Dr. Mark Sullivan

Dr. Mark Sullivan holds his Master of Music degree in piano performance from Indiana University and his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California, where he earned top performance, academic and teaching awards, and was honored by the School of Music as the Outstanding Doctoral Graduate of his class. Menahem Pressler is his principal teacher. His other teachers include Stewart Gordon, John Perry and Stephen Kovacevich. He also worked for two years with Rosalyn Tureck in the area of Bach interpretation.

As a young pianist, Mark Sullivan earned prizes in the Joanna Hodges International Piano Conference's New York Debut, Academy of London, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra competitions. In 1982, he received second prize at the National finals of the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Artist Competition. He received first place in the Virginia Beach Symphony National Concerto Competition and won concerto competitions at both I.U. and U.S.C.

After receiving his D.M.A., Dr. Sullivan briefly served on the piano faculty at U.S.C., before electing to devote himself full-time to the development of his private studio in West Orange County. At the invitation of Menahem Pressler, he has conducted masterclasses and lessons for Mr. Pressler's students at Indiana University. In 2002 and again in 2007, the Piano Teachers' Music Guild in Tokyo brought him to Japan where he conducted master classes and a lecture presentation, and evaluated more than 200 students. Since 1991, Dr. Sullivan has authored numerous reviews and articles for The American Music Teacher and Piano and Keyboard, where he served as a contributing editor from 1995 until 2000. He has served on the faculty of the Adamant Music School in Vermont since 2000.

Dr. Sullivan's students have received top honors in many festivals and competitions including the MTAC Young Artists Guild and State Concerto Competition as well as in the Southwestern Youth Music Festival and Southern California Junior Bach Festival. Two of his students recently received awards of $50,000 and $10,000 from The Davidson Institute for Talent Development. His students have appeared as soloist with the California Symphony, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, the Reno Symphony Orchestra, the Orange County Youth Symphony, the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, the Pro Art Symphony and the Long Beach Bach Festival Orchestra, and have performed in such public venues as the Late Show with David Letterman and the 2002 Grammy Awards Salute to Classical Music honoring Van Cliburn. Former students have gone on to study music at some of the nation's premier institutions including The Curtis Institute, Indiana University School of Music, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music and the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music.

Dr. Sullivan was recently nominated by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts for the NFAA Distinguished Teacher in the Arts award. He continues to perform regularly as recitalist and soloist with orchestras and currently serves as General Chairman of the Southern California Junior Bach Festival.