The St. Cecilia Society supports music appreciation and performance. Concerts feature fine musicians not only from our local region, but internationally recognized artists as well.

St. Cecilia Society concerts are free; however, donations are accepted to help defray expenses.

All concerts take place in the sanctuary of St. Mark's Lutheran Church. Parking in the church parking lot on the corner of St. Paul and 20th Streets is provided free of charge. Click here for directions to St. Mark's.

The 2011-12 concert schedule:


Sunday, 13 November 2011 --
James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's, accompanied "Mark of Zorro," a 1920 silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, and Noah Beery. Mr. Harp played the symphonically-inspired Patrick J. Murphy organ to accompany the exhilarating sword fights and intimate love scenes in this silent film classic. It was great fun to wait and "Z" what happened!


Sunday, 11 December 2011 --
Everyone enjoyed this holiday concert with the Glenelg High School madrigals and jazz band from Howard County. One person who attended this concert said, "The concert was phenomenal--the kids were so amazingly talented. The Jazz Band took the roof off the place. It was an awesomely talented bunch of kids and an enthusiastic crowd."


Palm Sunday, 1 April 2012 at 2:00 p.m. --
James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's Church, will accompany the classic silent film "The Scarlet Letter." Directed by Victor Sjöström, this is a 1926 drama film starring Lillian Gish. Based on the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel of 1850, this rarely seen masterpiece, with its plea for tolerance and understanding, will continue our tradition of presenting a silent film of a spiritual nature during Lent.



Sunday, 29 April 2012 at 2:00 p.m. --
The joint choirs of St. Mark's Church and First English Lutheran Church will perform Mozart's Mass in c minor, also known as the "Grand Mass."



James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's Church, is the Artistic Director of the St. Cecilia Society.

Free parking is provided in the church parking lot on the corner of St. Paul Street at 20th Street.



The 2010-11 concert schedule in review:


21 November 2010 -- James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's, accompanied the 1915 silent film sizzler "Carmen," starring legendary diva Geraldine Farrar in her signature role directed by the great Cecil B. DeMille. A great singer of the Metropolitan Opera and an iconic figure of the early 20th century, Farrar was a larger-than-life personality starring in this film version of Bizet's opera. Co-starring Wallace Reid as the hapless Don José, the film also co-stars Latin lover Pedro de Cordoba as the dashing bullfighter Escamillo.
Mr. Harp played the Patrick J. Murphy organ.


10 December 2010 -- The Catonsville High School Steel Band, under the direction of James Wharton, presented a program featuring music for these vivid and vibrant instruments. One of Baltimore's most noted musical ensembles, the spaces of St. Mark's rock and rolled with the enthusiasm of these young musicians!


13 February 2011 at 2:00 -- The Choir of St. Mark's Church presented an afternoon of the music of Franz Schubert, featuring a full performance of his sublime Mass in G. The soloists of the choir offered lieder and art songs composed by the master of the vocal art.



13 March 2011 -- Three Sopranos, Gabrielle DeMers, Alexis Tantau and Stephanie Sadownik, presented a recital of arias and art songs. Recent graduates of the famed Maryland Opera Studio, these three women have made Baltimore their home.


Palm Sunday, 17 April 2011 -- James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's Church, accompanied the 1923 classic silent film "The Ten Commandments." Directed by Cecil B. DeMille, working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history, this film is considered superior to his later sound remake of the film. One of the grandest silent films ever made, the Exodus scene was filmed in an early version of Technicolor. The first half of the film concerns the biblical story, while the second part takes place in modern times and concerns two brothers who each have differing views on how to live a life in keeping the Ten Commandments.


1 May 2011, at 3:00 -- Organist Paul Jacobs presented a recital commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of St. Mark's Church. Born in 1977, Jacobs is the chair of the organ department at The Juilliard School. Winning accolades and awareness for the pipe organ from both critics and audiences alike, Jacobs has performed on five continents. His extensive repertoire includes music from the 16th century through contemporary times. Jacobs is known for playing demanding programs exclusively from memory. He has memorized the complete works of Olivier Messiaen, as well as the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, César Franck, Louis Vierne, and many others.



