Beau Surratt, a native of Jackson, Tenn., began serving Ascension Lutheran Church as Director of Music on January 18, 2005.  He directs an adult choir, handbell choir, and children's choir, and serves as organist/pianist for all services in addition to helping plan worship. He comes to Ascension after having served as organist and/or director of music at churches in Illinois, Indiana, and Tennessee.

Beau holds a B.A. in Theology and Religion from Elmhurst College where he studied both Theology and Church music. His primary organ teachers have been Chicago native A. Steven Taranto and Dr. David Christiansen of Elmhurst College and St. Andrew Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Park Ridge. He has also studied with such notable organists as Diane Meredith Belcher of Westminster Choir College and, through the young organist program at Yale University, with Thomas Murray of Yale and Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra of Eastern Michigan University.