BIO

     Pianist Mark Franklin is an Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Oklahoma Baptist University, where he teaches applied piano, piano pedagogy, music theory, and group piano. An active performer, Franklin frequently appears in solo and collaborative engagements throughout the United States and abroad. Recent projects include complete Etudes of Frédéric Chopin, and a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 with the Oklahoma Baptist University/Shawnee Community Orchestra. In 2013, Franklin appeared as a soloist with the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra as the winner of the keyboard division of the Wheaton College Concerto Competition. Franklin was also the winner of Florida State University’s Annual Competitive Festival as a graduate student in 2020. Most recently, he was awarded Third Place for the American Prize’s Ernst Bacon Award for the Performance of American Music in 2021. Franklin’s activities often also include adjudication of piano competitions and festivals inside and outside Oklahoma. During the summers, he frequently serves as faculty for music camps and festivals, including the FSU Summer Piano Institute and Piano Camp, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, and Excelsior Piano Academy in Sondershausen, Germany.

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     Franklin received a D.M. and M.M. in Piano Performance at Florida State University, where he studied with Dr. Heidi Louise Williams and Dr. Joel Hastings, and also completed Specialized Studies in Music Theory Pedagogy. While at Florida State University, he held assistantships in secondary applied piano teaching as well as accompanying. Franklin also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, where he graduated summa cum laude, studying with Dr. Daniel Paul Horn. During his time at Wheaton College, he was also the recipient of numerous merits, including the Phemister Prize and Alton Cronk Award in Music. Additionally, he has participated in master classes with artists such as Paul Lewis, Angela Cheng, William Wolfram, Alexander Toradze, Joshua Roman, Pierre Vallet, Jon Kimura Parker, and Douglas Humpherys.