Composer and flutist Mark Carlson is the Founder and Artistic Director of Pacific Serenades. His lyrical, emotionally powerful, and stylistically unique music has earned him the admiration of audiences and musicians throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. A versatile composer, his nearly 100 works include art songs, chamber and choral music, concertos, large ensemble works, and songs for musical theater.
The recipient of more than 50 commissions, Carlson has composed works for among others, the National Shrine in Washington, DC, the New West Symphony, Westwood Presbyterian Church, First Methodist Church of Santa Monica, the UCLA Wind Ensemble, the Santa Monica College Orchestra, and for many individual musicians. His works include Concerto for Trumpet, Piano, and Orchestra, for Jens Lindemann, Jennifer Snow, and the UCLA Philharmonia, and Welcome Winter!, commissioned by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, and Night Music, for the horn quartet, Quadre, with flutist Molly Barth. One of eleven recordings of his works, The Hall of Mirrors, was a winner of the Chamber Music America/WQXR Record Awards for 2001. Sueños y canciones, commissioned by the Mexico City chamber ensemble Signos, appears on their CD Espejo/Mirror. New CDs include his Intermezzo, for alto saxophone and piano (on Centaur, performed by Douglas Masek and Louise Thomas), and Two Ballads (also for Centaur, performed by saxophonist Alan Durst and guitarist Corey Whitehead), Sonata for Cello and Piano (Pacific Serenades), and For Those Silenced on Joanne Pearce Martin’s CD Barefoot (Yarlung). His music is published by Yelton Rhodes Music, Pacific Serenades Music, and C Swigart Music (all in Los Angeles); by Thorpe Music in Boston; and by Black Squirrel Music, in Kent, Ohio.
Carlson is an avid performer of chamber music, including many works written for him. He was a member of the Pasadena Symphony, the YMF Debut Orchestra, and the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
Born in 1952 in Ft. Lewis, Washington, Carlson grew up in California, attended the University of Redlands, graduated from CSU Fresno, and received MA and PhD degrees in composition from UCLA. His principal teachers were Alden Ashforth and Paul Reale (composition) and Roger Stevens (flute). He is on the faculty at UCLA, where he teaches music theory and composition and also taught at Santa Monica College for many years. He has also taught movement for musicians, having studied with Alexandra and Roger Pierce in Redlands. Since 1982 he has served on the Board of Directors of Design for Sharing, UCLA’s Performing Arts community outreach program. He founded Pacific Serenades in 1982.
Works Performed
Abschied
(1993)for cello and pianoCommissioned by Dr. & Mrs. Paul A. Carlson for Pacific SerenadesAfter the Sun Has Set
(1986)for mezzo-soprano, 2 oboes, clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, tenor saxophone, 2 horns, double bass, harpin loving memory of Jan Carlson ManleyAn American Quintet
(1997)for 2 violins, 2 violas, celloCommissioned by Jack & Florence Irving for Pacific SerenadesBatik
(2010)for violin and pianoCommissioned by contributors to the Paul A. Carlson Memorial Fund for Pacific SerenadesCave Paintings
(2012)for alto saxophone, violin, viola, cello, and pianoCommissioned by Ursula Krummel for Pacific SerenadesSonata for Cello and Piano
(1998)for cello and pianoCommissioned by Virgil & Lynn Roth for Pacific SerenadesDream Fantasies
(1999)for flute, oboe, viola, and pianoCommissioned by Jack & Florence Irving for Pacific SerenadesFourscore for Morley
(1996)Commissioned by Janet Benjamin in honor of her husband Morley Benjamin, on the occasion of his 80th birthdayFrom One Who Stays
(1991)for mezzo-soprano, flute, cello, and pianoCommissioned by Dr. & Mrs. Paul A. Carlson for Pacific SerenadesThe Hall of Mirrors
(1990)for clarinet and pianoCommissioned by Hope Pompei Freedman for Pacific SerenadesOn the Coming of War
(2003)for viola and pianoCommissioned by Natalie Limonick for Pacific SerenadesPiano Quartet
(1992)for piano quartetCommissioned by Elizabeth H. Henderson for Pacific SerenadesPiano Trio
(2001)for piano trioCommissioned by Dr. Jack & Florence Irving for Pacific SerenadesQuartet
(1994)for flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, cello, and pianoCommissioned by Jack & Florence Irving for Pacific SerenadesSerenade No. 2
(1987)for flute (and piccolo), clarinet, violin, cello, and pianoCommissioned by Pacific SerenadesSix Bagatelles
(1995)for flute and string quartetCommissioned by David & Carol Carlson for Pacific SerenadesSongs of Rumi
(2007)for baritone, clarinet, violin, cello, and pianoCommissioned by Bernice & Wendell Jeffrey for Pacific SerenadesStarry Night
(1989)for string quartetCommissioned by Elizabeth H. Henderson for Pacific SerenadesSuite from the Everlasting Bonfire
(1999)for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, and pianoCommissioned by Ursula Krummel for Pacific SerenadesThis Is the Garden
(1987)for baritone and pianoCommissioned by Elizabeth H. Henderson for Pacific SerenadesTwas Brillig
(1982)for organCommissioned by Greg Harrold for the inauguration of his Opus 3 (1980) organ for The Parish of St. Matthew, Pacific Palisades, CAView from a Hilltop
(2009)for clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, and pianoCommissioned by Leavens RanchesShort Stories
(2005)for string quartetCommissioned by Shirley B. Levine for Pacific SerenadesTwilight
(1990)