Forte Piano Music School
Call to schedule a FREE trial lesson

Mark Edward Serkin is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Rutgers University where he studies with cellist Jonathan Spitz, Principal Cello of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. He holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree with honors from the Mannes School of Music in New York City. Mark studied with the internationally renowned cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, former cellist of the renowned Kronos Quartet for his master’s degree. He also studied with Barbara Stein Mallow, a highly respected and celebrated chamber musician and teacher. During his time at Mannes, he was principal cellist of the Mannes Orchestra. He has performed at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and various other venues. As a member of Trio Solace, they were 2021 recipients of Chamber Music America’s Ensemble Forward grant.

Throughout his career, Mark has performed in many festivals such as NY Phil Biennial, Kinhaven Music School, Meadowmount School of Music, Manchester Music Festival, Taconic Music, Luzerne Music Center, and the National Orchestra Institute and Festival, where he was recorded for the Naxos label in 2015 and 2016 albums. In April 2017, Mark was a featured artist on the Classic FM Radio in London performing multi-screen arrangement of a Fauré fugue for four cellos. Mark has also earned a second place in the Korean Radio Broadcasting New York International Music Competition and the Gold Winner place at the National Young Musicians Showcase Competition, which lead to his performance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and the Merkin Concert Hall, New York.

Mark has also performed in solo and chamber master classes for artists such as Steven Isserlis, Philippe Muller, Denis Shapovalov, Sharon Robinson, Timothy Eddy, Robert DeMaine, Jonathan Spitz, Peter Stumpf, Julia Lichten, Gloria dePasquale, Stefan Milenkovich, Kronos Quartet, Horszowski Trio, and the Miró Quartet. His main mentors include Hans Jørgen Jensen and Vladimir Panteleyev (cello performance), Todd Phillips (chamber), Nancy Wilson (baroque chamber).

Mark plays a cello made by Johannes Jais in 1778, brought back to life by Master Violin Maker Alexander Yurovitsky, in Brooklyn, New York.