Mark Orton
Mark Orton grew up in a musical family. The son of a conductor, he began formal study of both piano and guitar at the age of four. By the beginning of high school he was exploring jazz, classical, and world music, and had begun his studies in both composition and theory with Danny Deutsch. Orton went on to study composition at The Peabody Conservatory with Jean Ivey, and at The Hartt School Of Music with David MacBride and Robert Kyr.
After college, Orton served as chief engineer at The Knitting Factory in New York City. This allowed him to work extensively with artists ranging from Laurie Anderson and the Kronos Quartet to John Zorn and Sonic Youth. He used this experience to become a touring engineer, traveling in Europe, Japan, and America with, among others, Bill Frisell, John Lurie and The Lounge Lizards, and Mr. Bungle.
In 1995, Orton relocated to San Francisco with the other members of Tin Hat Trio, a newly formed composer/improviser collective comprised of Orton on guitars, Carla Kihlstedt on violin, and Rob Burger on prepared piano and accordion. The group's quest to create genre-defying music that blurs the line between composition and improvisation has produced five CD's. The three earlier albums, 1999's "Memory Is An Elephant," 2000's "Helium," and 2002's "The Rodeo Eroded" feature Orton as the primary composer. "Memory" includes an homage to Enrico Caruso with guest tenor Mike Patton of Faith No More/Mr. Bungle fame. "Helium" features a collaboration between the trio and Tom Waits for the CD's title track, with music by Orton and lyrics co-written with Waits. "Rodeo" features Orton's arrangement of the standard "Willow Weep For Me," with Willie Nelson adding the vocals. (This track was used in the season 9 finale of the TV drama "E.R.") Mark arranged each of these tracks for the trio with chamber orchestra, providing a blue print for the larger ensemble projects that the group has since embarked upon.
Tin Hat has been touring extensively in both America and Europe for the last 8 years. During this time the group has explored a number of projects with large groups, including concerts with a 20 piece string and wind ensemble, a low brass quartet, and the accompaniment of early Russian silent films (directed by Ladislav Starewicz) with the help of a live foley artist (Zeena Parkins). With a 2001 grant from the Pew Charitable Trust, Orton completed a triple concerto for the trio and strings, which was premiered that same year with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra.
Tin Hat’s critically acclaimed fourth album, “Book of Silk” saw the trio experimenting with expanding its instrumentation to include harp and tuba with the addition of Zeena Parkins and Bryan Smith. When Rob Burger left the band in 2005, Orton and Kihlstedt along with Parkins continued on as a quintet with the addition of Ben Goldberg (clarinets) and Ara Anderson (pump organ, trumpet, glockenspiel). This new version of the group has just released its first CD under the new name “Tin Hat.” Entitled “The Sad Machinery of Spring,” the record is dedicated to the writings and drawings of the Polish surrealist Bruno Schulz.
Outside of the trio, Orton is active as a film and radio composer. He continues to compose concert music for a wide range of ensembles from chamber groups to full orchestra. He is a multi-instrumentalist, performing on all manner of guitars, keyboards and percussion. Orton has written and performed scores for films including "The Good Girl", directed by Miguel Arteta and starring Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal, "The Real Dirt on Farmer John," directed by Taggert Siegel, and "Sweet Land," directed by Ali Selim starring Ned Beatty and Alan Cumming. He has also contributed existing music to both television and film including 2005's "Everything is Illuminated," directed by Liev Schreiber and starring Elijah Wood, and the Oscar nominated "Mushroom Club," (best documentary - short subjects 2006) directed by Steven Okazaki.
Other film scores include the documentaries "Beyond Conviction," directed by Rachel Libert (and featured on Oprah), and "Comrades in Dreams," a German produced film that examines grass roots film organizations around the world (official selection Sundance Festival, 2007). With compositions written during his 2003 Leighton Studios Residency at The Banff Centre, Orton has lately been performing and recording with his new group, "The Aurora Septet," an ensemble of 3 strings (Vln, Vla, Vcl), 3 clarinets (Bb, Eb Alto and Bb Bass), and Orton on guitar, banjo, and harmonium. He is busy as an arranger as well, working alongside producer Larry Klein while arranging strings for Madeline Peyroux and Vienna Teng among others. Additionally, he is a founding member of "Famous Last Words And Music", an artist collective devoted to the production and live performance of experimental radio theatre.
