Mark is a musician, composer and producer based in Takoma Park, Maryland. As a solo guitarist, Mark performs a broad range of instrumental music, including original compositions from his 2003 CD, American Gypsy. (Listen to "Caravan" above.) Mark also performs as a member of Great Noise Ensemble (GNE), a Washington, DC-based new music group. He plays guitar, banjo and mandolin with GNE, and the group has premiered several of Mark's newest works for banjo and small ensemble. Mark's most recent CD, New Music for Banjo (2009), is a collection of these banjo works. (Listen to excerpts from "Cascade", "Pulse (in 7)", "Trio 2" and "Trio 1" above.)
Mark is active in the Washington area's folk and acoustic music scene, and he has earned four WAMMIE nominations (2005 -2008) for contemporary folk instrumentalist. A sought-after accompanist on guitar, bass, banjo and mandolin, Mark performs and records with many of the area's singer-songwriters, including Verlette Simon, Sense of Wonder, and Iain Campbell Smith (Australia's Fred Smith). Mark was also a member of the avant-folk group, Tree Surgeons.
Mark is a Company Associate of The Only Animal, a theatre company based in Vancouver, BC. He has composed the music for two of their productions: NiX (2009 Calgary, AB, and 2010 Whistler, BC), and Other Freds (Vancouver, BC, 2005). Mark's score for Other Freds was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award.
That was so much fun the other night! We've been sitting around the hotel room trying to come up with some superlatives to describe your banjo playing, and we are failing miserably. Suffice to say, you totally rule! Can't wait to see you up in our fair city soon!
Thanks for the add. Love your unusual instrumentation of classical music. I have been wanting to hear and learn that style for years but was unable to find any music. Sue Picknell...Banjo player for The Strawberry Farm Band
Hey neighbor! Neat stuff, you have your own thing, i am very much enjoying listening to it! Thanks for stopping by, i hope to meet you on the circuit; Sincerely ~Woody
Hey man! I've been keeping up with your email as well - sounds you've got some good stuff going on as well. If you ever want to do any recording, definitely keep me in mind - I've got a full pro studio now and am producing full time - a big upgrade from my little bedroom in Crystal City! And I may need a session player for one of my artists at some point, so maybe you'd be interested in that as well.
