Karen was able to make sense of the question for him, telling him about AFO. Then when Andrew Minear, Artistic and Executive Director of Orlando Sings, took part in last year’s cohort of AFO, Lawrence volunteered to sing in Andrew’s original work for the program’s summer showcase. Lawrence was intrigued. 

Once the application opened for this year’s cohort, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to apply. “I was kind of dragging my feet at first,” he says. “It was a little intimidating knowing it would be a dedicated six months where I would be spiritually guided and there would be a lot of mentorship and vulnerability. I was like, ‘Do I really want to do this?’” Ultimately, it was too amazing an opportunity to pass up. 

Arts fellow Anton Faynberg was captivated by Lawrence’s original work for the summer showcase during an artist critique. Regarding his piece, Lawrence shares, “It’s been great being able to think about difficult past times, or difficult moments from the past, and, yes, digging them back up, but digging them back up to see, ‘Where is God in this?’ Because within this project, it’s still ongoing, so I’m continuing to find God in it.”

To kick off the program, he joined AFO’s co-leaders, Karen Thigpen and Lisa Brockman, and the other three fellows—pianist Anton Feynburg, songwriter and musician Nate Fleming, and plein air painter Jonathan Stemberger—for an eight-hour retreat. Despite having felt daunted beforehand, he was delighted as everyone fell into an easy rhythm with each other. “It flew by. It was like a fresh breeze coming through an open window, not like the Florida hot air,” he jokes. “Thankfully, it was cooler at the time.”

Within this community, Lawrence started designing his own original work for the summer showcase, leaning into the mentorship and creative intimacy alongside the other artists. Although he has spent most of his compositional career writing “happy, upbeat songs,” he’s chosen to write a choral composition based upon a poem he wrote after his parents separated, a project that is ever-“blossoming” as he continues to find God in this experience. The poem is called “Give It to God.”

Lawrence explains, “I think, being an optimist, I had suppressed the sad and darker and angrier side of myself to just be positive. Now in my relationship with God, I’m finding Him within those dark moments, not just ignoring the dark moments.”

One aspect of the program that has been “eye-opening” is how others sharing about their experiences and perspectives is enriching his understanding of himself. “I can get into a space where it’s like I have blinders on,” he shares, “but once I open and engage with other people, it’s like, other people have experienced very similar, if not the same, circumstances and they have their own points of growth and things that they can share to help me. It’s really cool.”

“I think, being an optimist, I had suppressed the sad and darker and angrier side of myself to just be positive. Now in my relationship with God, I’m finding Him within those dark moments, not just ignoring the dark moments.”

As he develops his original work, “Give It to God,” delving into the nuances of his more difficult memories, he’s noticing God in ways he never had before. He’s noticing “new beauties” in places he never had before. New genres of music are capturing his imagination. New chords are resonating with him. New notes are coming to life. 

Lawrence at the Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus Choral Festival in 2024. Now he’ll soon be directing his own original work at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts at Arts Fellowship Orlando’s annual summer showcase.

Lawrence says, “It’s been neat in my creation of the song—illustrating pain, illustrating the sometimes endless journey that it takes to continually give something to God. I think this will be a vulnerable moment emotion-wise in the delivering of the piece itself. It’s going to be special, though. I’m really excited for it.”

When he performs the piece at the summer showcase, he hopes the audience will be captivated by the interweaving of the piano, the cello, and the human voices: “I hope to ignite a new appreciation for a different art for certain people who aren’t used to choral music.” He also wants to offer the audience a resonant connection between his tune and the phrase, “Give it to God,” as a salve for difficult times. 

Thank you for pouring your generosity into Christian artists like Lawrence. Because of you, he and the other artists are receiving more than just theological and professional training through AFO—they’re being enveloped in a loving and faithful community they can count on as they continue to minister to us with their art. 

Get your tickets today for Arts Fellowship Orlando’s 5th annual summer showcase! The showcase will be on June 13, 2026 at 7 pm. You don’t want to miss this fantastic performance in the intersection of faith and art.

Here is the 2026 Arts Fellowship Orlando cohort: (left to right) Anton Faynberg, pianist; Jonathan Stemberger, plein air painter; Nate Fleming, songwriter and musician; and Lawrence Rooney, choral composer.

The 2026 Arts Fellowship Orlando cohort with leaders, Karen Thigpen and Lisa Brockman!