Mark Daniel Merritt (born 1961 in

New London, CT New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

) (ASCAP) is an American composer and arranger with published choral works mostly for church choirs. Merritt's commissions, include a commission in 2007 partially funded by the

Kentucky Arts Council The Kentucky Arts Council, established in 1966, is the Kentucky state arts agency, and is responsible for developing and promoting support for the arts in Kentucky. Part of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Arts Council ...

, to compose the score to the musical ''River Dreams'', which had its world premiere in July of that year. ''River Dreams'' is an adaptation of the book, ''A Long Row to Hoe'', the autobiography of Kentucky author Billy C. Clark. The play was written by Betty Peterson. In an interview with the Daily Independent newspaper in Ashland, Kentucky, the director of the play Edward Figgins states, "Music by composer Mark Daniel Merritt captures the mood of Peterson's lyrics." The ''American Organist'' gave the following review of Merritt's published Christmas piece, "Deo Gratias:"

This setting of "Adam lay ybounden" will give Boris Ord's a run for its money. Well crafted and singable, this is sung with "traditional" harmonic language. An accompaniment for rehearsal is provided.''The American Organist'', March, 2008

Originally from

Noank Noank ( ) is a village in the town of Groton, Connecticut. This dense community of historic homes and local businesses sits on a small, steep peninsula at the mouth of the Mystic River (Connecticut), Mystic River with a long tradition of fishing, ...

, CT, Merritt now resides in the Columbia, South Carolina area. Merritt earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of South Carolina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Mark Daniel American male composers American musical theatre composers Musicians from Connecticut Sacred music composers 1961 births Living people