MORE ABOUT MARK TIPTON
Mark began playing Violin at age 7 and switched to the Trumpet at age 9. An avid amateur musician who played in jazz, polka and concert bands in Southern Maine, grandfather Warren Olds was Mark's first Trumpet teacher. The story told is that under his grandfather's instruction, Mark played a whole scale on the Trumpet the first time he touched the instrument.
Not wanting to precipitate a wrong decision, his grandfather told him that if he could learn to play a recognizable tune on just the mouthpiece itself, he could then segue from violin onto the trumpet. Mark learned as many tunes as he could on the mouthpiece over the next week and when his grandfather returned, he was so impressed that he gave Mark his one and only trumpet.
Recipient of Interlochen Arts Camp's "Jazz Studies Award," and two-time recipient of Berklee College of Music's "Outstanding Musicianship Award," Mark accepted a full scholarship to the Interlochen Arts Academy for his senior year of High School, and toured with the Interlochen Jazz Ensemble to Lincoln Center, where he met Wynton Marsalis, and performed in the 1998 Essentially Ellington Competition.
Earning a Bachelor's in Music in Trumpet Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master's in Music in Trumpet Performance from Mannes College of Music in NYC, Mark studied with Vincent Penzarella of the N.Y. Philharmonic. Winning the Herb Alpert Scholarship to the Henry Mancini Institute at UCLA in 2005, Mark then was given the opportunity to perform with such legends as: Doc Severinsen, Bobby McFerrin, Quincy Jones and Ray Barretto. After enjoying an active freelance career in both New York City and Los Angeles, Mark now resides in Portland, Maine where he leads several ensembles, and teaches at Colby College and the Portland Conservatory of Music.
Presently Mark leads "Les Sorciers Perdus" (The Lost Wizards), the Mark Tipton Jazztête, and the Tipton Chamber Players. "Les Sorciers Perdus" members include Ben Noyes - cello, Kelly Muse - piano, Chris Sprague - bass and Gary Gemmiti - drums. The Mark Tipton Jazztête consists of talented jazz musicians from New England and beyond as an open-ended workshop consortium of artists. The Tipton Chamber Players perform Mark's classical compositions and have recently premiered a silent film score, and various chamber works and installations.
A great lover of travel, Mark frequently leaves Maine to perform around the U.S., and increasingly travels to Europe to perform music, as well as pursue his passion for languages. Outside of music, he enjoys cooking, writing poetry, backpacking, and collecting vinyl records.
EDUCATION
M.M. Trumpet Performance • Mannes College of Music (NYC) Studied with Vincent Penzarella of the NY Philharmonic (retired)
B.M. Trumpet Performance • Oberlin Conservatory Studied with Jack Sutte of the Cleveland Orchestra
References and a full CV are Available on Request
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