A Brief History of the Music Ministry
Soon after becoming rector in 1895, the Reverend G. E. Swan laid the foundation of a choral music ministry at St. Mark's by organizing a vested choir of men and boys, later expanded to include both genders. That early effort continued and was later substantially enlarged by Frederic Williams; hired part-time while he was still a student at CDSP, he became music director ca. 1942. At the time, the choir was small, and Williams began recruiting students from the neighboring Canterbury Club, taking groups of students out to lunch and eventually developing a close-knit team. When he was ordained, the parish engaged him as associate rector.
When Williams left to become rector of his own church, Norman Mealy, then a Ph. D. student in musicology at UC Berkeley, became the new director. Under his joyful and vigorous leadership, the choir grew in membership. Its repertoire and music library also developed impressively during his tenure. The position was part-time; CDSP eventually hired Mealy as professor of sacred music and dean of the chapel. After he became a full-time professor at the seminary, Donald Aird succeeded him. Aird was a composer, quite well known in the Bay Area. It is noteworthy that at about this time, the organ had reached such a condition of disrepair that Aird refused to play the instrument until it was replaced, thus introducing a period without organ music. Orchestral accompaniment was organized drawing from the many musically talented members of the parish and choir, sometimes using as many as thirty instrumentalists. A new organ, constructed by the Dutch firm Flentrop, was commissioned and installed in 1971.
St. Mark's Flentrop Organ
Following Aird, David Farr became music director. With only a small budget, Farr began a tradition of encouraging parishioners to donate music to honor or memorialize individuals. Serving for only a few years, he was succeeded by David Locke, then Walker Cunningham, who was succeeded by David Lee Maulsby. Together with choir member Kate McArthur, Maulsby helped establish the tradition of twice-a-year Music Memorial Sundays, when the choir sings a choral mass as part of the main service. That tradition still provides a cherished opportunity for parishioners to memorialize loved ones. The donations will eventually establish a self-perpetuating endowment for these services, which have included, among many others, works by Palestrina, Byrd, Haydn, Mozart and Pärt. Maulsby was a beloved director, deeply mourned when he died of AIDS in 1985. The aumbry in the chancel is dedicated to his memory.
The next director continued the coincidental first name of several predecessors when the parish hired David Higgs. Serving from 1986 to 1992, Higgs was also organist at Temple Emmanu-El, San Francisco, and lecturer at CDSP. His reputation as a concert artist preceded him, and he performed regularly with the San Francisco Symphony in addition to giving occasional solo concerts. He initiated the monthly organ recital series, now a well-established program. He left St. Mark's to accept a position as professor of organ at the Eastman School; he is now chair of the Organ and Historical Keyboards Department. In May, 2011 he returned to give a recital celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the recital series and the parish's patronal festival.
After a national search, the parish called George Anton Emblom as its new director of music. In addition to his parochial duties, he is organist and choir director at Temple Sinai in Oakland; serves on the faculty of CDSP as dean of chapel music and lecturer in church music; and teaches organ at UC Berkeley. A composer of church music, Emblom served on the editorial board of Enriching our Music I and II. An inspirational leader, he has developed the choir's repertoire extensively, has successfully organized choir tours to England, and as Norm Mealy did before him, has worked conscientiously with the clergy to integrate music as a particular ministry in the whole worship experience of the parish.