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Mark Sylvester
Acoustic / Classical / Folk

WAMMIE nominated New Music for Banjo



TAKOMA PARK, Maryland
United States

Profile Views:  7889




Last Login:  12/22/2009
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   Mark Sylvester: General Info
Member Since5/8/2007
Band Websitewww.marksylvester.net
Band MembersMark: guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass, flute, percussion

"Pulse (in 7)"
-banjo: Mark Sylvester
-violin: Andrea Vercoe
-violin: Heather Figi
-viola: Rebecca Kletzker
-cello: Matan Mintz

"Trio 2"
-banjo: Mark Sylvester
-viola: Rebecca Kletzker
-bass: Joel Ciaccio

"Trio 1"
-banjo: Mark Sylvester
-oboe: Janna Ryon
-cello: Matan Mintz
InfluencesJ.S. Bach, The Beatles, Dave Brubeck

1970s-era Rush and Jethro Tull, classic-era Yes, Gabriel-era Genesis

Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, John Denver, Cat Stevens

Terry Riley, Steve Reich

renaissance and baroque lutenists; the classical guitar literature from Sor and Guiliani through Rodrigo

Bela Fleck, Jaco Pastorius, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges

The Who, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Van Halen

everything else I've ever heard, including many composers and musicians I've found on MySpace
Record LabelZucca the Cat
Type of LabelIndie


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   About Mark Sylvester


Composer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Sylvester can be seen and heard in many diverse musical settings throughout the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, but he is primarily recognized for his solo acoustic guitar playing and his recent compositions for banjo in small classical chamber ensemble settings. Mark's two solo CDs, New Music for Banjo (2009) and American Gypsy (2003), illustrate his genre-crossing compositional style for both banjo and guitar. Ron Goad, a concert organizer and board member of the Songwriters' Association of Washington, has said of American Gypsy: "This CD...is fairly faithful to the wonders Mark Sylvester does onstage live and solo...I rank it at the top, along with a favorite by Robin Bullock and Steve Baughman's profoundly beautiful "Celtic Guitar Summit." A c|net editor's review commented: "Thankfully, guitarists like Maryland's Sylvester are keeping [Michael] Hedges' sound alive in blends of neo-classical, folk, and jazz. Sylvester's crisp, tender playing is particularly adept at drawing out folk melancholy." And a recent review (LMNOP.com) of New Music for Banjo writes: "It isn't often that the banjo is used as a classical instrument. But for Mark Sylvester, the unusual use of the banjo sounds surprisingly normal and appropriate...Subtle, sparse, and strikingly beautiful...the banjo seems to bring out the more organic side of classical music. A refreshing change of pace..."

In addition to performing as a soloist, Mark plays guitar, banjo and mandolin as a member of Great Noise Ensemble (GNE), a Washington, DC-based new music group, and winner of the 2007 WAMMIE award for classical chamber ensemble. Since it's inception in 2005, GNE has performed at The Kennedy Center, The National Gallery of Art, The Sidney Harman Hall, The Hirshorn Gallery and the Catholic University of America; and this past April Mark and several GNE members performed selections from New Music for Banjo (as well as other compositions by Mark) at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center. Mark's compositions on New Music for Banjo were premiered by GNE, and he is currently composing a concerto for banjo and orchestra to be premiered during GNE's 2010-2011 season.

Mark is also active in the Washington area's folk and acoustic music scene. He has earned four WAMMIE nominations (2005 - 2008) for contemporary folk instrumentalist. A sought-after accompanist on guitar, bass, banjo and mandolin, Mark performs and records with many of the area's singer-songwriters, including Verlette Simon, Sense of Wonder and Australia's Iain Campbell Smith (aka, Fred Smith). Mark was also a member of the avant-folk group, Tree Surgeons, who from 1997 to 2001 appeared at festivals, art galleries, clubs, cafes, bookstores and headlining performances from Massachusetts to Virginia, performing original music from their two CDs, Witness (2000) and Eye of Time (1998).

As a Company Associate of The Only Animal, a theatre company based in Vancouver, BC, Mark has composed and produced the music for two of their largest and most ambitious productions of site-specific theatre: NiX (2009 Calgary, AB, and 2010 Whistler, BC) and Other Freds, (2005 Vancouver, BC). NiX, Canada's first theatre of ice and snow, has been selected by The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee to be a part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad. The show will run for five weeks at Lost Lake in Whistler, BC, during the 2010 Olympics. Mark's score for Other Freds was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award, while the production brought The Only Animal the award for 'Expanding the Scope of Site Specific Performance".

   Mark Sylvester's Friend Space (Top 20)
Mark Sylvester has 468 friends.
 The Humane Society of the United States 


 Great Noise Ensemble 


 Tree Surgeons 


 MusicalTraditions 


 Not Waving But Drowning 


 Verlette Simon 


 Sense of Wonder 


 Takoma Park Folk Festival 


 Armando Bayolo: Composer & Conductor 


 Basso Moderno Duo 


 Washington Area Music Association 


 The Young Lungs 


 Sarah Fridrich 


 Karen Scuderi Jonas 


 Cletus & Lori 


 Tinsmith 


 Low End String Quartet 


 Ize B. Pickin 


 Andrea Vercoe 


 pale brother 





Mark Sylvester's Friends Comments
Displaying 25 of 49 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Beth Rinaldo & Scott Holland

Beth Rinaldo & Scott Holland



Dec 20 2009 4:26 PM

Hey Mark,

Congratulations on your Wammie nomination! Enjoy the snow.

