Marc has taught at CalArts since 1996, and teaches courses centered around a humanistic approach to Music Theory and composition. He has a CalArts Coursera Class called ‘Approaching Music Theory’ and loves talking about Music Theory and the fact that it doesn’t really exist. (Despite Justin Timberlake’s protestations, Marc feels that it really was Bartok who was bringing the 016y back.)
Marc is the founding Music Director of the Industry, Los Angeles’ groundbreaking and widely acclaimed experimental opera company. He was Music Director for the Industry’s production about Indigenous erasure, Sweet Land, which the New Yorker fairly accurately called ‘chaotic, conflicted, and implacably honest.’ With the Industry and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Marc conducted the premiere of his and Yuval Sharon’s new performing edition of Lou Harrison’s Young Caesar, and he was Music Advisor to the LAPhil/Industry co-production of Cage’s EUROPERAS. Also with the Industry, he has conducted CalArts faculty Anne LeBaron’s Crescent City, Christopher Cerrone’s Invisible Cities, three iterations of the opera workshops First Take and the workshop production of Andy Akiho’s Galileo. He has been the Industry’s Music Director for In C by Terry Riley and Hopscotch, which the apparently easily awed New Yorker described as, “Awe-inspiring.”
Outside of the Industry, Marc has been Music Director for several opera premieres including John King’s Dice Thrown, and the American premieres of George Aperghis’ L’Origine des Espèces, Veronika Krausas’ The Immortal Thoughts of Lady MacBeth, Stephen Oliver’s Peach Blossom Fan, and Murray Schaeffer’s Loving.
He has also worked with the LAPhil as a cover conductor. With them, he lead the premiere of Hermann’s The Call, and assisted on Hearne’s PLACE and Norman’s Trip to the Moon. With Beth Morrison Productions he co-conducted the premiere of Danielle Birrittella’s Magdalene.
He also conducted on New York City Opera’s Vox opera workshop program for four years.
In a previous incarnation as a tenor, Marc sang about twenty five opera roles including Madeline X in the premiere of Foreman/Gordon’s What to Wear (which is not only findable on youtube, but, in a postmodern sense, oddly reminiscent of his first stage role at age 13 which also was in drag). Marc was active as a performer of contemporary vocal music singing on the Ojai festival and on the Monday Evening Concert series..
Marc composes music infused with a searching sense of narrative and mysticism. Focusing on larger scale works, he was one of the principal composers of Hopscotch, writing scenes for limousine interiors, an outdoor park, and an abandoned theater. He has written long form pieces based on concepts of Jewish and Buddhist meditations including this for Jodie Landau and wildUp, T’shuvah for improvising Bassoon and string quartet, Every Day for chorus, and a ’Cello concerto, T’filat ha-Derech. He has written an opera based on the movie The Fisher King, and a family opera called Little Bear. He has been called “a terrific singer” (LA Times), an “assured conductor” (New York Times) and “raptly lyrical” (New Yorker).
He has recorded on Naxos, Industry Records, Innova, Poobah, Bedroom Community, Q Division, Nine Winds Music and Three Kids Music. He loves playing klezmer clarinet.