Deceased September 5, 2021

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In Memory

Mark Mangini passed away quietly at his home in Astoria, New York on September 5, 2021, five months after having been diagnosed with cancer. At Amherst Mark was much involved in the theater and music departments. He acted in several plays, sang with the Zumbyes and choral groups, and as part of his senior’s honors project sang a Bach Cantata, backed by a group comprising both students and faculty. 

After post-graduate work in music at Smith, Mark entered the New York music scene and became one of the most active, respected and surely among the best loved choral conductors in the region. He was on the music faculty of Kingsborough Community College of CUNY for 40 years. He was Music Director of The Greenwich Village Chamber Singers for more than 40 years, The Kingsborough Musical Society Chorus for over 30 years, and The Choral Society of the Hamptons for more than 20 years. He also conducted choruses at Hunter College of CUNY and Rutgers University. His repertoire spanned music from the pre-Bach eras through numerous commissions of contemporary works, and more standard choral repertoire. He served as the Director of Music at Grace Church, Brooklyn Heights, and as the conductor of the Bach Vespers series at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City. 

Mark was born on April 1, 1952 in Manhattan to the late Suzanne Scheffer Mangini and Jerome J. Mangini. The oldest of five children, Mark was raised in Darien, CT. A grandson of the renowned East Hampton architect Alfred A. Scheffer, Mark spent childhood summers in Amagansett and had an affection for the East End of Long Island his entire life. He is survived by his husband, Paulo Leite, siblings Carla, Mary, Barbara and David, as well a host of adoring nieces and nephews.

I will always remember Mark as a loving friend, three years my roommate at Amherst, and someone I could fall into step with instantly even after lapses stretching months, even years.  He laughed joyfully and often, but never with malice, and was altogether one of the kindest and most sensitive men I’ve ever known. Never in the least jaded, he always took things to heart. 

Mark’s best friend in NYC, Laurie Nelson, who wrote almost all of this obituary, has written further that though “it is impossible to sum up a life in an obituary, Mark's was a life well-lived, one that ended much too soon, a life that enriched the lives of his husband, family, friends and hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of music students and choral singers. Mark's musical skills, artistry, compassion and humanity were his gift. We will remember him with love always.” Amen! 

Cully Wilcoxon ’74