Dr. Mark Andersen is an internationally known composer and concert artist. The music performed for this concert was composed during the Covid-19 pandemic and is played here as its world debut. 

Rhapsody for Piano in three movements by Mark Andersen

          I Appassionato - The Passion of Music

          II Romanza - The Romance of Music

          III Amore Eterno - The Everlasting Love of Music

Rosacea by Mark Andersen

          "It was inspired by the rose bushes in my garden behind our home. That rose garden was started many years ago by my mother and has been continually enlarged since her passing. It has provided a great stress reliever during Covid-19, and many of my musical ideas have bloomed while in communion with these beautiful plants outside."

Lumière by Mark Andersen

          "Inspired by the eternal light that music is in my life. This piece gives me the opportunity to express the beauty of the music that flows from my mind to the keys of the instrument. I have often said that I take no credit for the melodies and harmonies that come from my hands; rather, I attribute them to God flowing through me. I was taught at an early age that music must flow through us and that the best thing we, as musicians, can do is to take self out and leave the pure creation of art to do its work."

About Mark Anderson

Dr. Andersen's education includes East Carolina University, The American Conservatory of Music, and the Paris Conservatory of music, where he studied organ with Marcel Dupré and composition with Nadia Boulanger. He has performed internationally at many venues, including: Royal Albert Hall, London; Carnegie Hall, New York; Lincoln Center, New York; and The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. 

Dr. Andersen serves as Dean of the American Guild of Organists in Raleigh, North Carolina, and has been past President of the American Harp Society in Seattle, Washington. In 1976 he won first prize in the International Composer's Competition, Amsterdam, Holland, and was bestowed with two prestigious honors, awarded the Artist of Merit Award for North Carolina by Governor James Martin, and had a United States Flag flown on the Nation's Capitol, at the request of Senator John Stennis, for Mark's contribution to the arts through fundraising at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Mark again won the International Composer's Competition in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1999.

Mark has composed over 200 pieces for organ, choir, symphony, and solo instruments in his career, including classical works and music for the Broadway and Opera stage.