Meet the St. Susanna Music Department

Heralded as "Stylish... elegant... intriguing..." by Choir and Organ magazine, "delicious and imaginative" by Pulitzer prize winner & US Poet Laureate Rita Dove, LUKE WENCESLAS MAYERNIK (b. 1981) is an award-winning composer, organist, pianist, harpsichordist, improviser, and collaborative artist. Earning his M.M. in Composition from The San Francisco Conservatory of Music with the highest honors (May 2017), Luke studied with David Garner, Rodney Gehrke, and David Conte.  Luke has been accorded several first prizes in improvisation and composition respectively, including the 2014 University of Michigan International Improvisation Competition; the 2011-2013 CROPATRIA International Composition Competitions; the 2008 Royal Canadian College of Organists Competition; and the 2004 AGO International Competition in Improvisation. Also in 2004, Luke was awarded the prestigious Associate Certificate by the American Guild of Organists.  A passionate teacher and mentor, Luke has presented masterclasses and lecture-recitals in interpretation, improvisation, and composition at [inter]national universities and conventions.  With a growing catalog of both sacred, secular, and concert works, Luke's original compositions are published with E.C. Schirmer, Hal Leonard, Walton Music, Graphite Publishing, OCP, H.T. Fitzsimons, and many others.  Awarded a full scholarship and a teaching position in composition/music theory, Luke was also a doctoral composition student at The University of Texas at Austin, studying composition with Donald Grantham. 

CONTACT LUKE

STEPHEN SANDERS
Youth Choir Director - Bass Section Leader
STEPHEN SANDERS graduated from Ohio University in 2014 with honors in Music and Education. Undergraduate of the Year in Music Education Award (2014). Stephen has been a member of St. Susanna parish for 13 years, and has performed with the May Festival Chorus and the Lancaster Chorale.  Stephen has a passion for education, ranging from mentoring for young adults, to teaching and tutoring music to students of all ages. 
CONTACT STEPHEN

KASSIDY GRACE MAYERNIK
Assistant to the Music Director - Choral Librarian - Soprano Section Leader
KASSIDY GRACE MAYERNIK has had the joy of serving countless parishioners through Catholic Music Ministry for over ten years, alongside her husband Luke Mayernik. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from West Liberty University (WV) with a Bachelor of Music Performance in 2013. Kassidy has sung with numerous symphonic, choral, a cappella, theater, and religious organizations across the country. Some of her personal favorites include the Mendelssohn Choir with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Undercroft Opera, Pittsburgh Camerata, OvreArts, St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco, St. Anne Parish in Pittsburgh, and of course St. Susanna!

Kassidy’s love of music was nurtured by her grandmother, who started Kassidy with piano lessons when she was six years old; by the time she was eleven, Kassidy was singing in the adult choir her grandmother directed in West Middletown, PA (and still does to this day!)

When not cantoring or singing with the choir at St. Susanna, you might find Kassidy on her daily run around Mason, or walking neighborhood dogs alongside her and Luke’s beloved Golden Retriever, Jonah.
CONTACT KASSIDY