Craig Leland Sparks, The Artistic Director of the Bowie Senior Chorale, is a talented composer, vocalist, pianist, and conductor. He is the Director of Music at Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church and Program Director for the Ark and Dove School of Music. He composes choral music, and has had his works performed by the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Towson University Chamber Singers, Towson University Chorale, and the New Dimension Singers.

Mr. Sparks holds a B.M. from Towson University and an M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, both in composition/theory. He privately studied voice for 8 years and piano for 15 years.  For the past 4 years, he has studied yoga, incorporating the principles of alignment, body-awareness, and breathing into his musical education.  Recently, he co-founded Yoga di Musica, developing curriculum and presenting seminars that demonstrate the benefits of Yoga for musicians.

   Despite his years of training, Mr. Sparks is still deeply in touch with his musical roots.  His musical career began at the age of 2 when he began performing for his family on the fireplace hearth in the living room.  He grew up with music always around him, from the family's Christmas Sing-a-Longs to church and school choirs.  This constant presence of music in his community has inspired him to adopt the African saying, "If you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing."  For Craig, music is an everyday affair for everyone to participate in.  It is this joy, passion, and love which he instills in all his musical endeavors.

The following article appeared in the February 27, 2005
edition of the Washington Post.

"When I first walked in and met the Bowie Senior Chorale, I was told, 'Half of us don't read music.'  'Many of us haven't sung before.' 'Most of us don't have any vocal training.'  

What I saw was a group of people who were there because they enjoyed singing.  They just needed to believe in themselves.  (Don't we all!) 

Today, I am happy to say, we are the Bowie Senior CHORALE! Half our members still don't read music.  Most aren't trained singers.  For many, this is their first choral experience.  Two things have changed.  First, we believe this to be a truly remarkable choir, constantly discovering what we are capable of.  Second, we are inspired and passionate about singing! 

I fully believe that this is the best choir in the world.  We may sing some wrong notes, mess up some words, or flub up in some other, unimaginable way, but we have also created some truly astounding music together by drawing from the powerful life experiences of the group.  We tap into our laughter, our sorrow, our introspection, our joy, and our love to make our music an expression of our lives.  Our rehearsals are a light-hearted joy, full of laughter and camaraderie.  I also make sure we work really hard, too.

My intention and vision for the Bowie Senior Chorale is:

• To create an honest and passionate expression of who we are as a group. 
• To have that expression be fulfilled in the music we create together.
• To grow in our laughter and love.
• To leave each rehearsal with an inspiration that we can take into our world.

Give of all that you are, and let us discover the greatness we can create."

Craig L. Sparks