Mark Sylvester is a musician, composer, recording engineer and music instructor based in Takoma Park, Maryland. He regularly performs in and around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia as a soloist and as a member of several groups.

As a solo guitarist, Mark performs a range of classical, folk and jazz music, as well as original compositions from his 2003 CD, American Gypsy. His playing has been described as “crisp and tender…particularly adept at bringing out folk melancholy,” (c|net) and as having a “subtle virtuosity, which humbly focuses attention on the quiet beauty of each piece rather than the remarkable skill of the artist” (Takoma Voice).

In addition to his work as a soloist, Mark is active in the Washington area’s folk and acoustic music scene. Since 1997 he has been a core member of the avant-folk group, Tree Surgeons, who have appeared at festivals, art galleries, clubs, cafes, bookstores and headlining performances from Massachusetts to Virginia, performing original music from their two CDs, Witness (2000) and Eye of Time (1998). Mark also works as an accompanist, playing guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin and percussion with many of the area’s singer/songrwriters. Mark has earned two WAMMIE nominations (2005 and 2006) for best folk instrumentalist.

Mark is a company associate of The Only Animal, a theatre company based in Vancouver, BC. He created the music for their 2005 production of Other Freds, possibly the largest and most audacious site-specific theater show Vancouver, BC has ever seen. Review Vancouver praised Mark’s “dazzling musical score: playful, clever, archaic and brilliant.” Mark spent the summer of 2005 in Vancouver working on the production as the show’s musical director and banjoist. He is currently working with them on the creation of Nix, Canada’s first theatre of snow and ice, with all of the show’s music to be performed on glass instruments.

In addition to composing, performing and recording, Mark maintains an active teaching schedule. He teaches guitar, banjo, mandolin and bass in a broad range of styles.