Mark Athanasius van Schenkhof

On January 1, 2024, Mark Athanasius van Schenkhof, retired Director of Manhasset High School’s Concert Choir, Symphonic Choir, Select Ensemble, Kinsmen Men' s Choir, and Men's Chorus, and former Music Minister at Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in Port Washington succumbed to ALS after a six-year struggle. Mark passed peacefully in hospice at his Port Washington home, comforted by his wife of twenty-nine years, Carol Dougherty van Schenkhof. He is survived by his brother, Ronald van Schenkhof; his sister, Jessica Price; and many beloved nieces and nephews. His sister, Virginia Benjamin, pre-deceased him. In keeping with Mark’s wishes, he has been cremated and interred in a private ceremony. Friends will have the opportunity to visit with Mark’s wife, Carol, on Friday, Jan 12, 2024 between 2 and 5PM. The venue is the St. Cecilia Room on the lower level of St. Stephen's Church, 9 Carlton Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050. Please enter through the lower-level doors. In lieu of flowers (etc), please send donations as follows: * The Scholarship Fund at Manhasset High School, 200 Memorial Place, Manhasset NY 11030. Be sure to annotate your contribution in the memo line: “Funds for The Mark van Schenkhof Scholarship Fund.” * St. Stephen's Church, 9 Carlton Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050. Be sure to annotate your contribution in the memo line: “For The Music Fund.” * Hospice Care Network, 99 Sunnyside Blvd. Ext, Woodbury, NY 11797 * The ALS Foundation of Greater New York, 42 Broadway, Suite 1724, NY 10004. Superlatives fail to give the measure of the beloved Mr. V, as students, parents, colleagues, and parishioners called him. He was born in Patterson NJ on March 10, 1955, the son of Nickolaas van Schenkhof and Elisabeth Mathijsen. His love of music and his beautiful voice buoyed him through a challenging time at Ridgewood and West Milford High Schools. Serendipity played an important part in bringing this unique person into our collective lives. Entering college, Mr. V intended to become a math major (“The only subject I was good at,’” he quipped). Fortunately for us, visiting Julliard professors heard him sing and offered him a full voice scholarship, as did the Manhattan School of Music. A second stroke of good luck for us all was that Mark decided to leave his opera career and devote himself to working with young people, whom he loved. Mark’s formal music education includes: the Manhattan School of Music for Opera/voice; and Queens College CUNY and Five Towns College for Music Education. At St. Stephens Church, where he served as organist and choir director starting in 2000, his leadership brought growth to the choir and a consistently high quality of performance, leading to his receipt of The Bishop's Medal for Distinguished Parochial Service from the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, Lawrence C. Provenzano, Bishop. Mark brought his unique talent to Manhasset High School in August of 1999, and his accolades became legion: The NYSMMA Established Educator Award, The Tri M Music Honor Society Lifetime Membership Award, The Silver M Honor Society of Manhasset, The Harvard Club Award for Teaching Excellence and scores of others. Performances at the United Nations, The White House, Trinity Church Wall Street, and The Vatican reflect his choir’s excellence. A polyglot, fluent in four languages and proficient in seven others, he taught student to sing in more than ten languages and played thousands of NYSSMA solos for students. He is legendary for writing lengthy college recommendations and progress reports for each child into the late hours. He would send a personalized musical birthday greeting every year to students long graduated. Scores of his students have made careers as musicians and singers, conductors and stage techs, and several thousand others carry with them a life-long love of music. His students best express what made him unique and bestow on him the highest accolade a teacher can hope to receive: “He doesn’t just teach the highest level of music; he teaches life.” Please join friends and family in a Celebration of the Life of Mark Athanasius van Schenkhof, St. Stephen's Church, 9 Carlton Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050, on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at 1:00 PM.