I was born in San Diego, California, in 1969, the youngest of three sons. I started to play violin at the age of three, shortly after my oldest brother had started playing the same instrument. My parents knew very little about classical music, but my father was interested in the Suzuki violin program because of the way it could develop a child’s memory. Consequently, my oldest brother Bill and I had some Suzuki training, though most teachers we studied with varied from it greatly. Later we both picked up some guitar as well.

After junior high I joined the San Diego Youth Symphony. The conductor of the orchestra, Louis Campiglia, was musically very gifted but one of the meanest, most sarcastic musicians I’ve ever known. He was a burned-out trumpeter who should never have gone into conducting because of his hot temper and sometimes lost wonderful musicians from his orchestra as a result. Now, as the choral director at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo (www.hillsdalehigh.com ), I have an overriding goal of being unlike Campiglia while still obtaining great musical results.

I have a BA in Music from UC Berkeley (where I studied with Jorge Liderman), a Master’s in composition from UC Riverside (where I studied with Byron Adams), and a few CDs with my chamber music on them. I’ve had great years studying with other fabulous people including Serban Rusu, a fantastic violinist from Rumania and Tuck Andress, jazz guitarist (of Tuck and Patti). I’ve also attended the Aspen Music Festival and the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France, where Nadia Boulanger once taught many well-known composers, including Aaron Copland.

I came after her time and don’t pretend to do incredible things. I’m still just me and I don’t really enjoy promoting myself. However, I do think it’s important to sing about “unsung heros.” Consequently, most of the pieces I write have some tie to those who are undeservedly unrecognized. Womanwork, based on poems by Maya Angelou, is about women slaves. Pictures of Miró depicts amazing paintings by the Spanish artist Joan Miró, often overshadowed by his friend and contemporary, Picasso. Ferdinand the Bull is a children’s story about a little bull taken to a bullfight when all he wanted to do was “smell the flowers.”

If you would like me to write or arrange something for you, your group, or someone you know, please contact me at mark@markfish.com. Or, if you have any questions or feedback, I would appreciate that, too. Thank you.

I live in Belmont, which is about 15 miles south of San Francisco. I am married, have two children, and believe that music should somehow be part of everyone’s life, every day. That’s how it works in Africa, where there is no word for “music,” because it’s part of almost every activity. My hope is that anyone – even in the United States – can have music be part of their lives in that way.