Biography

Mark George has enjoyed a unique career making music and connecting people of all kinds to performing arts and arts education. He has served as President and CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago since 2010, establishing the organization as a leader in music teaching, performing, and innovative music service activities. In 2011, the Chicago Tribune named him Chicagoan of the Year in classical music. Dr. George served as national Board Chair for the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He is currently a Trustee for the Solti Foundation US, The Billy Strayhorn Foundation, and Treasurer of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce.

A highly regarded pianist, he has performed and recorded extensively throughout the United States. Dr. George has held faculty positions at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Case Western Reserve University, and the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music.

Dr. George previously served as director of the Hartt School Community Division, and Director of Distance Learning at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His work as a consultant for nonprofit performing arts and educational organizations as a strategist, program developer, interdisciplinary curriculum developer, and bridge builder has rendered the arts and humanities more accessible to diverse communities hungry for knowledge. He also led the resurgence of the 2006 Grammy Award winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony. His board level leadership, striking performances as a pianist, and inventive programming ideas re-established the ensemble as a major force in contemporary music.

In his time as Director of the Hartt School Community Division, he produced the David Einfeldt Chamber Music Seminar, which attracted scores of young string players to Hartford for a week of intense chamber music coaching and performance. Just as significantly, Dr. George produced a colloquium on equity in music education that engaged scores of artists, civic and business leaders in an examination of the equity issue.

Among his achievements at the Music Institute of Chicago, are producing an International Duo Piano Competition and interdisciplinary festivals celebrating the music of Billy Strayhorn, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, and Charlie Parker, among others. Dr. George has challenged every program of the Music Institute to strive for excellence. His work with the Academy, a pre-conservatory training program, has crystalized a comprehensive curriculum and raised the stature of the program, as evidenced by the high matriculation rate of Academy graduates in top-tier conservatories and major universities. The Music Institute’s Suzuki program has flourished under his leadership, serving four hundred families during the academic year and hundreds more at the summer Chicago Suzuki Institute. His emphasis on the educational and healing power of music has resulted in multiple programs in surrounding communities where students play music in intimate and unlikely spaces, such as homeless shelters, senior residences, and group homes. He once led a community music festival that facilitated one hundred student performances in 16 days.

More about me…

I grew up near Pittsburgh in a family with a wide range of musical interests, including classical, jazz, pop genres, and the musical traditions of first-generation Italian immigrants. As a result, I developed eclectic tastes and an open mind about musical styles and the role they can play in the community. I have a similar openness regarding methods of teaching, having gained insight into traditional music instruction, jazz apprenticeship models, and Suzuki philosophy. A side note — I am a great lover of baseball, and once facilitated the opportunity for Shin’ichi Suzuki to throw out the first pitch at a major league game.

Having received an undergraduate degree in piano performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music, I went on to earn a master’s degree at Indiana University and then a Doctor of Musical Arts degree back in Cleveland. My dissertation theses included a detailed analysis of Brahms Klavierstucke, Op. 117, an investigation of the history of varied reprises in the Classical era, and a meditation on how we derive meaning from non-programmatic music.

I taught music theory at the Cleveland Institute of Music, while developing an innovative community education model and directing a distance learning program which sought to utilize broadcast quality technology for music teaching, educational programs, and live performance. An early experience with interactive video technology presented the opportunity to serve as music director for Kinetic Shadows, a memorable synchronous performance of musicians and dancers thousands of miles apart. Around the same time, I also designed an interactive public television event, bringing music education to life through live performances, and the participation of live and digital audiences.