Michael Marks

Double bassist Michael Marks has been a member of the National Symphony Orchestra since 2020. Before joining the NSO, he held full-time positions with the San Diego and Houston Symphonies and appeared with many other major American Orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Detroit, Utah, Fort Worth and Phoenix Symphonies, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Mr. Marks is widely sought-out as a chamber musician and soloist and has been featured with the Colburn Chamber Music Society, the Hear and Now new music series, and Classical Movements’ concert series, among others.  In addition to performing numerous solo recitals in Houston and Los Angeles, he was selected in 2018 to represent Rice University in recital at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and was a winner of the 2016 Doublestop Foundation’s instrument loan competition. Mr. Marks is also a member of the NSO’s double bass quartet, which performs in a variety of settings including Washington’s hospitals and underserved communities.

As an educator, Marks maintains a small private teaching studio in Washington, D.C. and is very involved with the NSO’s education department, actively participating in its Youth Fellowship Program in which he teaches both chamber music and private lessons. He also coaches the bass sections of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras in Northern Virginia.

Mr. Marks received a Bachelor’s degree from the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Peter Lloyd, and a Master’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with Timothy Pitts. While at Rice, he also had the pleasure of working extensively with Paul Ellison.