Mark Evans, Ph.D. is a noted author – nine books, including two titles just updated and republished in a second edition in late 2023:

Mark! My Words – How to Discover the Joy of Music, the Delight of Language, and the Pride of Achievement

Our Musical Heritage: From “Yankee Doodle” to Carnegie Hall, Broadway, and the Hollywood Sound Stage

Mark is also a noted composer and pianist with an extensive background in both classical music and jazz, a nationally recognized historian of film music, as well as founder of Cultural Conservation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit foundation. As a composer and writer, he has been deeply concerned about students emerging from school unfamiliar with any music other than what they’ve encountered through social media. All the while, today’s pop music appears to be drowning out our American tradition of remarkable music that has changed the world.

(To learn more about Mark Evans, click here)

Social media and today’s celebrity culture freely cancel all kinds of music that don’t toe the line of expectations in such trending genres as  Rock, Rap,  Hip-Hop Metal, and  Pop. Mark is also aware of the synergistic impact of social media music and is concerned that entirely too many students do not have an appreciation for other liberal arts, especially the joy of music, the delight of language and the importance of personal achievement in a culture that is increasingly committed to equity instead of equality of opportunity.

Philosophically, Mark Evans is committed to the following:

The best of the past shouldn’t be forgotten.

The best of the present shouldn’t be ignored.

The best of the future shouldn’t remain undiscovered.

These are the watchwords that define not only Mark’s writing career and his academic focus. These mission statements also represent the core vision-statement of Cultural Conservation, the organization which he founded. These statements also reflect his concern that today’s students are not learning enough about the arts to be able to reflect an awareness of the culture in which they live. To this end, Mark created this non-profit foundation to be his flagship of his effort to encourage society to embrace the conservation of American art, literature and – perhaps especially – music. He saw the need for an organization 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. However, Mark has also written a number of books that address these issues with an eye toward guiding classroom instructors and parents – especially those who take seriously their responsibility to ensure that their children develop an understanding of culture, despite what schools choose to either provide their children or of which they deprive them.

Many students who graduate from high school – even those with high marks – haven’t read a single worthwhile book that hasn’t been assigned to them. Other students are unable to express themselves in our declining language and are unfamiliar with the most basic facts of our history, even while they know every detail of today’s celebrity culture.

The Cultural Conservation web site will provide you with the tools, the resources, and the inspiration to encounter 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.

Addressing his concern over the state of cultural appreciation, Mark soon concluded that you’re never too young or too old to begin learning about the best of our American culture, music, books, and the visual arts. To do this, Mark advises people of all ages and backgrounds to become acquainted with the books and articles he and his foundation publish.

Among his recommendations for reversing this sorry state of our 21^st Century culture – for yourself or your children and grandchildren, begin with Mark’s two most current books. Each of these books have been significantly updated and enhanced in their second printings, published in late 2023. The first is Mark! My Words: 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.  This remarkable book will explain how and why we find ourselves in a cultural crisis, while digging deep into what you can do about developing a well-rounded cultural heritage for you and your family. Check it out here.

You’ll also find that Our Musical Heritage is a great resource for every parent and grandparent who  home-school their children because of the manifest failure of public schools and an increasing number of private and even parochial schools. This book focuses on four time-tested great genres of American music, concert works:

The Concert Hall

Jazz

Musical Theater

Film Music

 

Check it out here.

In addition to these two newly-updated volumes, you can read Mark’s blog-section in this website. These varied but always cogent articles, videos, and audio files can help you better understand what Mark is all about. In addition, watch Mark’s videos, always on-target with one element of America’s vast storehouse of cultural resources – and not just ours, but the culture of nations around the world. In these videos, you’ll find guidance, instruction, entertainment, and information you won’t find anywhere else.

Be sure to listen to Mark’s audio recordings. They are often adapted from episodes of the popular Mark! My Words radio and television programs featuring his interviews with some of the world’s most interesting and capable people, many of whom you won’t encounter through the usual social media sources.

To become culturally literate, you can’t just

Read

Watch

Listen

You also need to use your talents to create – or to underwrite the creation of new and culturally important:

Music

Literature

Film

Artworks

In other words, you have to act. Through his books – especially his new and updated works of informative books – as well as his foundation, Mark provides throughout his “how and why” principles  you can use to develop a personal plan of action for yourself, your family, your community or your profession. If you become committed to the “cause” of cultural conservation, be sure that the best of our cultural heritage won’t be missing in your life or the lives of your family.

Every family today faces the challenge of this cultural crisis. How your family responds to books and concepts that could affect your children and grandchildren for the rest of their lives is vital to your life. If you’ve been looking for a solution or didn’t even realize there was even a problem, you can find an answer on this web site.

We cannot even begin to conserve the best of our culture, our music, books, art, language, history, and ideas until we appreciate them. Appreciation comes through learning. You can take steps today to see that your family encounters our cultural heritage on a daily basis, simply by becoming a part of Cultural Conservation.

By introducing your family and friends to the concepts behind the Foundation and its focus on Cultural Conservation and by participating in this movement yourself, you can improve your life – and your children’s and grandchildren’s – in a meaningful way. There are six pillars that support Cultural Conservation:

Music

Books

Art

Language

History

Ideas

Together they make it possible for you to develop a personal plan of action that can enrich your life and the lives of those you love.