The Monmouth Civic Chorus
Dr. Mark Shapiro, Artistic Director
Close to Perfect, Close to Home
Purity
of tone, excellent clarity of line, subtle dynamic changes ...a beautiful
collaboration between a conductor and his singers.
-- Asbury Park Press
The versatile conductor Mark Shapiro enjoys working with orchestras, opera companies, and choruses. Shapiro is Artistic Director of Cantori New York and the Monmouth Civic Chorus; Associate Conductor of the verismo opera company Teatro Grattacielo in New York; regular guest conductor with the chamber orchestra Nova Sinfonia in Halifax; and regularly serves as cover conductor for the Bridgeport Symphony.
With Cantori New York, Shapiro has made three commercially-released CDs, one of which, Frank Martin's oratorio Le Vin Herbé, was awarded Editor's Choice in Opera News Magazine and the highest rating (***) in the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs. Under Shapiro's direction, Cantori has won two ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, and support from numerous foundations including the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Cantori's appearances include Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series, the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center, and the prestigious Trinity Concert Series on Wall Street.
Shapiro's varied credits as an instrumental and opera conductor include: Cygnus Ensemble; Works & Process at the Guggenheim Museum, The Actors Studio; Two River Theatre; Center for Contemporary Opera; Banff Centre; Metro Lyric Opera; and PBS, where he was heard conducting the soundtrack for Ric Burns' special on New York City.
Shapiro is Director of Choral Activities at the CW Post Campus of Long Island University, and Director of the Conducting Program at the European American Musical Alliance in Paris. He has been a longtime faculty member at Mannes College The New School for Music, where he has taught orchestral and choral conducting, conducted opera, and led the Mannes Chorus, with whom he appeared at the United Nations. At New School University, Shapiro has collaborated with physics and psychology faculty to present university lectures in music and science.
