WELCOME

Image of Mark standing in front of a mural on the South Terrace side of East West Design in South Fremantle. The image is watermarked Alma Sarhan Photography.

Photo:Alma Sarhan Photography

Welcome to my website that traces my current and past activity over 40 years. Many of you may be interested to catch up with a bit of a retrospective of AC/PVC (under PROJECTS), so I've dug into my archives and come up with a story and photos of that amazing time (watch the youtube link here and below for a great video of the 1980s AC/PVC era done by my AC/PVC colleague, Peter Keelan).

So a quick synopsis...

In late October 2024 after 27 years of school-based touring with Musica Viva, I went to Sydney for my final tour with the trio version of Eastwinds. This was my sixth year playing in this wonderful trio (subsequent to long tenures with Nova Ensemble and Ozmosis) alongside ney and daf virtuoso, Esfandiar Shahmir (Iran) and Japanese-born, Sanshi redefining what's possible on his unique extendable didgerdoo and shinobue flute. Eastwinds began in this trio format in 2013, expanding to a six-piece with Estonian singer, Kristiina Maalaps, guitarist, Steve Barnes and his bassist son, Kieran. In 2020 Kristiina returned to live in Estonia, coming back in 2024 for a brief working stint and some reunion concerts with the full band. It's always exhilarating when the complete Eastwinds band is together on stage!

At this point I have a few recording projects currently on the go. One features duo improvisations with my longtime friend, pianist, accordionist and writer, Ross Bolleter, who is famed for his work playing ruined pianos. A second is another duo album outing with the wonderful guitarist, Ilan Zagoria and thirdly, I've just finished a recording of solo soprano saxophone improvisations, Circular Solos. I'm planning to release this album in early 2026.

...and a small side project involves me recording and transcribing pieces for chalumeau, a small single register renaissance antecedent of the modern clarinet. The instrument is remarkably versatile and can almost fit in one's pocket. I'm in the process of producing an online publication (featuring recordings and transcriptions) of pieces I've written and collected over the years. I'll keep you posted...

I continue to play with the incredible Indian sarod player, Praashekh Borkar, with whom I performed at the National Folk Festival (Canberra) in 2019... also with the aforementioned Ilan Zagoria, an accomplished guitarist and composer whose southern African and Sephardic-tinged music has taken me on some wonderful tangents.

Other projects have included composer/percussionist, Michael Pignéguy in his Awakenings Ensemble and the long-established Ozmosis (with my old school friend, guitarist, Tim Chambers) and its off-shoot, Ozmosis Street Band, who perform a repertoire of Catalan folk music played on traditional Catalan double reed instruments (gralla and tarota).

Visit my Recordings to hear my work in a wide variety of settings.

My Performance page documents the numerous groups with whom I've played and recorded over the decades. Enjoy a journey through my past. There's a huge variety of music in the audio clips I've also included here.

Finally, my Projects focusses on site-specific sound installation I have designed in school and community settings. Hopefully, the included photos capture the breadth of this activity.

**PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CONTACT ME**

... And below are some links to various internet pages and recordings: