DR. MARK EVANS

Mark Evans, Ph.D, is a composer, conductor, pianist, and organist with a multifaceted background in music, writing, broadcasting, and education. He hosts the popular, “Mark! My Words,” television program and is founder and president of “Cultural Conservation,” a foundation, “dedicated to the principle that society should preserve its cultural resources with the same care and devotion that a nation devotes to its natural resources.”  

Mark Evans literally grew up in the world of film music in Hollywood. He was a private pupil of such renowned composers as Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Roy Harris.  His book, “Soundtrack: The Music of the Movies,” has been recognized as the definitive book on the history of film scoring. As a writer and lyricist, he is the author of numerous books for adults and children and has collaborated on books with such varied personalities as Robert Stack and Xavier Cugat. He began his broadcasting career on radio, producing 500 radio programs under his trademarked title, “Mark! My Words,” also the name of his newspaper column in The New York City Tribune. His television series  airs on the North Carolina television station he founded.. 

Many of the world’s most prominent figures in fields ranging from music, art and literature to government, diplomacy and education have been guests on radio and programs he has hosted and produced. “Mark! My Words” programs are devoted to the best of the past which shouldn’t be forgotten, the best of the present, which shouldn’t be ignored and the best of the future, which shouldn’t be undiscovered. He is widely in demand as a speaker. His recent books include:   

• “Mark! My Words” is subtitled “How to Discover the Joy of Music, the Delight of Language, and the Pride of Achievement in the Age of Trash Talk and Cultural Chaos.” It is the first major book to address our current cultural crisis and to provide positive solutions that can impact your life and the state of our culture.
• “Our Musical Heritage: From Yankee Doodle to Carnegie Hall, Broadway and the Hollywood Sound Stage.” Classical music, jazz, film music, and the masterpieces of musical theater are in danger of fading into an undeserved oblivion. “Our Musical Heritage” explores America’s musical past, provides a link to our musical present, and distills the essence of our nation’s musical spirit from the music itself. 
• “Playboy at the Piano: Profiles and Reflections From a Life in Music, Books, and Broadcasting” is an extraordinary collection of word portraits of the Mark Evans’ teachers, mentors, colleagues, friends, and guests on his radio and television shows. Include are world-famous figures in music, literature, art, film, theater, and those who are simply “beyond category.” 

 

What people have said about Mark after “Marking! His Words”

If we had a Mark Evans on every station, we would have some cultural stirrings. ~ Norman Corwin – “The Poet-Laureate of Radio”

A man of the future, a worker in the present, A master of the past. ~ Nicolas Slonimsky – Composer, conductor, editor, “Baker’s Biographical Dictionary “

As always, the best interviewer on the tour. ~ Judson Hale – Editor, Yankee Magazine and “The Old Farmer’s Almanac”

A deep bow to Mark Evans. ~ Anita Loos – Author of “Gentleman Prefer Blondes”

Truly a jig! The ideal interviewer. ~ Pat O’Brien – Star of stage and screen

Honestly, this was the most knowledgeable and interesting interviewing I’ve ever experienced. ~ Martin Gottfried – Saturday Review and New York Post

A wizard interviewer! A huge addition to our community, a real cake of yeast in a slow-rise territory. ~ Voit Gilmore – former President, American Society of Travel Agents, former Dir., U.S. Travel Service

I have spent some 50 years in our journalistic question and answer business and cannot recall another so accomplished interviewer. ~ Mohsin Ali, O.B.E. – Former Diplomatic Editor, Reuters

Very talented indeed. ~ Tad Mosel – Pulitzer-prize winning playwright

I’ve rarely met anyone in the mass media with his insight and intelligence. ~ Joseph Murphy – President, Bennington College

Admiration for Mark’s talent in words, music and ideas. ~ Richard Armour – Author of 60 books of humor and light verse, Dean of the Faculty, Scripps College

A super interview. ~ Dick Locher – Pulitzer-prize winning cartoonist, Chicago Tribune Delightful! ~ Leonard Wibberley – author,”The Mouse That Roared”

I cannot begin to say how much I enjoyed the time we spent together, and what a fine interviewer his insight, interest, and enthusiasm matched by almost no one. ~ Howard Teichmann – Broadway playwright, biographer, Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University

Perceptive questions. ~ Bill Rice – Washington Post

Admiration for Mark’s music and his words. ~ Jerome Lawrence – Peabody-award winning playwright

A delightful experience from start to finish. ~ John Walker – Director, National Gallery of Art

One of life’s great gifts is getting to meet and know talented people like Mark Evans. ~ Loonis McGlohon – Composer, “North Carolina Is My Home”

Great interview. ~ Bob Timberlake – Nationally renowned North Carolina artist and designer

Marvelous and highly original program. ~ Colleen McCullough – “The Thorn Birds”