ANNOUNCING A NEW FEATURED MUSICIAN!

PINES OF ROME
Saturday, October 3, 2026
7:30 PM | Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
Gary Lewis, Conductor

The Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 2 - Manuel de Falla

Double Bass Concerto - Serge Koussevitzky
Featuring Mark Morton, Double Bass

Pines of Rome - Ottorino Respighi

CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE
800-514-3849
$12.50 - $83.50, Students $12.50 (venue fees apply)
Scheduled programs and individuals are subject to change. Ticketing is handled by the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center - all ticketing, security, and venue policies apply.

ADD SYMPHONY SOUNDBITES! Join us for the pre-concert dinner held at 6:00pm in the Rea-Greathouse Recital Hall at Wagner Noël PAC. Tickets $30 / dinner. Deadline to purchase dinner is Sep 25 at 5:00pm.

2026-2027 SEASON SPONSORED BY:
Linda Stephens
Sharon & John Webb

CONCERT SPONSORED BY:
Jeannine & Robin Donnelly

ABOUT MARK MORTON

Mark Morton, Principal Bass of the West Texas Symphony Orchestra, is the double bass professor at Texas Tech University. He previously served as principal bass of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, where he was a member for 23 years. He also serves as principal bass of the Lubbock Symphony and the Abilene Philharmonic.

A distinguished soloist and recitalist, Morton was the first-prize winner of the 1990 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition in New York City. He has performed as a soloist throughout Europe, South America, Central America, Taiwan, Canada, and the United States. His performances have been featured on NPR’s Performance Today, WGBH in Boston, and WQXR in New York.

Mark Morton’s acclaimed recordings, Thresholds and Russian Rendezvous, have become reference recordings of standard double bass repertoire. He also collaborated with renowned bassist Gary Karr on a recording of double bass music by Paul Ramsier. Reviewing that recording, Roger Dettmer of Classical CD Review praised Morton as “a most artistic representative of the new generation developed in the last half century.” His release, Bottesini's Greatest Hits! features him playing both double bass and piano.

Throughout his orchestral career, Morton has performed under the direction of many of the world’s leading conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Alexander Schneider, Hans Graf, Gunther Herbig, Vladimir Spivakov, Maxim Shostakovich, Gunther Schuller, Nicholas McGegan, Marvin Hamlisch, John Williams, Henry Mancini, and Mitch Miller. He has twice served as guest principal bass of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, under Music Director Pinchas Zukerman.

Mark Morton has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Musikverein in Vienna, La Scala in Milan, and Carnegie Hall in New York City, where he has appeared more than 30 times.

Dr. Morton earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Juilliard School in New York City and was only the second bassist in Juilliard’s history to earn the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. His principal teachers include David Walter, Channing Robbins, Stuart Sankey, Eugene Levinson, and Winston Budrow.

www.markmortonbass.com
www.youtube.com/@DrMarkMorton

Mark Morton is a D'Addario Artist