American pianist Mark Carver was born in Mobile, Alabama and received his earliest musical training in Pittsburgh, PA from Jerry Veeck and Lorraine Gaal Landefeld. Other teachers include Natalie Phillips and Ralph Zitterbart. International artists with whom he has studied are Earl Wild, Jorge Bolet, Jeanne-Marie Darré, Ozan Marsh, John Ogdon, Enrica Cavallo-Gulli, and Pierre Sancan. He has studied at the Chautauqua Institute, Chautauqua, NY, Académie Internationale d'Été, Nice, France, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Carver holds the degrees of Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Music.
He made his début with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at age 15 and has been a guest artist with the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, the Plum Creek Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Pittsburgh Orchestra. He has appeared in recital at Steinway Hall, NY, and his début at age 17 at Carnegie Hall, NY, was with the Carnegie Mellon University Wind Ensemble in the première of Introduction and Allegro by Philip Catelinet.
"Total command" and "delightful" (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) are words used to describe Carver's performances of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the River City Brass Band. Called "a stalwart presence in the local music scene" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), his accompanying for the Pittsburgh Camerata has been regarded as "refined and tasteful" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). His work has also been acclaimed by The American Record Guide, Chamber Music America, Clarinet Magazine, and Epoch Times.
His discography includes “Jessica Rivera Sings Romantic Music for Soprano, Clarinet and Piano,” “Spanish-American Songs” by Urtext Digital Classics label (www.urtextonline.com), and “Sacred Songs and Interludes: Music of Nancy Galbraith” with the Pittsburgh Camerata (www.pittsburghcamerata.org). Scheduled for release in 2021 will be a new recording with Miss Rivera on the Urtext Label and will be a tribute to the great soprano Victoria de Los Angeles.
Carver has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Carnegie Award, the National Federation of Music Clubs Scholarship, the Pittsburgh Concert Society Youth and Major auditions, the Carnegie Mellon University Chamber Music Prize, and the Pittsburgh Piano Teachers Award. He was the Grand Prize winner at the Cincinnati World Competition in 1975, which included a grant for summer study in France. He has been Artist-in-Residence for the Irma Gonzales Curso Magistral de Verano at the Conservatorio Nacional in Mexico City, and the James Madison University German Liederkurs in Freiberg, Germany. He currently serves as Associate Teaching Professor of Collaborative Piano at Carnegie Mellon University and Lay Ecclesial Minister in Music for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
