Mark Morton is Associate Professor of Double Bass at Texas Tech University is one of the few bassists in the world who can claim equal measure of major orchestral, solo performing, pedagogical experience, and scholarship - over a professional career that has spanned three decades. Dr. Morton is the former Principal Bass of the Columbus (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra, and is the first-prize winner of the 1990 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. He is the author of the popular “Dr. Morton” series of double bass technique books, and is currently working on urtext editions of works of Giovanni Bottesini based on the composers’ manuscripts.
Mark Morton is an accomplished pianist, having appeared as piano concerto soloist with several orchestras, including a performance of Beethoven Emperor Concerto with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. His recent release on Albany Records, Bottesini’s Greatest Hits features Morton accompanying himself on piano!
Morton has soloed on the double bass in Europe, South America, Central America, Tiawan, Canada, and the US, and has been a featured double bass soloist on radio broadcasts including NPR's "Performance Today," WGBH (Boston), and WQXR (New York). His CD’s Thresholds and Russian Rendezvous have become reference CD’s for standard solo double bass repertoire, and he shares a compact disc with Gary Karr of solo double bass music by Paul Ramsier. It was with that CD that Classical CD Reviews hailed Morton as “a most artistic representative of the new generation developed in the last half century.”
Though he has spent most of his career living in Ohio and New York City, Dr. Morton is originally from Texas and is 4-year Texas All-Stater – 2 years a second chair Symphony Orchestra, and two years as first chair Symphony Orchestra. The DrMarkMorton YouTube Channel contains over 100 videos of his performances of orchestral excerpts, etudes, and solos – even a number of Beatles - and is a go-to reference for TMEA All-State audition demonstrations, garnering over 4500 subscribers and over 830,000 views.
Dr. Morton earned the Artist Diploma, Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School in New York, and is only the second bassist to receive the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the history of that institution. He studied with David Walter, Eugene Levinson, Stuart Sankey, and Winston Budrow.