Mark Eubanks

The 2nd Movement of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto performed at a Seattle Symphony youth concert piqued Mark’s interest in the instrument. By 15 Mark was playing 2nd bassoon with the Tacoma Symphony while also playing weekly with a local rock band. A few years later he was asked to join the Seattle Symphony and Opera as 2nd and assistant principal bassoon after winning a concerto competition as a student at the University of Washington. He held these positions in Seattle for 10 years.

Summers found Mark at the Grand Teton Music festival and playing woodwinds with touring Broadway shows, including 42nd Street, A Chorus Line and The King and I with Yul Brynner. He also toured on the west coast with the San Francisco and Joffrey Ballets. Mark traveled frequently to Vermont where he performed with musicians from around the country, receiving life-long inspiration at workshops with the legendary flutist and master teacher, Marcel Moyse.

For 30 years Mark was Principal Bassoon with the Oregon Symphony and was a frequent soloist with the orchestra. In Portland he performed the Mozart Bassoon Concerto on the waterfront for an audience of 10,000. His rock and jazz interests saw him jamming on amplified wah-wah bassoon in local clubs, as a headliner at Portland’s Jazz Quarry, and performing with jazz greats Gil Evans and Anthony Braxton. With the Oregon Symphony he performed on saxophone and bassoon with Ray Charles, Linda Ronstadt, Tony Bennett and many others.

While with the Oregon Symphony Mark produced the sound, editing and final production of the Oregon Symphony broadcasts for 15 years. As a result, the Symphony was frequently heard on public radio broadcasts throughout the world on NPR’s Performance Today, as well as Oregon Public Broadcasting and affiliate stations which aired regular two-hour symphony concerts broadcast year-round in four states. He served as orchestra acoustician in both Seattle and Portland. Mark is also an independent recording producer of chamber music with his company Arundo Recording.

Mark led the humorous Bassoon Brothers quartet and produced four CDs: Wanted, Captured and Escaped, as well as the first piece written and recorded for bassoon quartet and orchestra with the Oregon Symphony on the Delos label. The group performed throughout the northwest for almost 25 years. Mark’s serious chamber music performances include the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Chamber Music Northwest on both saxophone and bassoon. As a composer Mark wrote and performed with Seattle’s Composers and Improvisors Orchestra and the classical to jazz crossover ensemble, Matrix. He was awarded a young composers prize and a concert of his music by the Seattle Parks chamber music competition in his 20s with these ensembles.

As a music educator, Professor Eubanks taught at four Northwest colleges: Western Washington University, University of Puget Sound, University of Portland and, for 37 years, at Lewis and Clark College in Portland. His students perform professionally and teach throughout the U.S. and internationally and include the principal bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony.

Through his company, Arundo Research, Mark developed new methods for the manufacture of double reeds. Under new ownership his reeds are still produced today. He has crafted numerous publications both of musical arrangements and method books for reed making and tuning. Now semi-retired from full time performing he is the principal bassoonist with the Walla Walla Symphony where he was a recent soloist playing the Mozart Concerto for Bassoon. Mark also performs occasionally with the Oregon East and Mid-Columbia Symphonies. Mark lives in Wallowa County, Oregon where he is enjoying performing with the local music scene and is working on expanding his many publications, recordings and works related to the bassoon and woodwind performance.