Purity of tone, excellent clarity of line, subtle dynamic changes ...a beautiful collaboration between a conductor and his singers.
-- Asbury Park Press

The versatile conductor Mark Shapiro enjoys working with orchestras, opera companies, and choruses. Shapiro is Artistic Director of Cantori New York and the Monmouth Civic Chorus; Associate Conductor of the verismo opera company Teatro Grattacielo in New York; regular guest conductor with the chamber orchestra Nova Sinfonia in Halifax; and regularly serves as cover conductor for the Bridgeport Symphony. 

With Cantori New York, Shapiro has made three commercially-released CDs, one of which, Frank Martin's oratorio Le Vin Herbé, was awarded Editor's Choice in Opera News Magazine and the highest rating (***) in the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs. Under Shapiro's direction, Cantori has won two ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, and support from numerous foundations including the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Cantori's appearances include Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series, the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center, and the prestigious Trinity Concert Series on Wall Street.

Shapiro's varied credits as an instrumental and opera conductor include: Cygnus Ensemble; Works & Process at the Guggenheim Museum, The Actors Studio; Two River Theatre; Center for Contemporary Opera; Banff Centre; Metro Lyric Opera; and PBS, where he was heard conducting the soundtrack for Ric Burns' special on New York City.

Shapiro is on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music in New York, where he has taught orchestral and choral conducting, conducted opera performances, and led the Mannes Chorus, which appeared under his direction at the United Nations. He created and currently oversees the Mannes Repertory Vocal Ensemble. Shapiro is also Director of the Conducting Program at the European-American Musical Alliance, at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. His team-teaching initiatives at The New School in New York City have resulted in two collaborations: a course in The Science of Music and Sound, and a University Lecture in Music and Mind.  A perennial presence at the annual Messiah Sing-In in Avery Fisher Hall, Shapiro maintains a coaching studio in New York, where he has played sessions for Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti.