mark stone

As a performer and educator, Mark Stone has an extensive knowledge of global percussion traditions. He has performed with the foremost musicians of Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Trinidad, India, and the United States. Mark was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at Makerere University, where he researched traditional Ugandan music and performed with the Nakibembe Xylophone Group. As a member of the Bernard Woma Ensemble, he has performed at festivals in Ghana and gyil concerti with the world's leading orchestras. Inspired by his travels to India, Mark recently started a new group, the Mark Stone Trio. While the trio's format is the traditional Carnatic arrangement of a soloist with percussion and violin accompaniment, the music draws on Mark's wide-ranging compositional influences, from American jazz to African mbira/marimba music. Mark is co-founder of Jumbie Records and teaches at Oakland University where he is Associate Professor of World Music, Percussion, and International Studies.