Mark grew up in the rainy Pacific Northwest, and thanks to his parents was able to experience an eclectic mix of music from a very young age. He’s been drumming since 1996, taking lessons at the Seattle Drum School under the instruction of owner Steve Smith. He began performing jazz with his school’s stage bands starting in 6th grade and continually through high school. In 1997 his middle school band took top honors at the Lionel Hampton music festival in Idaho, where he saw Elvin Jones and Lionel Hampton perform. The fires of inspiration were lit that day, and he knew it would take a lot of hard work to get to where he wanted to be as a musician! In high school he began collaborating with friends outside of school and formed a funk group, recording some demos and playing in quite a few garages. In 2002, Mark relocated to Honolulu to start studies at UH Manoa. He played in the big band under the direction of Pat Hennessey, and with his excellent leadership they were able to travel and perform at a few festivals around the country, including the North Texas jazz festival. Mark also took private lessons in classical percussion from Lois Russell, and graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with his Bachelor’s in Classical Percussion Performance.
His current scope of work includes teaching private lessons at ‘Iolani School, recording and engineering live sound for events, and having the honor and privilege to play drums around town, neighbor islands, and beyond with a great circle of friends that love music as much as he does!