Mark Daniel Merritt (ASCAP) is an American composer and arranger with published choral works mostly for church choirs. Merritt's recent commissions, include a commission in 2007 partially funded by the Kentucky Arts Council, to compose the score to the musical River Dreams, which had its world premiere in July of that year. River Dreams is an adaptation of the book, A Long Row to Hoe, the autobiography of Kentucky author Billy C. Clark

Billy C. Clark

Billy Curtis Clark December 19, 1928 – March 15, 2009) was an American author of 11 books and many poems and short stories, heavily influenced by his childhood growing up in poverty in Kentucky.-Biography:...

. The play was written by Betty Peterson. In an interview with the Daily Independent newspaper in Ashland, Kentucky, the director of the play Edward Figgins states, "Music by composer Mark Daniel Merritt captures the mood of Peterson's lyrics."

The American Organist gave the following review of Merritt's published Christmas piece, "Deo Gratias:"

This setting of "Adam lay ybounden" will give Boris Ord's a run for its money. Well crafted and singable, this is sung with "traditional" harmonic language. An accompaniment for rehearsal is provided.

Originally from Noank, CT, Merritt now resides in Mount Airy

Mount Airy, North Carolina

Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,388.-History:Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem and Galax, Virginia. It was named for a nearby plantation...

, North Carolina.