Mark Engebretson
Encyclopedia
Mark Engebretson, DMA
, Northwestern University
(born 1964, California) is a saxophonist and composer. His music combines computer music
and live performance, the latter usually performed on saxophone.
. His family later moved to North St. Paul, Minnesota
. His father, a retired doctor, is also a saxophonist as well as a clarinettist. Engbretson attented St. Olaf College
for a year before transferring to the University of Minnesota
. He is currently Associate Professor of Composition and Electronic Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
and director of the Alice Virginia Poe Williams Electronic Music Studio at that university. He is a member of Red Clay Saxophone Quartet and was formerly a member of the Vienna Saxophone Quartet. Aside from Northwestern University, he also studied at the University of Minnesota
and the Conservatoire de Bordeaux
. His teachers have included Frederick Hemke
, Jean-Marie Londeix
, M. William Karlins
, Pauline Oliveros
, Marta Ptaszynska
, Michael Pisaro
and Jay Alan Yim
.
and Paule Maurice
. Eric Stokes
introduced him to experimental music
and found sound (i.e. Found art
using sounds as its material). Engebretson has received commissions from Harvard University
’s Fromm Music Foundation (2007) and the Thomas S. Kenan Center for the Arts (2008). His compositions have been performed at Indiana State University
New Music Festival (Terre Haute, Indiana) and International Society for Contemporary Music
Festivals (Tirana, Albania and Baku, Azerbaijan) as well as several lesser known contemporary music festivals such as Wien Modern (Vienna), Gaida Festival (Vilnius, Lithuania), Ny Musikk (Bergen, Norway) and the Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival. The world premiere of SaxMax was given at the 14th World Saxophone Congress
in Ljubljana, Slovenia by James Romain.
Doctor of Musical Arts
The Doctor of Musical Arts degree is a doctoral academic degree in music. The D.M.A. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy. The D.M.A...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(born 1964, California) is a saxophonist and composer. His music combines computer music
Computer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
and live performance, the latter usually performed on saxophone.
Biography
Engebretson was born in California and raised in Alexandria, MinnesotaAlexandria, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,820 people, however the most recent count suggests a population upwards of 10,000, which is displayed on Alexandria's city limits signs. The census lists 4,047 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. The population density was 992.5 people per...
. His family later moved to North St. Paul, Minnesota
North St. Paul, Minnesota
North St. Paul is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, east of the city of Saint Paul. The population was 11,460 at the 2010 census.North St. Paul is a distinct city, and not a neighborhood of nearby St. Paul...
. His father, a retired doctor, is also a saxophonist as well as a clarinettist. Engbretson attented St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
for a year before transferring to the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. He is currently Associate Professor of Composition and Electronic Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26...
and director of the Alice Virginia Poe Williams Electronic Music Studio at that university. He is a member of Red Clay Saxophone Quartet and was formerly a member of the Vienna Saxophone Quartet. Aside from Northwestern University, he also studied at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
and the Conservatoire de Bordeaux
Conservatoire de Bordeaux
The Conservatoire de Bordeaux is an arts conservatory that offers higher education in music, dance, and drama in Bordeaux, France. It is one of the leading schools in France for singers and saxophonists. Founded in 1821, the school is operated by the French Ministry of Culture. -Alumni:*Natalie...
. His teachers have included Frederick Hemke
Frederick Hemke
Frederick L. Hemke is an American saxophonist and Professor of Music at Northwestern University School of Music.-Education:...
, Jean-Marie Londeix
Jean-Marie Londeix
Jean-Marie Londeix is a French saxophonist born in Libourne who studied saxophone, piano, harmony and chamber music.Jean-Marie Londeix studied saxophone with the legendary Marcel Mule at the Paris Conservatory. He also studied with Fernand Oubradous and Norbert Dufourcq, among others...
, M. William Karlins
M. William Karlins
Martin William Karlins was an American composer of contemporary classical music....
, Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
, Marta Ptaszynska
Marta Ptaszynska
Marta Ptaszyńska is a composer, percussionist and professor of music at the University of Chicago. She has been described as "one of the best known Polish woman composers" as well as "a virtuoso percussionist specializing in performances of contemporary music."-Orchestral music:-Vocal and...
, Michael Pisaro
Michael Pisaro
Michael Pisaro is a guitarist and composer. A member of the Wandelweiser Composers Ensemble, he has composed over 80 works for a great variety of instrumental combinations, including several pieces for variable instrumentation...
and Jay Alan Yim
Jay Alan Yim
Jay Alan Yim is an American composer living in Chicago. During the 1995-96 concert season, he served as Composer/Fellow for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra...
.
Music
As a composer his influences include Eugène BozzaEugène Bozza
Eugène Joseph Bozza was a French composer.Bozza studied composition, conducting, and violin at the Paris Conservatoire. He is known primarily for his chamber music. Bozza's work includes five symphonies, operas, ballets, and many pieces for brass ensemble...
and Paule Maurice
Paule Maurice
Paule Maurice was a French composer born in Paris September 29, 1910 to Raoul Auguste Alexandre Maurice and Marguerite Jeanne Lebrun and died August 18, 1967 in Paris. Her full name was Paule Charlotte Marie Jeanne Maurice...
. Eric Stokes
Eric Stokes
For historian, see Eric Stokes Eric Stokes was a composer, whose work spanned an eclectic range of influences and styles....
introduced him to experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and found sound (i.e. Found art
Found art
The term found art—more commonly found object or readymade—describes art created from undisguised, but often modified, objects that are not normally considered art, often because they already have a non-art function...
using sounds as its material). Engebretson has received commissions from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
’s Fromm Music Foundation (2007) and the Thomas S. Kenan Center for the Arts (2008). His compositions have been performed at Indiana State University
Indiana State University
Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S...
New Music Festival (Terre Haute, Indiana) and International Society for Contemporary Music
International Society for Contemporary Music
The International Society for Contemporary Music is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music.ISCM was established in 1922, in Salzburg. Its core activity is the World Music Days Festival, held every year at a different location. The festival includes cutting edge productions...
Festivals (Tirana, Albania and Baku, Azerbaijan) as well as several lesser known contemporary music festivals such as Wien Modern (Vienna), Gaida Festival (Vilnius, Lithuania), Ny Musikk (Bergen, Norway) and the Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival. The world premiere of SaxMax was given at the 14th World Saxophone Congress
World Saxophone Congress
The World Saxophone Congress is a festival gathering approximately 1000 saxophonists and other musicians from all over the world. It is currently held every three years at a different congress centre in a different country and focuses primarily on the performance of classical saxophone music.The...
in Ljubljana, Slovenia by James Romain.
External links
- Mark Engebretson autobiography on Society of Composers
- Faculty Profile University of North Carolina at GreensboroUniversity of North Carolina at GreensboroThe University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26...
, School of Music - Profile on Hartwick CollegeHartwick CollegeHartwick College is a non-denominational, private, four-year liberal arts and sciences college located in Oneonta, New York, in the United States. The institution was founded as Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick, and is now known as Hartwick College...
Music Festival website - Liner Notes for Innova recording of She Sings, She Screams
- Profile on World Saxophone Congress website
- Red Clay Saxophone Quartet - Mark Engebretson profile on Steve Stusek personal website
- Programme notes with biography and profile for the North American Saxophone Alliance 2004 biennial conference