Mark Lancaster Lusk

    Mark Lancaster Lusk joined the Penn State faculty as professor of Trombone in 1986.  Prior to his appointment, he enjoyed a varied career with such diverse groups as the Woody Herman Thundering Herd, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and the Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players. 

    He continues to have an active playing career as a soloist, clinician, and freelance musician. As a member of the Woody Herman Alumni Band, he has performed throughout the United States and abroad, including featured performances at jazz festivals in China, England, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, and Sweden.  The two most recent recordings of the Woody Herman Alumni Band, titled "60th Jubilee" and "Live in London," are available on the New York Jam label. 

    Professor Lusk has performed on Broadway in many shows, including the most recent production of Little Women.  The original cast album is currently available from Ghostlight Records. His successful career on Broadway has allowed him to play such memorable shows as Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Victor/Victoria, Miss Saigon, and Beauty and the Beast. 

    Professor Lusk’s performing and teaching have also taken him to South America. He has toured Chile as an artist/clinician, teaching and performing throughout the country, including a performance of Raymond Premru's "Concerto for Tuba" with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Concepción and Robert Spillman’s “Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra” with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile. Lusk was also invited to Argentina as an artist/clinician. His performance of the Spillman Concerto with the Orquesta Filharmónica de Buenos Aires was the first time a trombonist had been a soloist in the history of the Teatro Colon.

    Each year Professor Lusk’s tours as a soloist and with various groups take him to numerous universities and schools of music across the United States. He has often performed at the New York Brass Conference, the Eastern Trombone Workshop, and the International Trombone Workshop where he was invited to conduct the William Cramer Memorial Trombone Ensemble of College Professors. 

    Lusk is a native of Brandenburg, Kentucky.  He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Eastman School of Music and a performance certificate from Northwestern University.  Lusk is a clinician for the S. E. Shires Company and is published by Lyceum Press, including the Trombonist's Guide to the Unaccompanied Cello Suites of J. S. Bach.