Background
Mark is a concert pianist, conductor, artistic director, educator, concert promoter and company director. Mark grew up in Perth and studied piano performance at the University of Western Australia before moving to London where he lived and worked for several years. He returned to Australia to become Head of Music at UWA and since this time has held leadership roles at state and national levels in the performing arts and higher education sectors.
He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Musica Viva Australia and was Federal Chairman of the Australian Music Examinations Board. Mark has also been Chairman of the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference and was Head of the School of Music at the University of Western Australia for eight years.
Mark is also a distinguished piano teacher and mentor who is very committed to supporting young people in the arts. He is a former member of the WAAPA Advisory Board and works each year coaching and supporting tertiary music students and recent graduates.
In November 2024, Mark has been appointed Executive Director of Piano Plus Australia and the Sydney International Piano Competition and is also Artistic Director of the Government House Ballroom concert series, Music on the Terrace, which he established in 2006, and Artistic Director of the annual New Year’s Eve concert at the Perth Concert Hall, a fundraising event for the Rotary Club of Perth which has been running for 37 years. For 15 years he was a music critic and arts writer for The Australian newspaper.
Mark has had a 10-year association with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra as Board member and then CEO and is Founding Chairman and Co-Artistic Director of Lost and Found Opera.
Mark also has a strong interest in visual arts and is the founder and director of The Orangery Gallery, a restored arts space showcasing West Australian artists and musicians.
Mark maintains a long-term interest in music and health and, in between leadership roles in the cultural sector, he owned and operated a family medical centre for 13 years. He is now Musical Director for the En Coda Symphony Orchestra, a sound healing project engaging musicians and neuroscientists. The orchestra’s debut film recording won 14 international music video awards and the orchestra recently performed in Sydney at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Mark is a three-times finalist for West Australian of the Year in the Arts and Culture category.