This year’s Young Alumnus Award winner has sung on stages from Wichita to Berlin and inhabited characters such as the Cat in the Hat, Jesus’ disciple Simon Zealotes and Ernest Green of the Little Rock Nine.
Arthur W. Marks, New York, will be honored in a special convocation during the day Feb. 11. That evening, he will give a concert at 7:30 p.m. in Krehbiel Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public. A freewill offering will be taken to support the African-American Alumni Association Scholarship Fund and to help cover expenses for Marks and his accompanist, Laura Bergquist.
Marks is a native of Kansas City, Kan., the son of Zelma L. Marks and William J. McNeal, both of Kansas City, and an honors graduate of Harmon High School there. He graduated from Bethel in 1993 with a bachelor of arts degree and a double major in music and social work.
After graduating, Marks was a social worker with Hospice Inc. in Wichita. He also served as minister of music at Hillside Christian Church. While in the Wichita area, Marks ran a successful voice studio connected with the Maize School District, teaching students from Wichita and surrounding communities. He was musical director for several choral groups in Wichita, including Stage One Singers, Emerald City Chorus and Music Theatre for Young People.
Marks made his professional singing debut in 1992 with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Baltimore, Des Moines and Wichita Symphony Orchestras, the Vivaldi Travelling Virtuoso Orchestra from New York City and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He has performed on stages and classical venues in Rome, London, Berlin, Leipzig, Paris and Vienna. Last spring, Marks was the tenor soloist for the annual Masterworks concert at Bethel, performing in Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”