M A R K B O O Z E RConcert Pianist"...a highly gifted pianist and a very sensitive artist..." WWW.MARKBOOZER.US HOME PAGE
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American pianist Mark Boozer has received acclaim for his sensitivity, passion, and authority as a performer, his interpretations and advocacy of the music of William Grant Still, and his insightful interpretations of piano repertoire ranging from Bach to Ginastera and composers from the African Diaspora. His commitment to artistic excellence has resulted in coast-to-coast performances in the United States, numerous concert premieres, and presentations at the international level. These include the William Grant Still International Conference at the University of Northern Arizona in 1998, the historic international conference on African pianism at the University of Pittsburgh in 1999, the 2001 American premiere of Gyimah Labi's (Ghana) Symphony Concertante: Baptism By Fire for 3 Pianos and Orchestra with members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the International Festival and Symposium on Composition in Africa and the Diaspora at the University of Cambridge, England in 2003. |
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Having enjoyed productive relationships with several outstanding living composers, Mr. Boozer has given world premieres of Ed Bland’s Zone Blue (USA), Lena Mclin’s Impressions (USA), Nkeiru Okoye’s African Sketches (USA-Nigeria), and Joshua Uzoigwe’s Lustra Variations for piano (Nigeria). He gave the European premiere of Ed Bland’s Three Chaconnes in Blue , and Nkeiru Okoye’s African Sketches, both at the University of Cambridge, England during the summer of 2003. As one of the earliest champions of Piano Sonata No. 1 by Adolphus Hailstork (USA), Mr. Boozer is among the few but growing number of pianists who count that monumental work among their repertoires. Mr. Boozer has also performed at the National Black Arts Festival and the Fox Theater in Atlanta; San Francisco’s City Hall; Charleston, South Carolina’s Dock Street Theater; on National Public Radio; and at many universities and colleges throughout the United States. Collaborations with outstanding artists have included the legendary baritone William Warfield. His professional CD recording of William Grant Still’s Africa can be found in many university music collections throughout the United States and is available through William Grant Still Music in Flagstaff, Arizona. Mark Boozer began piano studies at an early age with Ruth Young Wilson and Ida Fortune in Bowling Green, Virginia, his hometown. He later received degrees in piano performance: the Bachelor of Music degree (magna cum laude, Honors Program) from Ball State University in Indiana, and the Master of Music degree from Northwestern University in Illinois. His professional teachers and coaches have included Jean Charles Kohler at Ball State; John Browning, Gui Mombaerts, and Robert Weirich at Northwestern; and additional study with Michel Block at Indiana University. Also counted as major influences are the acclaimed South American pianist and former Ball State professor Pia Sebastiani and the celebrated Nigerian composer and ethnomusicologist Akin Euba. Mr. Boozer resides in the Atlanta, Georgia area, where he is an Associate Professor at Clark Atlanta University.
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