Album Notes

From an early age Mark Wolfram was destined to create music. He began his music education with piano and violin, but switched to trombone at age 10 where he flourished musically and soon was playing at a level years ahead of his young peers. Around the same time Mark began writing original pieces and arranging for his school ensembles, where his early mentor, Dr. Earl Benson (with whom he studied from the 7th grade through high school), encouraged him to conduct his own compositions and arrangements. At age 13 Mark joined college-level classes to study conducting, first with famed Czechoslovakian composer, conductor and educator Vaclav Nehlybel and then with composer/conductor Dr. Alfred Reed. Sitting in with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 16 was a seminal experience for Mark, where he recognized that the orchestra would be the ultimate realization of his musical and emotional expression. Mark studied composition and arranging with Dr. Frank Bencriscutto at the University of Minnesota before attending Northwestern University where he received a Bachelor of Music, working with John P. Paynter and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Frank Crisafulli.

Mark's love affair with the orchestra continued unabated after college through his work for the concert stage, television programs, Broadway shows, jazz and pop recording artists and advertising clients. His work brought him to New York City, Chicago and finally Los Angeles. Always learning and growing, Mark continued his studies at UCLA and USC with courses in composition, orchestration (with Alexander Courage), electronic synthesis, and film scoring. In addition, Mark studied privately with celebrated composers Hale Smith and Dr. Mark Carlson, and Oscar-winning film composer Leonard Rosenman. He was selected as a recent participant in the prestigious Fred Karlin/ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop.

For Mark, there are few thrills bigger than conducting a symphony orchestra. Inspired by such masters as Bernard Herrmann, Erich Korngold, Max Steiner and Miklos Rozsa, Mark has created in his album PIERCING THE CELLULOID VEIL music that can stand alone - telling a story, evoking a mood, creating the experience of film - but without the visual film images. He and the musicians have attempted to transport the listener to another realm - to create an auditory experience where passionate and expressive music reigns supreme.

This is the world where Mark Wolfram lives out his destiny - and the orchestra is his home.