The Singing Girls of Texas :||: the Academy of Fine Arts, Ft. Worth

Mark Stamper is a native of South Carolina. He began his piano study at the age of three and eventually expanded his musical interests to include choral music and sacred music ministry. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Winthrop University in 1986 where he studied with Dr. Eugene Barban.

In 1998, Mr. Stamper was awarded a Master of Music degree with a concentration in Choral Conducting from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas where he was the Assistant Conductor of the Oratorio Chorus. He has since accompanied for such notable conductors as Andre Thomas, Donald Neuen, Roger Wagner and Michael Schwarzkoff.

Mr. Stamper competed in his first piano competition in San Antonio, Texas where he was awarded the Silver Medal at the Concours International de la Musique. He was also awarded the Best Performance of a Modern Work during the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in Boston.

Mr. Stamper has been the Musical Director and accompanist for such shows as The Music Man, Bye, Bye Birdie, The Fantastiks, The Sound of Music, Into the Woods, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, The King and I, Chess, and Kiss Me Kate.

Mr. Stamper was appointed Associate Artistic Director for The Texas Boys Choir in 1999. In addition to responsibilities as accompanist and assistant conductor for the choir, he was also tour manager and booking agent for local and statewide performances. From 2002-2004, he served as the Artistic Director of The Women’s Chorus of Dallas.

Mr. Stamper participated in the 2002 Hautzig Piano Masterclass in South Carolina where he performed a guest recital. In October 2002, he was chosen to be one of eight choral conductors to participate in the National Conducting Workshop in Chicago, Illinois, where he had the privilege of conducting the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Additionally, Mr. Stamper was selected to conduct the Kansas City Chorale and the Dale Warland Singers as part of a Conducting Workshop dealing with a cappella choral music at the Chorus America National Conference.

While training recently as Conductor Apprentice for Opera in the Heights in Houston, Mr. Stamper was granted the honor of being the first Conductor Apprentice to conduct an opera, Cavalleria Rusticana, with full orchestra. This was his operatic conducting debut. He worked there under the direction of Maestro William Weibel, a former conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In February 2004, Mr. Stamper traveled to South Florida to conduct Cosi fan Tutte for the South Florida Opera Company. Mr. Stamper is currently the Artistic Director of The Singing Girls of Texas and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Texas Wesleyan University.

"The conducting of the Artistic Director was so impressive! Tempi were right, the music was memorized, and there was a musical line being shown to the singers throughout the concert. I was so refreshed to see the conductor in such a high level of musicality combined with a genuine sense of gratitude for everything around him. This ensemble is a credit to our profession."

Nick Bowden, Organist
Peachtree Presbyterian Church
Atlanta, Georgia