Mark Flugge is active in the Central Ohio area as a pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader. He has recorded two CD's as a leader, the self-produced "February's Promise", and more recently, "Familiarity" (Cojazz), which also features Gene Bertoncini and Michael Moore. He's recorded four CD's with Columbus singer Dick Mackey, and is also the featured soloist on the Famous Jazz Orchestra CD "Sight Readin' Baby". Performance credits include work with such notables as David "Fathead" Newman, Joe La Barbera, Jimmy Heath, Marcus Belgrave, Ken Peplowski, Joe Lovano, Jon Faddis, John Abercrombie, and Ira Sullivan, among many others. Classically trained, Mr. Flugge is a diligent student of jazz piano styles. He conducted and performed his transcription of Thelonious Monk's 1959 "Town Hall Concert" for recent shows in Columbus and Champaign, Illinois. He has been a guest soloist with both the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, and most recently with the Westerville Symphony Orchestra performing George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue". The Ohio Arts Council has awarded Flugge on three separate occasions for pieces he composed for his group "No Pedestrians".
Currently the head of the jazz/contemporary piano curriculum at Capital University, Mr. Flugge also teaches jazz piano at the Ohio State University, and is a former faculty member of the Eastman School of Music. He has conducted clinics throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Germany on jazz improvisation and the music of Duke Ellington. In addition, he maintains a private teaching studio which focuses on jazz improvisation and composition. Mark Flugge earned his BM in jazz composition from the Ohio State University, and MM in jazz performance from the Eastman School of Music. His teachers include Paul Gearhart, Richard Tetley-Kardos, Bob Allen, Hank Marr, and Bill Dobbins.
Contact Mark Flugge by e-mail or at (614) 236-6185.