How do you get an emmy award winning composer and violinist extraordinaire to give you a moment of his time for taped interview? You simply walk up to him and ask him! In a big fan girl moment, I was honored to spend a couple of minutes on camera with the famed electric violinist and former member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mark Wood to talk about his breathtaking line of electric violins and his music and his nonprofit, children’s music and string educational program, Electrify Your Strings.
In 1968, at the age of 12, Mark developed the first solid body electric violin. At the time, there wasn’t a remotely comparable instrument on the general market. Over the years, he has designed and produced ten different models including the “Spaceolin” which is equipped with neon lights outlining the body of the instrument. The bow is also outlined in neon and the effect when performing in darkness is a memorable experience. Especially when he breaks out the heavy metal!
By 17, Mark became a classical music student at Julliard School of Music on full scholarship but soon started to focus on regenerating electric string instruments, full time.
Over his outrageously successful career, Mr. Wood has fully ingrained his energy into the music industry through performance, research and development and education. The amount of information available on his contributions to the arts and music industry is staggering. He is a gracious and humble man, more than happy to share his knowledge and experience at the shear ask of a question.
Mark Wood Violins is a regular exhibitor at NAMM, he performs and demonstrates his collection at his booth and you can usually find him performing at an after event or two. This year his young son, Elijah, his lovely wife, vocalist, Laura Kay, accompanied him on stage during Saturday’s Ultimate NAMM Night, at the Anaheim Hilton, adjacent to the convention center. In past years he has performed with his children’s orchestra and rock orchestra. The diversity of his instruments, talents and dedication to the education of music, is unsurpassed.
Information on Mark Wood Violins, Mark Wood Music and his Electrify Your Strings program is extensive and readily available throughout the internet. Please visit one of the following websites to read more. When Mr. Wood and his orchestra tours through your town, be sure not to the miss the Mark Wood Experience.
Mark Wood Violins: http://www.woodviolins.com
Mark Wood Music: http://www.markwoodmusic.com
Electrify Your Strings (education program): http://www.electrifyyourstrings.com
You can also keep up with Mark Wood Music and Mark Wood Violins on social media and Instagram by searching: @WoodViolins and @MarkWoodMusic. His music and CD’s are available for purchase on most reputable music services sites, and of course, you can find performances and demonstrations on his YouTube channel by searching “Mark Wood”.
I would like to personally thank Mark for taking a couple of minutes to chat with us about his amazing instruments and education program. You can find our taped interview below.
Mark Wood Violins
New York, New York