Sacred Music at Saint Mark
The Parish Choir
The Saint Mark Parish Choir is a volunteer choir made up of parishioners who are interested in serving the music ministry at the 10:00 AM Solemn Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days. Practices are on Wednesdays from 6:15 PM to 7:45 PM. The choir also leads Compline (Night Prayer) at 7:45 PM at the conclusion of Wednesday Night Live.
The Schola Cantorum
The Schola Cantorum is the professional choir that sings on Sundays at the 12:00 PM Mass. The choir sings the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, and it offers a wide range of repertoire, enhancing the liturgy with some of the most refined sacred music compositions of the choral repertoire.
To inquire about joining the choir, please contact:
Francisco Carbonell, AAGO | francisco@stmarkrc.org
About the Choirs
Concerts at Saint Mark
The Concert Series at Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church offers a rich and inspiring program of sacred and classical music within a beautiful liturgical setting. Designed to enrich both the parish community and the wider public, the series features performances by accomplished musicians, choirs, and guest artists from across the region.
Drawing on the Church’s strong musical tradition, concerts include recitals, choral masterworks, chamber ensembles, and seasonal programs that reflect the rhythms of the Church year. Each performance is thoughtfully curated to highlight the spiritual and artistic depth of sacred music, fostering reflection, worship, and cultural appreciation.
With its reverent atmosphere and excellent acoustics, the St. Mark provides an ideal venue for experiencing music that uplifts the soul and celebrates the Catholic heritage of artistic expression. The series is open to all, inviting audiences of every background to encounter beauty, community, and faith through music.
About Francisco
Francisco Carbonell is an internationally awarded Spanish composer who has received prizes in more than twenty composition competitions. His most recent honors include winning the 2026 Liturgy Alive Composition Competition organized by the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA) and Third Prize at the 2025 Ave Verum Composition Competition in Baden, Austria.
Francisco completed his studies in composition at the Conservatoire of Valencia, Spain, where he also studied orchestral conducting and organ. He later continued his formation at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome, earning the highest academic distinction, summa cum laude.
His music has been performed internationally by prestigious ensembles such as the Christ Church Cathedral Choir (Oxford), The Australian Voices, and the Metropolitan Chorus of Tokyo. He has received commissions from renowned institutions including the Christ Church Cathedral Choir in Oxford, the Christ Church Cathedral Choir in Bristol (England), and the EWTN Choir in Birmingham, Alabama.
Francisco has served as a juror for international choral and composition competitions, including the Rimini International Choral Competition (Italy, 2015) and the International Competition for Children’s Choir Composition CORINFESTA (Italy, 2019)
In addition to his compositional work, Francisco has led music formation workshops in multiple dioceses throughout the United States, with a particular focus on training Hispanic church choirs and parish music ministers.
From 2013 to 2021, Francisco served as Music Director and Organist at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He later served as Diocesan Director of Music for the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama, from 2021 to 2024. He holds the AAGO (Associateship of the American Guild of Organists) certification and currently serves as Music Director and Organist at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where he continues to produce new music as a composer.
In 2026, Francisco was commissioned to compose a new Mass setting, Missa in Monte Oliveti, for the inauguration of the Gardens at Gethsemane in Maysville, Kentucky. The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