The 2009-10 concert schedule in review:


15 November 2009 -- James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's Church, accompanied the 1926 silent film tear-jerker "La Boheme," starring legendary screen actress Lillian Gish as Mimi in this work based on the Puccini Opera with matinee idol John Gilbert in the role of the poet Rodolfo. Directed by King Vidor, the film evokes bohemian Paris in the 1830s.


20 December 2009 -- The Choir of St. Mark's Church, accompanied by organ and chamber orchestra, presented Johann Sebastian Bach's Advent Cantata Schwingt freudig euch empor (BWV 36), augmented by performances of Advent Chorales and Choruses from other Bach Cantatas. This musical offering was included in the Lutheran service of Evening Prayer.

21 March 2010 -- James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's Church, accompanied the 1927 classic silent film "King of Kings." Directed by the incomparable Cecil B. DeMille--working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history--this film is considered by many to be his masterpiece. DeMille was trying to tell the story as influenced by great works of religious art, and the film is full of opulent visuals describing the Life, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, as well as the redemption of Mary Magdalene.


18 April 2010 -- Peter Lavagnino presented a recital of works for the piano spanning three centuries. A most talented young man, Peter is rapidly gaining a reputation in the region around Baltimore as one of our most promising young musicians. A student at Loyola Blakefield High School, he is a piano student of Harold Stern.

16 May 2010 -- Sopranos Erin Riley and Sara Stewart presented a recital of arias, songs and duets. Composers featured included Mozart, Britten, Puccini, and Barber.

• 21 October 2007 --
Martin Rein, Organist at St. John the Evangelist Church, Notting Hill, London presented a program in the continuing celebration of our Patrick J. Murphy organ. Mr. Rein played works of J.S. Bach, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré, as well as improvisions for which he is rightly noted. A native of Berlin, Mr. Rein has held positions at the Stiftkirche St. Johns in Berlin and the Alte Kirch in Essen, and has performed throughout Australia, in Westminster Abbey, and at the (Lutheran) Cathedral of Berlin.


• 11 November 2007 --
CREDO, a four voice a cappella group under the direction of Irina Grinberg, presented a program of sacred choral music. Comprised of musicians from Orthodox churches in St. Petersburg, Russia, each singer professes a deep belief in their music ministry and demonstrates a great understanding of the profundity of the Divine Liturgies. Although the Russian Orthodox musical heritage comprises the heart of CREDO's repertoire, selections from Russian folksongs and more contemporary composers were featured as well. The Byzantine architecture of St. Mark's was a wonderfully complementary venue to hear these rare works.


• 16 December 2007 --
The Choir of St. Mark's Church, accompanied by organ and chamber orchestra, presented J.S. Bach's Advent cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme. This well known work, based on the Lutheran Advent chorale describing the Church awaiting the Bridegroom as represented in Jesus Christ, was included in the Choral Service of Evening Prayer.


• 17 February 2008 --
James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's Church, masterfully accompanied the 1923 classic silent horror film "The Hunchbank of Notre Dame" starring the "Man of a Thousand Faces" Lon Chaney as the hapless bell ringer Quasimodo. Also starring lissome Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmarelda and handsome Norman Kerry as Captain Phoebus, this Universal Studios release cost well over one millions dollars to make, and was considered a great risk - never before had so much money been spent on a subject so grotesque. Chaney's horrific cries for "Sanctuary!" were accompanied by our lushly Romantic "Mighty Murphy" organ!


• 16 March 2008, Palm Sunday --
James Harp, Cantor of St. Mark's Church, accompanied the 1923 classic silent film "The Ten Commandments." Directed by the incomparable Cecil B. DeMille working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history, this film is considered superior to his later sound remake of the film. One of the grandest silent films ever made, the Exodus scene was filmed in an early version of Technicolor. The first half of the film concerns the biblical story, while the second part of the film takes place in modern times and concerns two brothers who each have differing views on how to live a life keeping the Ten Commandments. Our Palm Sunday experience was heightened by this moving tale of error and redemption.


• 20 April 2008 --
Vikki Jones offered an afternoon of art song and opera. A soprano soloist in the St. Mark's Choir, Miss Jones has won the Leontyne Price Competition and appeared all over North America as soloist with the National Spiritual Ensemble. Her performances with the Baltimore Opera Company have included the title role in "She Never Lost a Passenger" about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, featured at Artscape 2007.

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