Congregational Evensong & Organ Recital

The 40th season of the Second Sunday Evensong/Organ Recital Series at St. Mark’s, Berkeley continues on Sunday, February 8, 2026.

The Evensong service will begin at 4:00pm.

The organ recital will offered by David Soar, organist of Christ Episcopal Church, Sausalito, at 4:40pm.

A festive reception in Lion’s Hall will follow the recital.

David Soar was born in Nottinghamshire, England, and majored in organ and choral direction at the Royal Academy of Music, London, graduating in the year 2000. Prior to studying at the Royal Academy he held organ scholarships at Southwell Minster, and Chichester Cathedral. During his studies in London he was the organ scholar at the church of St Bride’s, Fleet Street, which he still regards as his spiritual home in England. From 2000 to 2003 he was organist and music director at the Parish Church of All Saints, Kingston upon Thames, presiding over an ambitious music program with the choir of men and boys.

David has performed organ recitals at Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, and St.Thomas, Fifth Avenue, New York City, in addition to many other regional cathedrals and parish churches in the UK and Europe.

In 2003 David transitioned to become a full-time opera singer, having previously sung with many professional vocal ensembles. He began his opera career as a full-time chorus member of Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, Wales, after which he became a principal soloist for the company until 2010, making many of his major role debuts there. Since then he has performed at many of the world’s leading opera houses, including The Metropolitan Opera, New York City; The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London; Teatro Real, Madrid, and Opera Zürich. David has enjoyed a long association with concert singing, particularly in oratorio, a highlight amongst which is an award-winning recording of Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

Last season David performed the roles of Judge Turpin in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd for Utah Opera, Timur in Puccini’s Turandot for Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Fasolt in Wagner’s Das Rheingold for Opera Zürich and Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Fafner in Das Rheingold for the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Orange County, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City. He is currently performing the role of Titurel in Wagner’s Parsifal for San Francisco Opera, and future plans include Messiah for the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Rocco in Beethoven’s Fidelio for Utah Opera.

David combines his singing career with the position of Organist and Music Director at Christ Episcopal Church, Sausalito, which he accidentally fell into after moving to the Bay Area in early 2021. This recital will mark his first solo organ concert for more than a decade, and he is thrilled to be presenting it here at St. Mark’s. Please be kind to him: playing the organ is not his full-time job!