MARK PAYNE

Mark Payne is a native Newfoundlander, equally at home on the stage or in the studio, singing, playing, conducting, composing and arranging.  In addition to multiple degrees in classical piano performance, he has performed as a soloist and collaborator throughout Canada and the US.  Mark was the resident opera coach at Western University for 10 years, and has worked as vocal coach and repetiteur for Pacific Opera Victoria, Calgary Opera and the Merola Opera Program.  He has been the resident Musical Director at the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia since 2011, arranging the music for the entire 6-show season, rehearsing the casts, and performing in most of the shows.  His broad vocal and pianistic skills span every conceivable genre – classical, jazz, pop, opera, folk and country, to name but a few. He has co-conducted and writes many choral arrangements for Primus Amabile Men’s Choir in London.  Mark orchestrated and performed “The Crooner” with Canadian crooner, Michael Vanhevel with the Kingston Symphony, and orchestrated and performed his own one-man show “I Love A Piano” with the Windsor Symphony in 2023.