Mark Blair
Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, Piano
“Every student is an individual, each possessing a skill level, a learning speed, and most importantly, aspirations, as unique as their personality. The teacher’s job, therefore, is as much social in nature as it is pedagogical.”
Mark Blair is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music teacher hailing from Ellicott City, Maryland. He discovered his passion for music around age 16 when he first picked up the guitar on a whim. Since then, he has branched out to a number of other instruments, including piano, bass guitar, ukulele, and bagpipes. He initially began learning rock and folk-oriented styles on the guitar, though today he primarily focuses on playing 8-string classical guitar, which he became exposed to while studying with Maryland-based classical guitarist Bruce Casteel. He currently studies classical piano with Iranian-American composer/pianist Niloufar Nourbakhsh in Brooklyn.
In 2016, Mark graduated from Goucher College, located in Baltimore, MD, with a B.A. in music theory and composition. While at Goucher, he studied piano with virtuoso pianist Jeffrey Chappell and composition with Dr. Kendall Kennison. In recognition of his academic achievements, he received the Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg and Robert Hall Lewis awards in music in 2015 and 2016, respectively. He has composed music in a multitude of styles, including traditional jazz, ragtime, contemporary classical, and computer music, much of which has been performed both live and in fixed media format. Over the past decade, he has performed as a guitarist and pianist in various ensembles and solo settings around Baltimore and NYC.
Since joining the Brooklyn Music School faculty in September 2016, Mark has worked as a choir accompanist, an instructor of group and private classes both on-site and off-site via the school’s Outreach Program, and a counselor for the school’s Arts Reaching Youth after-school enrichment program. As a teacher, he strongly believes in tailoring his teaching style to match the needs of each individual student. With an approach that emphasizes critical thinking, he strives to cultivate a fun and challenging learning environment for each and every new student that comes his way.