bio
Mark Hanson joined the UWSP Theatre and Dance Department in 2013 as Assistant Professor of Musical Theater. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Minnesota at Duluth and a Masters of Music in Music Theater Conducting from Arizona State University in Tempe. He comes to Stevens Point from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lived for 22 years and taught and conducted in the music and theater departments at the College of San Mateo, Foothill College, University of San Francisco and Lick-Wilmerding High School.
Mark’s regional conducting credits span over 200 productions, including The Will Rogers Follies at American Musical Theater of San Jose, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Contra Costa Musical Theater, Miss Saigon at Broadway By The Bay, Man of La Mancha at Musical Theater of Arizona, Beehive at San Jose Stage Company, Spring Awakening at Foothill Music Theater, Carousel and Barnum at Oakland’s Woodminster Amphitheater, My Fair Lady at Minnesota Repertory, Big River at Iowa’s Way Off-Broadway Theater, Peter Pan at Albuquerque Civic Light Opera, The Desert Song at Boston Concert Opera and Candide at Monterey Opera.
As a graduate student at ASU, Mark was selected as the Musical Director and Conductor for the second revision of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. Working directly with Mr. Sondheim, book writer George Furth and director Randall West, Mark collaborated in shaping and orchestrating the new material into the version of the show that is licensed today.
He has worked with theater, film, and television legends such as John Cullum, Rita Moreno, Harve Presnell, Nancy Dusault and Theodore Bikel, including a 2012 masterclass with Glee star, Darren Criss.
Mark has worked on several national tours, including Spamalot, Legally Blonde, Cabaret, The Will Rodgers Follies and Les Miserables.
In his spare time, Mark likes cycling, reading biographies and watching classic movies.
professional experience
- Music Director, Four Corners Musical Theatre, Farmington, NM (2020)
- Stage and Music Director, Great Plains Theatre, Abilene, KS (2017-2019)
- Music Director, Lost Nation Theatre, Montpelier, VT (2015-2018)
- Music Director, Foothill Music Theatre, Los Altos, CA (2004-2014)
professional memberships
- Member, Music Theatre Educators Alliance, (2015-present)
- Member, Musicians Union, (1990-present)