artistic staff

DON VERKUIJLEN

Artistic Director

Don Verkuijlen serves as the Director of Music at Church of the Saviour of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. At Church of the Saviour, he leads a dynamic program which performs a wide range of music. Don is also the Artistic Director of the Singers’ Club of Cleveland, the city’s oldest performing arts organization. In this capacity, he led the organization in commissioning a new setting of the Requiem Mass, written by the internationally renowned concert organist, David Briggs, in memory of those who lost their lives to COVID-19. Recently, in 2023, Don led the choir on their first international tour – performing in Finland, Latvia, and Estonia.

Don received a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance, Magna Cum Laude with the Henry Fusner Prize in Organ and the Heinrich Scholarship in Organ, from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), studying organ with Professor Todd Wilson. Before attending CIM, he studied Organ Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where his principal teachers were Madame Marie-Louise Langlais and Professor James David Christie. Don began his organ studies with the late Frank Rippl.

A prolific recitalist, Don has performed around the globe. Selected organ recitals include performances at two Organ Historical Society Conventions (Columbus, OH and Sunderland, MA), the Cathedral of St. Paul (St. Paul, Minnesota), the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (La Crosse, Wisconsin), Conservatoire de Paris (Paris, France), Overture Hall (Madison, Wisconsin), the Basilica di San Giuseppe al Trionfale (Rome, Italy), St. John’s Church (Riga, Latvia), and St. Mary’s Cathedral (Tallinn, Estonia). Don is also a composer of works for organ and choir. His Toccata for organ was premiered at the 2016 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Houston, and is published by Selah. A recording of the premier performance is available on American Public Radio’s, Pipedreams. Currently, Don is in the process of recording the complete organ works of the American composer and organist, Myron Roberts, to be released on the Raven label.

Beyond performing, Don has extensive experience as an organ builder, specializing in the art voicing. In this capacity, he has worked all over the country for various organ builders, including Austin Organs, Nichols & Simpson, as well as having run his own firm.

Robert P. Bellisario

Assistant Artistic Director

Robert P. Bellisario has been with The Singers’ Club since 1986, during which time he has been a S. Livingston Mather scholarship recipient, Assistant Conductor, Conductor of The Centennials, and Interim Conductor of the Club. He studied at Cleveland State University with an emphasis on Vocal Performance with Elizabeth Unis Chesko and Choral Conducting with Ernest L. Hisey. While at CSU he had the opportunity to participate in masterclasses with Paul Sperry and Robert Fountain. In 1987, he was awarded the American Choral Directors Student Award. He was also awarded scholarships from the CSU School of Music and the Fortnightly Music Club.

Professionally he has performed with The Robert Page Singers, Lyric Opera of Cleveland, The Church of the Covenant Choir, and The Old Stone Singers. He was the founding conductor of The North Coast Men’s Chorus and was the Director of Music at Fairview Baptist Church. He has performed as soloist and guest conductor at many local churches. Mr. Bellisario has composed and arranged many pieces for the Singers’ Club, and for his 25th anniversary with the Club, he composed a setting of the Latin text Hodie Christus natus est.

Ben Malkevitch

Collaborative Pianist

Ben Malkevitch, pianist for the Singers’ Club since fall 2022, is in demand as a music director, vocal coach, organist, and pianist in the greater Cleveland area. They are a staff pianist at Baldwin Wallace University, where they work with students in its prestigious musical theatre and classical vocal performance programs. Locally, they have collaborated with Cleveland Opera Theatre, Opera Western Reserve, and the Youngstown and Mansfield Symphony Orchestras.

Ben serves as the organist and pianist at Dover Congregational Church in Westlake. They are the founder of several Facebook groups to encourage networking and shared opportunities for musicians in our area. They are a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where they earned a Master’s of Music in Collaborative Piano, studying with Virginia Weckstrom. In addition to playing, they are also highly skilled as an arranger and music engraver. To hear some of their improvisations, please visit IG @benthepianist