LUMBERTON, NC (WBTW) Mark Andersen will always remember the review in the New York Times after his first performance at Carnegie Hall.
“Mark Andersen brings life to music and music is his life,” the review read.
Those words sum up the musical journey for Andersen that started at just three years old.
“(I started) before I was tall enough for my feet to reach the pedals,” Andersen said.
No worries, his grandfather built a contraption to help solve that problem. Right away he fell in love with his blossoming talent.
“They would force me to get off of the piano and leave it alone,” Andersen said.
Those hours of practice were sometimes interrupted. His Dad was actually a musician as well but when his beloved Clemson Tigers were on.
“Everything else in the house was silent,” Andersen laughed.
He studied at the music conservatory of Flora MacDonald in Red Springs before going to others in Chicago and even Paris.
He later joined the Boston Symphony and even spent time at NBC arranging and recording music.
“I’ve spent my life on the endeavor of producing fine music,” Andersen said.
Now back home in Lumberton, his home a virtual musical museum. His business was show business. A journey his once too short three year old legs could have never imagine.
To bring this story full circle, the person that originally taught Mark how to play the organ was the organist at the First Baptist Church in Lumberton.
That is the spot that he holds now.
He also continues his pursuit of fine music by running the International Artists Foundation and creating a television show that features classical musical. Click here to learn more information and to see clips from the show.
