Click the “play” button to hear the Advent Choir singing William Byrd's Ave verum corpus during Communion on the Feast of Corpus Christi:

Michaelmas, September 2007

Orchestral Mass on Pentecost (May 11, 2008)

The Advent's Aeolian-Skinner organ (Opus 940, 1936) is one of the most celebrated church organs in the world. Read more about this masterpiece here, or learn about the history of the Advent's instruments.

New Year's Eve service
Photo by Joe Vitacco

Mark Dwyer comes to the Advent from St Paul's Parish, K Street, in Washington, DC. He was formerly the Music Director at the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, NY, and before that Associate Organist & Choirmaster here at the Advent. A Worcester native and 1985 graduate of the New England Conservatory (also earning a Master's Degree in 1990), where he studied with Yuko Hayashi, William Porter, Frank Taylor and Charles Krigbaum, Mark has also been a faculty member and choirmaster at the annual Saint Michael's Conference for Young People for many years. An active accompanist and recitalist, Mark has performed in North and South America and Europe. He is featured on several recordings by the Advent Choir as both accompanist and conductor, and is the performer on a JAV recording of the Advent's Aeolian-Skinner organ in the series "Great Organ Builders of America: A Retrospective." Mark and his wife Cheryl have a son, Douglas.

Mark Dwyer and a budding composer (son Doug)

Ross Wood became Associate Organist & Choirmaster in September 2001. He received his doctorate in organ from Eastman School of Music in the studio of Russell Saunders.  While an undergraduate at Southern Methodist University, studying with Robert Anderson, he was a finalist in the national playing competition sponsored by the American Guild of Organists.  From 1985 to 2001 he served as Associate Organist at Trinity Church, Copley Square. A sought-after recitalist, Mr. Wood has performed at New York’s St. Thomas Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Michael’s Church, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, and Trinity Church, Wall Street.  In France he has appeared at Notre-Dame Cathedral, the American Cathedral in Paris, and at festivals in Bourges and Carcassonne. His recitals have been broadcast on NPR and the BBC. He also appears as accompanist on four compact discs with the Trinity Choir and performed with them in concert at Westminster Abbey and at Evensong in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, and has appeared before regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Association of Anglican Musicians, and the American Choral Directors Association.