St. Mark Parish Hosts World Premiere of "Born This Day" Cantata

On Christmas Eve 2022, St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church hosted the World Premiere of a new Christmas Cantata. Assistant Director of Music at the parish, Russell Ronnebaum, composed "Born This Day," a riveting and transcendent collection. These songs invited listeners deeper in relationship with the Holy Family as Catholics celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ. 


 

About Russell Ronnebaum

Russell Ronnebaum, a Kansas native, earned a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Kansas. He then attended the University of Arizona where he received a Masters Degree in collaborative piano under the guidance of Dr. Paula Fan.  

Russell has served at several parishes in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and the Diocese of Tucson as an accompanist and music director. At St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, he helps run rehearsals, plays for weekly Masses, and regularly composes and arranges for instrumentalists for various liturgical events. 

For the 2019-20 season, Russell was named the newly appointed Music Director and Composer in Residence of The Rogue Theatre in Tucson, AZ. Past performance and compositional engagements include Artifact Dance Project, The Rogue Theatre, and the University of Arizona. Other performance engagements have been with acclaimed organizations such as the Tucson Symphony Orchestra (TSO), American Wind Symphony Orchestra, and the Tucson Masterworks Chorale. Russell is the staff accompanist of the Masterworks Chorale since 2015 and has been featured on many concerts, including a solo concerto performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19.  

Russell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016 performing the music of composer Dan Forrest. Recent commissions and premieres include music for voice, choir, piano, string orchestra, and live theatre. Recordings and sheet music can be found at: www.RRonnebaum.com.