Mark Elliot Bergman
Professor Mark Elliot Bergman is Director of Strings at Sheridan College. He formerly served as a Professor of Music History and Ensemble Director at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Professor Bergman has an active background as an orchestral double bassist. He held positions as the Principal Double Bassist of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and the Mato Grosso Chamber Orchestra in Cuiabá, Brazil. During the summer, he performs with Assisi Performing Arts in Assisi, Italy, and the Peter Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon.
In 2006, Professor Bergman founded Virginia Virtuosi, a string trio dedicated to innovative chamber music programs and arts education. The ensemble maintains a very active performing schedule and won the first Yale University Alumni Ventures Award in 2008. Fairfax Connections recently cited them for “turning classical music cool.” The ensemble receives support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts to tour state-wide and has performed regionally at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, George Mason University, Montgomery College, Arts Club of Washington, and other venues. Professor Bergman also has extensive experience performing klezmer music throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. He appeared as an on-stage character in Theater J’s 2014 musical adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy.” His performance on CD companion to Mel Bay’s Easy Klezmer Tunes has been described as “world class.”
Recital Music in the United Kingdom publishes Professor Bergman’s compositions. His orchestral works have been performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Mato Grosso Chamber Orchestra, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles. He received the 2011 William Strauss Fellowship from the Arts Council of Fairfax County supporting the creation of Shenandoah Suite, a string trio commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Shenandoah National Park. He was a winner in the second British International Bass Forum Composition Contest (2002) and the Kappa Gamma Psi composition (1990).
Cognella Academic Press published Professor Bergman’s book In The Groove: Form and Function in Popular Music in 2012. He completed the Doctor of Arts degree from George Mason University in the summer of 2015. He currently holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Yale University.
In 2006, Professor Bergman founded Virginia Virtuosi, a string trio dedicated to innovative chamber music programs and arts education. The ensemble maintains a very active performing schedule and won the first Yale University Alumni Ventures Award in 2008. Fairfax Connections recently cited them for “turning classical music cool.” The ensemble receives support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts to tour state-wide and has performed regionally at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, George Mason University, Montgomery College, Arts Club of Washington, and other venues. Professor Bergman also has extensive experience performing klezmer music throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. He appeared as an on-stage character in Theater J’s 2014 musical adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy.” His performance on CD companion to Mel Bay’s Easy Klezmer Tunes has been described as “world class.”
Recital Music in the United Kingdom publishes Professor Bergman’s compositions. His orchestral works have been performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Mato Grosso Chamber Orchestra, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles. He received the 2011 William Strauss Fellowship from the Arts Council of Fairfax County supporting the creation of Shenandoah Suite, a string trio commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Shenandoah National Park. He was a winner in the second British International Bass Forum Composition Contest (2002) and the Kappa Gamma Psi composition (1990).
Cognella Academic Press published Professor Bergman’s book In The Groove: Form and Function in Popular Music in 2012. He completed the Doctor of Arts degree from George Mason University in the summer of 2015. He currently holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Yale University.
