Mark Sirett

Education and Early Experience

Mark Sirett grew up in Kingston, Ontario. He began studying piano at age 12 and received a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from Queen’s University, Kingston, in 1975. He also holds diplomas in organ and piano performance; his organ associate diploma from the Western Board of Music in 1986 earned him a silver medal.

After his undergraduate studies, Sirett spent several years in Edmonton, Alberta. He studied at the University of Alberta under composer Violet Archer and taught courses there. At the same time, he gained experience as a choir director from 1979 to 1986 at St. Paul’s United Church, Edmonton. He also served as accompanist for the Da Camera Singers, Edmonton’s oldest chamber choir, and served as director between 1982 and 1983. He was a frequent collaborative keyboardist with Pro Coro Canada. These experiences oriented him toward choral music and conducting.

Sirett obtained a master’s degree (1987) and doctorate (1990) in choral conducting and pedagogy from the University of Iowa. He continued to work as a choir director, serving as Minister of Music at Iowa City’s Christ the King Lutheran Church, leading several choirs at the University of Iowa. He also taught courses at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.

Return to Kingston

In 1990, Mark Sirett accepted the position of music director and organist at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in his native town of Kingston. The church had long been known for its music program, especially a renowned Men and Boys’ Choir, founded in 1892. The church’s music program expanded in 1986, with the creation of a mixed-adult choir and a girls’ choir. Under Sirett’s direction, the choirs thrived: the girls’ choir won the 1996 CBC Competition for Amateur Choirs in the church choir category. (See Music at the CBC.)

At the same time, Sirett worked at Queen’s University’s School of Music, where he was an adjunct assistant professor between 1991 and 2015, teaching harmony, counterpoint and directing the Queens Choral Ensemble.

First Successes as a Composer

Mark Sirett was in his 40s when he began to write music for his choirs. His earliest success as a composer came in 1996, when his treble piece Songs of Innocence was awarded first prize in the Ruth Watson Henderson Composition Award by Choirs Ontario. Two of his carols (Make We Joy Now and Balulalow) won the Amadeus Choir’s Carol Competition in the same year.

Through the support of renowned conductor and music educator Doreen Rao, Sirett published many works in the Choral Music Experience Series with Boosey & Hawkes. His first published composition registered with the Canadian Music Centre, Irish Lullaby, is dated 1999.

Cantabile Choirs Kingston

By 1996, Mark Sirett recognized a demand for a choral community program — as opposed to existing church choirs — in Kingston, with contemporary rather than traditionally classical repertoire. The resulting ‘Cantabile Choirs’ comprised a children’s choir, a girls’ choir and a women’s chorus.

The first auditions took place in the spring of 1996. Interest was higher than anticipated, with 150 women and girls in total making up the three choirs. At the first concert in the fall of 1996, the audience also exceeded expectations, and the venue had to be equipped with extra chairs. Motivated by this success, Sirett expanded the organization to include a young men’s chorus the same year, and a junior choir, senior men’s choir, primary choir, and an apprenticeship program in following years.

Today, Cantabile is one of the largest choral organizations in Canada, consisting of seven choirs with a total of over 250 singers. Its choirs travel nationally and internationally, and their repertoire remains focused on “contemporary and world music,” especially Canadian music.

Sirett retired from the organization’s leadership after the 2019/20 season, and his son, baritone and conductor Geoffrey Sirett, took over. A farewell concert planned for 2020 was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic but in 2023, Sirett returned to the podium.

Artistic Profile

Mark Sirett has published almost 200 compositions, most of which are choral works. His compositions are recognized as approachable and intuitive and renowned for their beautiful melodies. They often have comfortable vocal ranges for all parts, and their varying difficulty levels and challenges show Sirett’s adept consideration of the choir’s proficiency level.

Sirett’s work varies widely in genre and content, from sacred pieces like anthems and motets to musical theatre, arrangements of folk songs and original settings of Canadian, including Indigenous, poetry. Careful attention to the text and sound-painting are characteristics of his choral settings.

Achievements

Mark Sirett’s music is published in Canada, the US, UK, Germany and Sweden. He has been commissioned to write for choirs all over Canada and beyond, such as the National Youth Choir of Canada, the Canadian Men’s Chorus, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Toronto Children’s Chorus, the University of Iowa and Voices International of Luxembourg. Two of his choral compositions won the Outstanding Choral Composition of the Year Award, presented by Choral Canada: The Stars Point the Way (2010), a Christmas song for four-part women’s or girl’s choir, and Words, Stories, Truth: A Trilogy in Honour of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples (2018).

In addition, Sirett is renowned for his conducting and in demand as a guest conductor, choral clinician, workshop leader and juror for composition and choral competitions. He has guest-conducted with choirs and festivals all over Canada, as well as Europe and South Korea. His conducting won him two international awards: the Jury Prize for Imaginative Programming and Artistry at the Cork International Choral Festival (Ireland, 2002) and the Outstanding Conductor Award from the Young Prague Choral Festival (Czech Republic, 2004). Choirs under his direction have won numerous national awards as well. Since 2020, Sirett has also curated his own sheet music series of contemporary Canadian choral music for Cypress Music.

In 2022, Sirett was made a member of the Order of Canada for “his steadfast commitment to the field of choral music as a renowned composer, conductor and community leader.”

Honours and Awards (selection)

Ruth Watson Henderson Composition Award (Songs of Innocence, SSA), Choirs Ontario (1996)
Jury Prize for Imaginative Programming and Artistry, Cork International Choral Festival (2002)
Outstanding Conductor, Young Prague Choral Festival (2004)
President’s Leadership Award, Choirs Ontario (2009)
Outstanding Choral Composition of the Year (The Stars Point the Way), Choral Canada (2010)
Outstanding Choral Composition of the Year (Words, Stories, Truth), Choral Canada (2018)
Mayor’s Arts Award, City of Kingston (2019)
Member, Order of Canada (2022)