The ninth season of the popular Sanctuary Series comes to a close on Sunday, May 7 with a program entitled “Baptist to Broadway” at 3:00 PM at High Street United Methodist Church, 230 E. High Street in downtown Springfield. The program features baritone, Mark Spencer, and pianist, Connie Anderson. Both are members of the faculty at Cedarville University. The performance is offered without admission; however, a free-will offering will be taken to help support the series. A reception to meet the artists will be held in The Commons following the concert.
The one hour program will include selections from Haydn’s Creation, Handel’s Messiah, Vaughn William’s 5 Mystical Songs, as well as selections from The King and I, Camelot, Brigadoon, Man of La Mancha, Chess, and Les Miserables.
Dr. Spencer, Associate Professor of Music, teaches classical and contemporary voice at Cedarville. He previously taught at colleges in California and Texas before joining the faculty of Cedarville University in 1993. He has been a guest clinician in California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Singapore. He has sung roles with the Dayton Bach Society, Dayton Opera, Dayton Philharmonic, Human Race Theatre, Ohio Lyric Theatre, Opera Funatics, Riverside Master Chorale, the Inland Opera Association of Southern California, Musica Viva!, and the Singapore Symphony. Last Spring he appeared as guest soloist with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Springfield audiences have also seen Mark at the Summer Arts Festival as Daddy Warbucks in “Annie,” Lazar Wolf in “Fiddler on the Roof,” and Reverend Shaw Moore in “Footloose.”
Mrs. Anderson serves as the Director of the Keyboard Pedagogy program at Cedarville University. A longtime member of the Ohio Music Teachers Association, she holds national certification from the Music Teachers National Association and the American College of Musicians. She teaches pedagogy courses, group piano class, and administrates a large private piano studio. She is an active adjudicator for the National Guild Auditions, National Federation of Music Clubs Festival, and Ohio ACSI. Mrs. Anderson maintains an active presence at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. In 2004, she was honored as the Certified Teacher of the Year for the OMTA Western District.