Scott & Beth
Claudia SanSoucie

Claudia SanSoucie



Oct 30 2009 11:36 PM

Hi Mark! Great meeting you and hearing your music. Hope to see you soon!
Not Waving But Drowning

Not Waving But Drowning



Sep 16 2009 3:58 PM

That was so much fun the other night! We've been sitting around the hotel room trying to come up with some superlatives to describe your banjo playing, and we are failing miserably. Suffice to say, you totally rule! Can't wait to see you up in our fair city soon!
Not Waving But Drowning

Not Waving But Drowning



Sep 2 2009 7:42 PM

Can't wait to play with you on Sept 14th! Let the wild rumpus begin!!!
Stumble Inn

Stumble Inn



Jun 23 2009 8:30 PM

why think you sir! i like you tunes!
Star FK Radium

Star FK Radium



May 29 2009 7:42 PM

thanks mark

bill
Beth Rinaldo & Scott Holland

Beth Rinaldo & Scott Holland



May 20 2009 12:55 PM

Hey Mark,

Love the new CD! Good luck at the Kennedy Center. See you soon.

Scott
Ize B. Pickin

Ize B. Pickin



May 16 2009 6:10 PM

BRAVO! ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!
Zoe Mulford

Zoe Mulford



Feb 8 2009 9:35 PM

Hi, Mark -
I like the banjo trio pieces! More, please!
Z
Plastic Sky

Plastic Sky



Jan 3 2009 3:18 AM

Happy new year, Mark! Wishing you all that's good and groovy in 2009....

Plastic Sky
Frédéric Paul Lallet

Frédéric Paul Lallet



Dec 14 2008 4:41 PM

My Dear Friend,
Thanks for sharing your creative talent!
Have a Great Day!
Cheers,
FPLallet
Caroline Gutierrez Abreu

Caroline Abreu



Oct 31 2008 3:50 AM

Thank *you* for adding me! It is much appreciated. I enjoy your work.
Nikos Piperis

Nikos Piperis



Sep 10 2008 8:40 PM

Thank you Mark, for your kind reply. Your music is very nice !!!
I invite you if you have time to listen to my 4 pieces for guitar.

Wish you all the best !!!
Nikos Piperis
Terry Gourley

Terry Gourley



Sep 9 2008 7:35 PM

Very nice music! I especially liked Caravan.
Nikos Piperis

Nikos Piperis



Sep 1 2008 2:01 PM

pleased to meet you,

Nikos Piperis
Neil Gladd

Neil Gladd



Aug 8 2008 1:41 AM

Mark, it was nice seeing you tonight. I really do like the banjo trio, let me know when you want to write something for mandolin!
Strawberry Farm Band

Strawberry Farm Band



Jul 14 2008 12:30 AM

Thanks for the add. Love your unusual instrumentation of classical music. I have been wanting to hear and learn that style for years but was unable to find any music.
Sue Picknell...Banjo player for The Strawberry Farm Band
Dunham Van Durham

Dunham Van Durham



Jun 28 2008 4:01 AM

Hey there Mark, thanks for supporting the boys. I like what you're doing here. It's always good to hear a serious musician doing what he loves to do.

Take care now,
Wayne Doyle
Woody Lissauer

Woody Lissauer



Jun 2 2008 5:56 PM

Hey neighbor!
Neat stuff, you have your own thing, i am very much enjoying listening to it!
Thanks for stopping by, i hope to meet you on the circuit;
Sincerely ~Woody
StudioMONDO

Guy W.R. Waynes



May 19 2008 4:49 PM

Dang! Sorry I missed you at NGA last night. Blame Verlette.
Eleni Kallimopoulou

Eleni Kallimopoulou



May 16 2008 3:54 PM

Thanks Mark,
it's nice to listen to your music
good stuff!
Eleni
Karen Scuderi Jonas

Karen Scuderi Jonas



May 14 2008 2:24 PM

Thanks Mark! I've seen your name quite a bit also. I enjoyed your myspace tunes. Unfortunately I moved to Nowhere, I miss the DC folk!
The Nebbia Band

The Nebbia Band



May 13 2008 7:21 PM

good to know ya. Check out my tunes sometime and tell me what you think.
Kelly Thoma

Kelly Thoma



May 9 2008 8:24 PM

Hello Mark!
I really enjoyed the music on your page,
Best regards from Crete,
Kelly
Innovation Station Music

Innovation Station Music



May 9 2008 1:49 PM

Hey man! I've been keeping up with your email as well - sounds you've got some good stuff going on as well. If you ever want to do any recording, definitely keep me in mind - I've got a full pro studio now and am producing full time - a big upgrade from my little bedroom in Crystal City! And I may need a session player for one of my artists at some point, so maybe you'd be interested in that as well.

Keep up the good work!

Talk soon,

Dave
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