Child is Born

Mark Meadows was born on March 27, 1989 in Washington, D.C. Three years later his dad,a part time journeyman gospel and jazz vocalist, bought him a little Casio keyboard and invited Mark to "have at it." By the time Mark was four, he had attended more than ten jazz concerts and musical performances, including one sitting directly beside Shirley Horn's keyboard at the "One Step Down" in D.C. When Mark was five, his family moved to Dallas, Texas where Mark studied classical piano under the stern but loving eye of Dr. Rosalie LeVant, a renowned Russian born classical pianist. Years later Julie Bonk, a respected Dallas jazz pianist and teacher of Grammy Award-winning artist Norah Jones, took the 13-year-old under her wing after hearing him play Debussy's "Clair De Lune." In addition to his musical accolades, Mark was named "Best All-Around Athlete" at age fifteen by the coaching staff at Richardson North Jr. High. In the summer of 2005, Mark was invited to attend the prestigious Interlochen Academy for the Arts intensive 6-week program. In 2006, Mark and his high school's Jazz Combo 1 were awarded 2nd place at the Next Generation Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, CA. The following summer, he attended Skidmore Jazz Institute's Summer Jazz Program in New York on a full scholarship. In 2007 Mark had the privilege of playing for Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex, son of The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. That same year Downbeat Magazine awarded Mark's original composition, "Groovalicious ", the "2nd Best Pop/ Rock Composition" in North America. Mark has also been featured in several performances at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX. Mark taught piano on Saturdays and was the resident pianist at Northeast Bible Church before graduating in the top 5% of his class from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, TX. Mark is currently a first year pre-med student at Johns Hopkins University majoring in psychology with a minor in music at the Peabody Conservatory.