Byron Mark : Associate Artist
Photo: Shane Rozario
Byron Mark is a professional pianist, percussionist and composer, with over 20 years of live performance experience in Australia, and internationally. His latest album 'Odyssey' received an ARIA nomination for Best World Music Album (2023), and his debut solo release 'Amalgamation' (2016) earned him top 5 in Australia for Instrumental Composition at the Australian Independent Music Awards.
Byron's Odyssey project explores possibilities when combining piano with a traditional string quartet, cajon, tabla and flamenco dance, and comprises a powerful live ensemble with members from all around the world. The music is inspired by flamenco rhythms, coloured with Latin and Jazz rhythms/harmonies, whilst staying true to Byron's classical piano roots.
His depth of knowledge in many musical styles allows Byron to collaborate with numerous artists of varying genres; spanning jazz and flamenco, to funk and pop. Beginning with study in classical piano from a young age, Byron also plays drums, hand-percussion, saxophone and cello, and has pursued specialist training on cajon in Spain and djembe in West Africa. He currently tours with flamenco groups 'Paco Lara' and 'Flamenkisimo', contemporary African Ensemble 'Jamestown Collective', and composes for short films. He has also played keyboards in Frank Zappa tribute show 'Petulant Frenzy', amongst many other ensembles over his career.
Byron is also Director of Ensembles at Thomas Hassall Anglican College. Having completed a Bachelor of Composition and Masters of Teaching, he conducts junior and senior concert and stage band ensembles and percussion groups, with the goal of educating and inspiring the next generation of Australian musicians. Working towards this goal, Byron has taken groups of students on several music tours including to Japan, New Zealand, James Morrison's Generations in Jazz Festival in Mount Gambier, Queensland, and Melbourne. He also teaches classroom music, achieving several encore nominations for his HSC students in performance and composition.
Further contributing to his goal of educating Australia's aspiring musicians, Byron recently designed an educational resource kit for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra 2024 Meet the Music program, analysing a selection of Debussy's piano preludes orchestrated and arranged by Colin Matthews.
Biography provided by the composer — current to July 2024