Our Music Director
Mark Payne is a conductor, music director, vocal coach, pianist and tenor based in London, Ontario. He is the music director at Church of the Ascension where he plays the piano and organ conducts the choir at the 10 a.m. Sunday worship service. Mark is also the head opera coach at the University of Western Ontario, in London. He plays piano with Orchestra London Canada and is a member of the chamber ensemble TriofuS (along with colleagues Robert Riseling, clarinet, and David Haward, bassoon). Mark performs many recitals as a collaborative pianist with singers in just about every genre. He has been featured on several CDs — two with Theodore Baerg (La mystique de l’amour and Enchanted), one with TriofuS (Coolsteps), and two solo works of voice and piano music (A City Called Heaven and When It’s All Been Said and Done). He has also appeared as piano soloist with Orchestra London, has served as musical director for the MTP production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore, and prepared two Puccini operas at the University of Western Ontario and an opera gala to celebrate the London Opera Guild’s 25th anniversary. He co-arranged, conducted and directed A Grand Night at the Stratford Festival. In addition, he performed the solo piano in Beethoven’s 1st Piano Concerto with the Oakville Chamber Orchestra and conducted the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in a Broadway tribute show starring Cynthia Dale. And he was the repetitur and chorus master for Orchestra London’s production of Don Giovanni. For more information, see Mark’s website.
CHOIR – Music at Ascension
NOTES from the Music Director…
We’ve got some exciting changes for music for 2011-12, changes which will enrich our worship greatly, I’m sure.
First of all, we will be welcoming Chris Pentecost and Alex Baerg to our regular morning worship, as part of the instrumental ensemble. Chris will be playing drums and Alex will be playing bass. They will join me in bringing you the kind of music we’ve been enjoying for the past couple of years now. It will continue to be a blend of contemporary and traditional, but all presented in a contemporary format.
Secondly, the choir is going to condense and thereby strengthen its efforts into preparing for the two main seasons in the church year – Christmas and Easter. Watch the inserts in the Sunday worship bulletin or the News page on this website for rehearsal times.
Mark Payne
