Mark Hayes (composer)

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Mark Hayes (born 1953) is a gospel music composer, who has written many choral music pieces.

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• Mark Hayes (b. 1953)

As a beginning piano student of ten years of age, Mark Hayes had little idea of the foundation he was laying for his future career in music. From those inauspicious beginnings in northern Illinois, his career has blossomed into international tours to Europe, the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Brazil. Now an internationally known writer, his music can be found in the music libraries of the finest churches and universities in the country, and he is in increasing demand for choral clinics and concerts. Two exceptional piano teachers who encouraged Mark to develop improvisational skills within the first year of lessons guided his early musical training. His musical talents grew through the support of his family and through playing at church and school events. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance, magna cum laude from Baylor University, but his degree was only a small part of what he gained from those four years. During his college years his dream to become a composer and arranger of contemporary Christian and sacred music was born and nurtured.

Today Hayes' vocal and instrumental writing is widely acclaimed and performed across the nation. 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." The popularity of his music is evident in the numerous offers of commissions he receives from universities and churches throughout the country. Te Deum, his newest work for oratorio chorus and orchestra, was commissioned and premiered by Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, TX in April 2004. His works are regularly featured at annual conventions of the American Choral Directors' Association and the Music Educators' National Conference. His personal catalog, compiled over the last 29 years, includes well over 600 published original compositions and arrangements, which are distributed by several leading publishers. Hayes has produced and arranged over 50 recordings for various artists and publishers, 25 keyboard folios, and seven volumes of the Mark Hayes Vocal Solo Collection.

"Empowering church musicians has always been one of my goals", says Hayes. He lives this out by regularly serving as a clinician at arranging, orchestration, and piano improvisation workshops throughout the country. Because of his creative arranging approach, his performance expertise, and his "hands on" experience as a church pianist for so many years, Hayes is able to give fresh insights into improvisation, accompanying, and congregational hymn playing for the church musician. He is also a co-creator of a multi-level piano method series designed for young church pianists. To further educate and encourage new arrangers and composers, he has served as an adjunct composition instructor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri from 1991-1993.

Occasionally Hayes incorporates a piano concert featuring his own arrangements into a weekend choir clinic. His warm, sensitive style at the keyboard and behind the conductor's podium makes him an instant favorite among all age groups. Mark is often contracted to provide music leadership for national church conferences, and has shared the stage with such people as former president Jimmy Carter, and well-known authors Tony Campolo, and Keith Miller.

In addition to his involvement in the sacred and secular choral music fields, Hayes is increasingly sought after as an orchestrator and record producer. Mark Hayes is a recurring recipient of the Standard Award from ASCAP, and his album, "I've Just Seen Jesus," received the Dove Award, the equivalent to a Grammy in gospel music.