Our own Mrs. Gail Kennedy, director of the PebbleCreek Singers, was surprised by the appearance of Mr. Mark Hayes, a well known conductor/composer, at the opening night of the Singers’ Annual Holiday Concert. Mr. Hayes is one of Gail’s favorite composers and had arranged five of the musical selections performed by the Singers that evening.
Donna Swagger
No PebbleCreek Singers Christmas Concert would be complete without a surprise, and this year’s concert was no exception! Award winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor Mark Hayes attended the opening night performance of the PC Singers’ Christmas Concert. Director Gail Kennedy and all but four chorus members were unaware of his presence. The well-kept secret was revealed by Bev Griggs immediately after the finale as Hayes walked on stage and presented Director Kennedy with flowers. Hayes spoke to the audience, praising the concert and the director. He noted how difficult it is to direct using taped music, but recognized Director Kennedy’s talent and ability to do this. He stated that he didn’t know the protocol but felt that an encore was appropriate. The audience overwhelmingly agreed! The concert featured five of his numbers; We Need a Little Christmas, Jingle Bells Variation, Winter Wonderland of Snow, March of the Kings, and Silent Night.
At Toscana’s after the concert, Mark commended Director Kennedy and the chorus for a wonderful sound, great blend and good diction. He was pleased with the chorus’s performance of his five songs. When asked where he gets his inspiration for his music he laughingly replied, “Deadlines!”
His Facebook entry Wednesday read:
“Spent a wonderful evening last night at PebbleCreek, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, hearing the PebbleCreek Singers perform five of my choral pieces in the first of several Christmas concerts that they will do this season. What a delight! They sing with such love and enthusiasm! The funniest part is that no one in the choir but two or three people knew I was in the audience, including their fantastic director, Gail Kennedy. I was introduced at the end of the show and came on stage to say a word and give Gail some flowers. The look on her face was priceless when I walked on stage. I love to surprise. The best part is that I didn’t have to work at all; I got to sit in the audience and just listen! Thanks to Bev and Gary Griggs for making this happen.”
Hayes received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. In 1980 he formed Mark Hayes Productions and became a free-lance arranger. Hayes’ vocal and instrumental writing is widely acclaimed and performed and he has traveled all across the globe to concertize, conduct and lead workshops. He is well known for his unique choral settings which draw from such diverse styles such as gospel, jazz, pop, folk and classical to achieve a truly American sound. Currently he has over 1,000 publications in print. He is a frequent guest conductor at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Mark also conducted the European premiere of his Requiem at St. Ignatius Basilica, Rome, as a part of the international music festival sponsored by the Vatican; only the third American conductor invited to conduct there. He is the recipient of a Dove Award, the Christian music industry’s equivalent to a Grammy.
Mark makes his home in Kansas City, Missouri composing and arranging his music to fulfill his mission “to create beautiful music for the world.”