Mark Bailey (composer and conductor)
Encyclopedia
Mark Bailey is a recognized expert in Slavic
sacred music
. He has been the artistic director for the Yale Russian Chorus
(YRC) since 1995 and also serves as music director of the New Haven Oratorio Choir and the Westchester Concert Singers. He is a faculty member at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary
in Crestwood, New York and leads seminars and publishes work relating to Orthodox
liturgical music
. In addition to directing the YRC at Yale
, he serves as a research associate for the university and is a Fellow
and Faculty Freshman Advisor at Yale's Davenport College
.
Bailey's work with the YRC is documented on Chants and Carols, an internationally released recording that was placed on The New York Times
"Critic's Choice list" in 1996, and recommended as a "must have" by National Public Radio's Performance Today and Billboard
magazine, among others. He has also conducted on gala performances at Carnegie Hall
, receiving praise from The New York Times
critic Bernard Holland
. Mr. Bailey has also been noted by the New York Times as a leading expert in the field of Slavic sacred music, a topic on which he frequently lectures throughout the country, including at Lincoln Center
and at several prominent universities and institutions.
As a composer, Bailey has created dozens of compositions and arrangements of Orthodox liturgical music. His works have premiered at Lincoln Center, Yale University, Emmanuel Church in Boston, and Saint Basil's Cathedral
in Moscow. He is co-founder of the Benchmark Performance Series on Cape Cod and created the annual Slavic Choral Festival at Yale. His music performance degrees were earned at the Eastman School of Music
(1984), and the Yale School of Music
/Yale Institute of Sacred Music
(1989), where he also studied liturgy
and Russian. His former teachers include Aidan Kavanagh (liturgy), Marguerite Brooks, Harold Farberman
, and David Effron
.
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
sacred music
Religious music
Religious music is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence.A lot of music has been composed to complement religion, and many composers have derived inspiration from their own religion. Many forms of traditional music have been adapted to fit religions'...
. He has been the artistic director for the Yale Russian Chorus
Yale Russian Chorus
The Yale Russian Chorus is a tenor-bass choral ensemble at Yale University, established in 1953 by Denis Mickiewicz, a student at the Yale Music School, and George Litton, president of the Yale Russian Club. The group sings a variety of secular and sacred Slavic choral pieces, from the 12th century...
(YRC) since 1995 and also serves as music director of the New Haven Oratorio Choir and the Westchester Concert Singers. He is a faculty member at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary
Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary
Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary is an Orthodox Christian seminary in Crestwood, New York, in the United States. Although it is under the omophorion of the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America, it is a pan-Orthodox institution, providing theological education to students...
in Crestwood, New York and leads seminars and publishes work relating to Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
liturgical music
Liturgical music
Liturgical music originated as a part of religious ceremony, and includes a number of traditions, both ancient and modern. Liturgical music is well known as a part of Catholic Mass, the Anglican Holy Communion service , the Lutheran Divine Service, the Orthodox liturgy and other Christian services...
. In addition to directing the YRC at Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, he serves as a research associate for the university and is a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
and Faculty Freshman Advisor at Yale's Davenport College
Davenport College
Davenport College is one of the twelve residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade. The college was named for John Davenport, who founded Yale's home city of New Haven, Connecticut...
.
Bailey's work with the YRC is documented on Chants and Carols, an internationally released recording that was placed on The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
"Critic's Choice list" in 1996, and recommended as a "must have" by National Public Radio's Performance Today and Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine, among others. He has also conducted on gala performances at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, receiving praise from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
critic Bernard Holland
Bernard Holland
Bernard Holland is an internationally recognized American music critic. He served on the staff of The New York Times from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper....
. Mr. Bailey has also been noted by the New York Times as a leading expert in the field of Slavic sacred music, a topic on which he frequently lectures throughout the country, including at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
and at several prominent universities and institutions.
As a composer, Bailey has created dozens of compositions and arrangements of Orthodox liturgical music. His works have premiered at Lincoln Center, Yale University, Emmanuel Church in Boston, and Saint Basil's Cathedral
Saint Basil's Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat , popularly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral , is a Russian Orthodox church erected on the Red Square in Moscow in 1555–61. Built on the order of Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan, it marks the...
in Moscow. He is co-founder of the Benchmark Performance Series on Cape Cod and created the annual Slavic Choral Festival at Yale. His music performance degrees were earned at the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
(1984), and the Yale School of Music
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music is one of the twelve professional schools at Yale University and one of the premier music conservatories in the world....
/Yale Institute of Sacred Music
Yale Institute of Sacred Music
The Yale Institute of Sacred Music traces its roots to the School of Sacred Music founded at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The seminary's department of church music was brought to Yale in 1972, entering into partnership with the Yale School of Music and the Yale Divinity School...
(1989), where he also studied liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
and Russian. His former teachers include Aidan Kavanagh (liturgy), Marguerite Brooks, Harold Farberman
Harold Farberman
Harold Farberman is an American conductor, composer, and percussionist.-Biography:Farberman studied percussion at Juilliard and composition at the New England Conservatory and at Tanglewood with Aaron Copland...
, and David Effron
David Effron
David Effron is an American conductor and educator. After earning a Bachelor of Music degree in piano from the University of Michigan and a Master of Music degree in piano from Indiana University, he worked as an assistant to Wolfgang Sawallisch at the Cologne Opera...
.