Mark Allen Trautman has served as Director of Music at St. Paul’s Church in Englewood since September 2010, and founded and the St. Paul’s Choir School, an award-winning, community-based youth choir educational program in September 2012. A professional church musician since his teens, he has a broad range of experience building and strengthening music programs and developing congregational song. He is an award-winning organist, and has performed throughout the United States, England, and Germany. He has been described as a “clear and communicative conductor” by Classical New Jersey and he has conducted at the State Theatre and George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark, and the Round Lake Auditorium in New York. He has also been a featured organist on CNN and New Jersey Public Television.
Mr. Trautman earned bachelor's and master's degrees in organ performance and church music with honors and distinction from Towson University in Baltimore and Westminster Choir College in Princeton, and studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig, Germany. He studied piano with Michael Phelps at St Mary's College of Maryland, organ with Thomas Spacht and Eugene Roan, and orchestral conducting with Scott Whitener. Prior to his appointment at St. Paul’s, he served Christ Church in New Brunswick for 17 years, and is responsible for commissioning their unique Richards, Fowkes & Company mechanical action pipe organ and developing a full time, multi-generational choral program and an award-winning concert series. He currently serves on the music faculty of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. In addition to his ministry at St Paul's, he also serves as Missioner for Music and the Arts of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.
He is in demand as a teacher, conductor, consultant, and guest lecturer, and has served as an adjudicator for events sponsored by the American Choral Directors’ Association, the American Guild of Organists, and the New Jersey Folk Festival.
Mr. Trautman earned bachelor's and master's degrees in organ performance and church music with honors and distinction from Towson University in Baltimore and Westminster Choir College in Princeton, and studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig, Germany. He studied piano with Michael Phelps at St Mary's College of Maryland, organ with Thomas Spacht and Eugene Roan, and orchestral conducting with Scott Whitener. Prior to his appointment at St. Paul’s, he served Christ Church in New Brunswick for 17 years, and is responsible for commissioning their unique Richards, Fowkes & Company mechanical action pipe organ and developing a full time, multi-generational choral program and an award-winning concert series. He currently serves on the music faculty of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. In addition to his ministry at St Paul's, he also serves as Missioner for Music and the Arts of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.
He is in demand as a teacher, conductor, consultant, and guest lecturer, and has served as an adjudicator for events sponsored by the American Choral Directors’ Association, the American Guild of Organists, and the New Jersey Folk Festival.
Contralto Giulia Utz most recently appeared as Mama Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera of the Hamptons. She has appeared as soloist with the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, American Lyric Theater, Canticum Novum Festival Singers, Voices of Ascension, the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra, and Bang on a Can All Stars. A specialist in early music performance practices she has appeared in baroque operas with the New York Continuo Collective as the Virgin Mary in a medieval mystery play at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore and has directed medieval music performances at the Cloisters museum. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in voice from Youngstown State University, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in music from Sarah Lawrence College. She currently studies with former Metropolitan Opera soprano Atarah Hazzan. She is also a professional singer and section leader in the semi-professional adult choir at St Paul's in Englewood. Check out Ms Giulia's webpage here.
Pianist Andrew Zhang earned his bachelor's degree in Music Education and Jazz Performance from William Paterson University, where he was a student of Gary Kirkpatrick and John Mosca; he also studied jazz privately with Oscar Perez. He teaches privately in several studios in North Jersey, and performs with various jazz, R&B, and rock bands regularly throughout the tri-state area. He also serves as the Director of Music at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in West Orange.
Larrej "Rejy" Drayton is finishing his bachelor's degree in Music (Vocal Performance) from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and studies with mezzo-soprano Susan Quittmeyer. He has performed with various choirs at the highest level in venues including Lincoln Center, Trinity Wall Street, and the American Choral Directors' Association's Eastern and National Conventions with multiple choirs, under the direction of leading conductors including Dr. Patrick Gardner, Dr. Colin Britt, Mark Shaiman, Scott Whitman, and Carla Stickler. Check out his website here.