Dr. Mark Neumann
Professor of Music (Viola)
Email: mneumann@ou.edu
Dr. Mark Neumann joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma School of Music as viola professor in 2009. A native of Edmonton, Canada, his musical studies took place at the University of Victoria, The Cleveland Institute of Music, and The Juilliard School in New York, from which he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1995. His principal teachers have included such eminent violists as Karen Tuttle (Professor, The Juilliard School), Robert Vernon (Principal Viola, The Cleveland Orchestra), and Jaroslav Karlovsky (Principal Viola, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra). Other renowned violists with whom he has worked in festival and masterclass settings include Kim Kashkashian, Barbara Westphal, Heidi Castleman, Donald McInnes, Gerald Stanick and Eric Shumsky.
Dr. Neumann’s versatile performing career has included appearances as soloist with the Victoria Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic and Thunder Bay Symphony orchestras in Canada, the symphony orchestras of Big Spring (Texas) and Rome (Georgia) in the USA, the Cusco Symphony Orchestra in Peru, and the Collegium Musicum of Straubing, Germany. As a chamber musician he has performed at the International Performance Symposium in Goiania, Brazil; the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria; the Victoria International Festival, the Banff Festival of the Arts, and the Pacific Rim Summer Festival in Canada; and at the Sarasota Music Festival and the “Academy of Music” at Ramapo College (New Jersey) in the USA. Among the artists with whom he has collaborated in chamber music are Robert Chen, Daniel Heifetz, Peter Winograd, Levon Ambartsumian, and Jose Maria Blumenschein (violin); Edgar Meyer and Milton Masciadri (double bass); Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, David Geber and Joshua Roman (cello); and David Shifrin (clarinet). Additionally, he has participated in broadcast recordings of chamber music for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and for Deutschland-Funk in Munich, Germany.
As an orchestral musician, Dr. Neumann has performed extensively with many professional ensembles including the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (as Assistant Principal Viola), the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (as Principal Viola), the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa, Canada. During the course of these orchestral activities he has participated in concert tours to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and 8 European countries, and has performed under such internationally-renowned conductors as Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, Eduardo Mata, Sir Roger Norrington, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Zdenek Macal, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Eiji Oue, Gerard Schwartz, Mario Bernardi, Franz-Paul Decker, Trevor Pinnock, Hans Graf, and Krzysztof Penderecki among many others.
Dr. Neumann held previous faculty positions as viola professor at Texas Tech University and at the University of Georgia, and has presented numerous recitals and masterclasses in China, Taiwan, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and across the USA. He has been a frequent faculty artist at music festivals in South America, including the Vale Veneto Winter Festival and the Santa Catarina Strings Academy in Brazil as well as the Cusco Music Festival in Peru, and was also an invited solo performer at the International Viola Congresses in Adelaide, Australia (2007) and Rochester, New York (2012). Additionally, he appeared as a solo performer at the 2016 American Viola Society (AVS) Festival in Oberlin, Ohio and the 2018 AVS Festival in Los Angeles, California, and presented lecture-recitals at the 2 most recent AVS Festivals in Columbus, Georgia (2022) and Los Angeles (2024). Another recent highlight was a visit to China in September 2024 to undertake an 8-day guest artist residency at the invitation of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. Dr. Neumann’s solo CD album, entitled “Romantic Showpieces for Viola”, was released by the ACA Digital label of Atlanta, Georgia in 2009 to critical acclaim.
Currently, Dr. Neumann performs regularly as the violist of the Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble of Oklahoma City and as Assistant Principal Viola of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra. He maintains a widely active schedule as a performer, teacher and clinician in Oklahoma as well as nationally and internationally.
- DMA - The Juilliard School (1995)
- Professional Studies Certificate – Cleveland Institute of Music (1992-93; conferred 2023)
- Advanced Certificate - The Juilliard School (1989)
- MM (Performance) - University of Victoria (1987)
- BM (Performance) - University of Victoria (1983)
