Born in Sarasota, Florida in 1968, Mark Hetzler began playing his father’s trombone at the age of twelve. He went on to receive a B.M. from Boston University and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music. Mark was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and completed a three-year fellowship with the New World Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.

As a member of the Empire Brass Quintet from 1996-2012, Mark performed in recital and as a soloist with symphony orchestras in Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Venezuela, Brazil, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, Austria, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, Bermuda, St. Bartholomew and across the United States. He appeared with the group on live television and radio broadcasts in Asia and the United States, as well as Empire Brass recordings on the Telarc label.

Mark has released twelve solo recordings on the Summit Records label with programming that features music in a wide variety of genres. In addition to recording and performing, Mark is active as a composer, orchestrator and arranger, fusing classical styles with many non-classical influences. He has composed a trombone concerto, Three Views of Infinity, as well as numerous works in solo, chamber and large ensemble settings, including wind ensemble, orchestra, big band, brass quintet and jazz/rock combos.

In addition to his solo recordings, he has recently released three ensemble recordings. Don’t Look Down (2020), which he co-produced with UW–Madison colleagues Tom Curry and Anthony Di Sanza, features their collaborative concert-length original composition Don’t Look Down, exploring the impact of social media and technology on society. Mark can also be heard performing his own music on the recordings of the adventurous new music group Mr. Chair. This versatile quartet released their debut recording Nebulebula in 2019, and followed it up with their second album Better Days in 2022.

These recordings can be found on Bandcamp:
https://curryhetzlerdisanza.bandcamp.com/album/dont-look-down
https://mrchair.bandcamp.com/album/nebulebula
https://mrchair.bandcamp.com/album/better-days

Former Principal Trombone of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Mark has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the Florida Orchestra. He joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004, and is currently the Professor of Trombone at UW–Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.

As a faculty member in the School of Music, he teaches the Trombone Studio, coaches Chamber Music, teaches Brass Fundamentals courses to Music Education students, co-directs the Low Brass Ensemble and performs as a member of the Wisconsin Brass Quintet (faculty ensemble-in-residence). Mark is a Getzen Performing Artist who plays the 4147-IB Custom Reserve tenor trombone.

Learn more about Mark at his website: www.markhetzler.com