Concert Pianist, Doctor of Musical Arts
Pianist Mark Laverty is an award-winning artist who has delighted audiences in the United States and Europe. He was born in St. Louis and began playing the piano at the age of five. He has studied with Jane Allen at the St. Louis Conservatory, Veronica Jochum at the New England Conservatory, and in 1989 earned the Bachelor of Music Education Degree (Magna Cum Laude) at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in choral and piano studies. In 1993, Dr. Laverty completed his Master’s Degree in Piano and Chamber Music at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where he was a student of the legendary concert pianist Ruth Slenczynska (1925-2001). A competition winner at SIUE, he performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Also, in 1993, he was chosen by the University of Miami (Florida) to attend their Music Institute in Salzburg, Austria. This included studies in piano and vocal accompaniment, as well as recital performances in Salzburg.
In 1995, Laverty won the Belleville (Illinois) Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Competition and performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Other concerto performances have included Mozart's Concerto No. 19 in F Major with the University of Missouri-St. Louis Orchestra, and Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy with the St. Louis Community College Orchestra at Florissant Valley. Also in 1995, Dr. Laverty served as pianist for the St. Louis Children’s Choirs for one season. Performances since then have included concerts throughout St. Louis, a recital with Soprano Karen Fergurson, winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in New York City, and recitals with violinist Manuel Ramos and other members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2001 Dr. Laverty made his debut in the United Kingdom with all-Bach concerts in London and Cardiff, Wales.
In 2002, he completed the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance at the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC) where he was a student of John McIntyre. In 2000, he was a finalist in the UMKC Concerto Competition. In 2003, he returned to Europe for recitals in the UK, Salzburg, Austria, and Germany. In 2004, Dr. Laverty won First Place in the Robert M. Spire Piano Competition held at the University of Nebraska - Omaha. Performances for the 2004-05 season included recitals in St. Louis, London, Cardiff, New York, Wisconsin, and performances of Brahms' Concerto No. 1 with the Belleville Philharmonic, and Rachmaninoffs’ Concerto No. 2 with the Clayton (Missouri) and Alton (Illinois) Symphony Orchestras.
In 2006, Dr. Laverty performed at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and also served on the piano faculty of Washington University in St. Louis. Concerts in 2006-07 included recitals in St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri, and San Francisco, and concertos by Chopin (No.1 in E Minor), Tchaikovsky (No. 1 in B-flat Minor) and Brahms (No. 1) with the Alton, University City and Town and Country Symphony Orchestras, respectively. A strong proponent of the great Lutheran master composer, Dr. Laverty recorded his debut CD, ‘Music of Bach’, in Seiji Ozawa Hall at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2006, produced by Grammy Award-winning producer, David Frost. Released in 2007, it is available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, his website and other online sites. In 2007-08, he performed in Chicago, St. Louis, San Diego, Wausau, and St. Charles, Missouri. Also, in 2008, Dr. Laverty was selected by the Missouri Arts Council and the Mid-America Arts Alliance to be on their Artist Rosters.
In the 2009-10 season, venues included Boston, Houston and St. Simons Island, Georgia, as well as a private gala St. Louis Symphony fundraiser with Concertmaster David Halen in Chesterfield, and an All-Chopin recital at the historic Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis celebrating the composers’ Bicentennial: 1810-2010. In the 2010-11 season, he performed concerts in St. Louis, Maryland, and Tennessee. In 2012, he performed an all-Liszt recital at the Sheldon, and an all-Chopin recital at the Steinway Piano Gallery. In 2013, major recitals were presented at Trinity Lutheran Church, in Houston, Texas, and at Zion Lutheran Church in Maryland Heights, Missouri, where Dr. Laverty is also Music Director. Concerts in 2014 included the music of Bach and the complete Chopin Etudes at such venues as Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis, Central Presbyterian Church in Clayton, and Zion Lutheran Church.
Concerts in 2015-16 included a lecture, masterclass and all-Bach recital at Northwest Missouri State University, as well as Bach, Liszt and Chopin recitals for the Hannibal Arts Council, SIU-Edwardsville, Tavern of Fine Arts St. Louis, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Jackson, Missouri, and several concerts/lectures in the St. Louis Area. In 2018-19, performance venues included St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Cullman, Alabama; Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; Chillicothe Arts Council, Chillicothe, Missouri; Columbia, Illinois; and a ‘Concert for Life’ hosted by Lutherans for Life at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Olivette, Missouri.
During the height of the Covid pandemic, he was invited in 2021 to perform a recital dedicating a new Steinway concert grand piano at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sycamore, Illinois, near Chicago. In 2022, he performed a concert at the Toddhall Retreat Center in Columbia, Illinois, at the invitation of Rev. Dr. Fred Baue. In 2023, concerts included a concert at Lord of Life, a piano performance of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Liszt at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman, Alabama, and serving as organist for a German Divine Service there celebrating the Oktoberfest. In 2024, Dr. Laverty performed Bach and Chopin at Lord of Life; and in 2025 he performed at the EverTrue Mason Pointe Retirement Center in Town and Country, Missouri, and performed there again earlier this month. Also in 2025, he performed at SIUE playing the music of Rachmaninoff for a celebration of the 100th birthday of his late teacher, Dr. Ruth Slenczynska, Professor Emeritus.
Dr. Laverty is a lifelong Lutheran (LCMS), and this year celebrates 48 years of service as a church musician. He began serving as pianist, organist, and choir accompanist in 1978 for Lord of Life Lutheran Church, in Chesterfield, Missouri (1978-1996). From 1998 to 2021, he served as Music Director of Zion Lutheran Church, in Maryland Heights, Missouri, with duties of Choir Director, Organist and Pianist. In 2022, he returned to serve at Lord of Life as Music Director and in 2023, he inaugurated the first ever concert series at Lord of Life, with two successful and well-attended piano and organ concerts each year since, performed by himself (piano) and guest organists, as well as concerts by chamber ensembles of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The goal of the series is ‘To glorify God and bless His people with great works of music’. Of course, Bach is heard on every concert.
Dr. Laverty has been a member of several music teacher organizations, including the Music Teachers’ National Association, the St. Louis Area Music Teachers’ Association and the National Federation of Music Clubs. In 2026, he was named ‘Church Musician of the Year’ by the Missouri Chapter of the Federation. In demand as a soloist, adjudicator, accompanist and master class teacher, Dr. Laverty resides in Chesterfield, a suburb of St. Louis, and owns and operates the Chesterfield Piano Studio.