Marc Irwin

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Born: May 2 Primary Instrument: Keyboard

Pianist, composer, arranger, and recording artist, Dr. Marc Irwin uses his diverse talents as a musician within the fields of contemporary, jazz, classical, theater, and world musics. Currently residing in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area. Marc Irwin is a native New Yorker who has played for and with a variety of top performers. Presently, Marc Irwin is a pianist and musical director with The Capitol Steps, performing political satire throughout the 50 United States and Canada. Marc Irwin’s Broadway credits include, “ Crazy For You,” “ City Of Angels,” “Romance, Romance,” “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” “Sunday In The Park With George,” “Cats,” “The Mystery Of Edwin Drood,” and “The Rink.” Marc Irwin was a pianist and vocal coach on the production staff of Comden and Green’s “A Doll’s Life,” and was Assistant Musical Director for “Mrs. Farmer’s Daughter” by Jack Eric Williams, produced by the Pepsico-Summerfare at SUNY Purchase, in Purchase, New York. Marc Irwin toured with Harry Belafonte as the sound designer and keyboardist in the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa. Marc Irwin has performed in musicals in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area at The Kennedy Center, The National Theatre, The Hippodrome, and The Lyric Opera House. Productions include “In The Heights,” “Dreamgirls,” “Damn Yankees,” “Showboat,” “Cats,” “ Annie,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Marc Irwin was assistant conductor for The Kennedy Center’s production of “Words And Music,” a trilogy of musicals which included “Bells Are Ringing” with Faith Prince, “Purlie” with Stephanie Mills, and “Where's Charlie?” In 2002 Marc Irwin was assistant conductor for “Merrily We Roll Along” at The Kennedy Center as part of the Sondheim Celebration Series. That same year he conducted “The Three Mo’ Tenors” with performances at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland and at the Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey. In 2010 Marc Irwin was musical director for Ray Leslee's “A Chamber Christmas Carol “ at New York's Pierpont Morgan Library, starring Soprano's Uncle Junior, Dominic Chianese.

Marc Irwin released two jazz CDs with guitarist Daniel Carillo, “Crossing of The Spirit” and “ A Child’s Play”. Marc released “Suite For My Father” on line, for solo piano and two albums with Urbnergy, a jazz trio with bassist Marty Confurius and drummer Don Mulvaney: “Urbnergy” and “Three Of A Kind”.

From 1993 to 2000 Marc Irwin taught courses in music theory, ear training, class piano, and a studio of private students in piano and composition at Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland. During that time frame Marc Irwin was also an accompanist and arranger/composer for The Peabody Children Chorus, under the direction of Doreen Falby, contributing over 35 choral arrangements and compositions. At the Peabody Conservatory’s Preparatory Division he taught courses in theory and composition for commercial music as well as a studio in jazz and classical piano. From 2004-2009 he was a co-director of Jazz Ensembles at The Park School of Baltimore. He currently has a studio of private students.

Marc Irwin received his Bachelor of Music (BM) with a major in Music Theory from The Manhattan School of Music. At Manhattan, he studied music theory with David Lewin, composition with Ludmilla Ulehla, and piano with Ada Kopetz-Korf. Marc received his Masters in Music Composition (MM) from The Aaron Copland School of Music at CUNY- Queens College, studying composition with Thea Musgrave. In 2000, Marc earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) in Music Composition from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, working with composer Robert Hall Lewis. He also studied modal counterpoint with composer Thomas Benjamin. While at Peabody Conservatory he was a teacher's assistant in music theory under Dr. Vern Falby. Together Drs. Vern Falby and Marc Irwin emphasized Schenkerian analysis and the work of contemporary music theorist, Edward Cone.

Marc Irwin's doctoral areas of specialties include the keyboard music of J.S. Bach, the nine Beethoven Symphonies, the choral music of Arnold Schoenberg, and the compositions and improvisations of Bill Evans.

Last Updated: April 5, 2013

This album simmers with the conversational interplay of three friends who have been improvising together for nearly two generations. The sound is immediately familiar and inviting, yet filled with constant surprise. On Irwin's compositions, his rolling, sparkling solos are steadied by Confurius' heartbeat bass and spiked by Mulvaney's cymbal and snare accents. Confurius' “Minor Steps” tears out of the gate and is chock full of cheetah chases between piano and bass, before dropping into some musical ping-pong between all three musicians. Even the ballads are heavy on the “Hope,” as when in this song, the opening pensive mood, full of atmospheric textures, seamlessly shifts into a crisp, propulsive soundtrack for moving down the road. There is never the sense that this is a pianist with a back-up rhythm section. Instead, there's constant complexity and waves of sound, and the listener is often brought up short by the trio's masterful control of dynamic shifts. Still, the trio can easily settle into the mellow whorl of Mulvaney's “Calm,” where an extended bass solo provides that song’s foremost quality in its measured and steady probing. And suddenly, at two surprising points, Don Mulvaney's voice floats in when you least expect it, importing some late-night romantic yearning. Then, seamlessly, we return to bright, shimmering original trio music, crisply recorded, for chilling.

Joel Dinerstein, Director of American Studies, Tulane University, DJ at WWOZ-FM, New Orleans

***A nimble jazz trio made up of pianist Marc Irwin, bassist Rene Hart, and drummer Don Mulvaney, Urbnergy swings hard, finessing its way through a wealth of propulsive original tunes in the post-bop mold. Members have played with Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, and Barbara Streisand to name a few, and come to BAMcafé Live with tracks from their recent release Three of a Kind, a veritable lesson in seamless ensemble playing.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music

Urban Energy (formally Urbnergy) Three Of A Kind 2011 Urbnergy 2007 Handmade Music Handmade Music 2010 Crossings Crossings of the Spirit Child's Play

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Primary Instrument:
Keyboard

Location:
Baltimore, MD

Willing to teach:
Intermediate to advanced students

Credentials/Background:
Doctorate of Musical Arts, Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University Private Studio for 40 years Frederick College, MD 6 Years Lessons in Theory, Composition, Private Studio Piano and Keyboards

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