Dr. Mark Bani, Director of Music and Organist
Mark Bani, concert organist and pastoral musician, has performed extensively throughout the United States and Canada to great acclaim. He is the Director of Music and Organist at The Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, a post he has held since 1992.
He has performed in many of the major concert halls and churches throughout the United States including Methuen Memorial Music Hall in Massachusetts, the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, San Diego, the Irvine Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the Cadet Chapel at West Point Military Academy, and here in New York City at Trinity Church on Wall Street, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, and St. Patrick's Cathedral, as well as a featured soloist performing at Alice Tully Hall as part of the Mozart Bicentennial Celebration at Lincoln Center.
Dr. Bani has been the recipient of various honors and awards, including
First Place Winner in the New York City Chapter National Young Artists
Competition in Organ Performance. He was also the first
recipient of the Virgil Fox Memorial Scholarship. He has been a
featured artist at both national and regional conventions of the American
Guild of Organists. Mark Bani's performances have been broadcast over Pipedreams as
well as live performances and interviews over National Public Radio. Shortly
after graduating from the Juilliard School he was a juror for the Organ
Department for several years.
His duties at St. Vincent Ferrer Church include the direction of the
St. Vincent Ferrer Chorale, planning and providing the music for over
40 major liturgies held annually at the church, the direction of the
church's concert series, and providing music for the church's many weddings
throughout the year.
A native of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Mark Bani holds the Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with John Weaver. His studies continued at The Juilliard School where he was awarded a Master of Music degree and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
In addition to his concert career, Mark Bani composes, and has written for various journals in his field including publication in Clavier magazine. He has served on the Executive Board of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. In his spare time Mark enjoys hiking and fishing in the Pennsylvania Pocono mountains.
