Mark Engebretson
Mark Engebretson, DMA, Northwestern University is a saxophonist and composer. His music combines computer music and live performance, the latter usually performed on saxophone.
Biography
Engebretson was born in California and raised in Alexandria, Minnesota. His family later moved to North St. Paul, Minnesota. His father, a retired doctor, is also a saxophonist as well as a clarinettist. Engbretson attended St. Olaf College for a year before transferring to the University of Minnesota. He is currently 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.
Music
As a composer his influences include Steve Reich, John Cage and György Ligeti. Eric Stokes introduced him to experimental music and found sound. Engebretson has received commissions from Harvard University's Fromm Music Foundation and the Thomas S. Kenan Center for the Arts. His compositions have been performed at Indiana State University New Music Festival and International Society for Contemporary Music Festivals as well as contemporary music festivals such as Wien Modern, Gaida Festival, Ny Musikk 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.