Mark Brampton Smith & Maureen McCarty

press release: Mark Brampton Smith serves as the current organist at Grace Episcopal Church. Mark began his church music career as a boy soprano at St. Paul's Parish (K St.) in Washington, D.C., eventually serving on the music staff of churches in seven states. He holds degrees in organ performance from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan. As an organist, Mark won prizes in the Fort Wayne, Ann Arbor, and American Guild of Organists National Competitions, and he's performed solo recitals at venues such as Overture Hall. As a collaborative pianist, Mark has worked with numerous singers, instrumentalists, and ensembles, including the Ann Arbor Cantata Singers, University of Michigan choirs, Colgate University Chorus, and (currently) the Wisconsin Chamber Choir.  

Maureen McCarty began the violin in the Madison public schools, and played in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras for many years. She received a BA in violin performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While working on her degree, she performed as a musician with American Players Theatre for five seasons. She has extensive orchestral experience playing in such local ensembles as the Madison Symphony and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, as well as various orchestras in five Midwestern states, the Barcelona City Orchestra, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, in Spain. Maureen returned to UW-Madison for a teaching certificate in music education in 1999, and taught strings and general music for students in grades 3-12 in Monona Grove during her fifteen years in the district. Recently retired from public school teaching, she now teaches privately, performs with the Camerata String Quartet, tutors Spanish, and takes photographs for her local newspaper. Formative violin teachers include Eva Szekely, Sharan Leventhal, Thomas Moore, and Vartan Manoogian.

  PROGRAM:  

Psalm 19: The Heavens Declare the Glory of God;         Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739)  

*Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring; Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)  

Partita on 'Werde munter, mein Gemüte' (Sing not yet, my soul, to slumber); Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)  

*Ornament of Grace; Bernard Wayne Sanders (b. 1957)  

Variations on 'Cwm Rhondda': Introduction - Allegro - Duo - Reflection - Finale; Mark Brampton Smith (b. 1954)  

*Meditation from 'Thaïs'; Jules Massenet (1842-1912)  

Concerto in a minor, after Vivaldi (BMV 593), Allegro; Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)                                                                  

Toccata and Fugue in d minor (BMV 565); Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

* Organ and Violin