Canadian conductor, Mark Vuorinen, is Music Director of the Toronto Chamber Choir, a leading early music choral ensemble. Under his direction the choir continues to provide Toronto audiences with informed performances of seldom heard Renaissance and Baroque Masterworks.
Mark holds a Master of Music degree from Yale University’s School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music where he received full scholarship. He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Toronto where he regularly conducts the University of Toronto MacMillan Singers and Toronto Bach Festival Singers in performances.
An active church musician, Mark has served parishes in Southern Ontario and Connecticut and is currently the George Black Fellow in Sacred Music at the Church of the Redeemer, Toronto. In this capacity, he directs a successful Bach Cantata Series that attracts an enthusiastic audience.
Mark is Founding Artistic Director of the Toronto Choral Artists, a new semi-professional ensemble which debuted in early 2009. The mandate of this organization is to champion the works of young and emerging Canadian composers.
A recipient of many awards, Mark was named the E. Stanley Sedar Scholar at Yale University in 2006 and is currently a recipient of the Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting. In the summer of 2008 Mark received the David and Marcia Beach Summer Study Award from the University of Toronto for studies in Germany with leading Bach scholar and conductor Helmut Rilling. Mark has twice been a finalist in the prestigious Leslie Bell Competition for Choral Conducting, winning an honourable mention in 2000.
Mark’s research interests include the study of contemporary choral literature from the Baltic states, and in particular the music of Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis. In 2006, Mark was invited by the American Choral Director’s Association to present a workshop on this topic to the Connecticut Fall conference in Hartford, CT.
Mark Vuorinen easily moved into the role of leader of the choir during his first year as Music Director. Under his leadership, the choir has made great strides in clarifying its future vision. During his first year, audiences expressed appreciation of the intensity of his musical leadership of the choir and his engaging manner as he connects with singers, players and audience.
Mark has proven that he was a great choice to lead the TCC into the future.
It was an evening of well-chosen repertoire performed with technical assurance and secure musical judgment.
— The Globe and Mail