ROCHESTER, NY, October 31, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Mark E. M. L. Powell, DMA, has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Dr. Powell currently serves as the director of orchestral activities at the University of Rochester's Arthur Satz Department of Music, where since 2023 he has overseen the university's orchestral programs, guiding students and ensembles with an enduring commitment to musical excellence and educational innovation. Before advancing to his current appointment, he served as Associate Professor of Music and Director or Orchestra Studies in the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, City University of New York. Concurrent to his work at the Copland School, we served as Visiting Associate Professor at the Eastman School of Music from 2020 to 2021, where he collaborated with professors Brad Lubman and Paul Coleman in leading the new music and online ensemble activities in the Department of Conducting and Ensembles. Prior to this assignment, he taught conducting at Eastman as sabbatical replacement for Professor Lubman. He continues his work on advanced conducting curricula and mentoring emerging conductors as Lead Conductor of the New Conductors Orchestra in Manhattan.

Fostering collaborative environments for students in both professional and humanities based music programs remains Dr. Powell's focus, along with training and expanding the necessary suite of communications and knowledge that underpin any modern career, regardless of field or specialty. Merging practical skills with artistic growth to complement anyone's abilities continues as a major facet of his work.

In a wide ranging career that has always centered on the public advocacy of music, he served as a broadcast host, writer, and editor for the Houston Symphony, as the managing artistic director for the Uniquely Houston™ Series at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston, Texas, and as the founder of its Discovery Series. The series continues to bring music, dance, and drama exploration performances to Houston school students and has, to date, served over a quarter million students. As principal of Powell and Associates Non-Profit Consultants from 1998 to 2008, he advised arts organizations on strategic planning, as well as individuals on academic career advancement and placement. Earlier in his career, Dr. Powell served as a senior producer at KUHF, Houston Public Radio and as music director at KPAC, Texas Public Radio.

Throughout his three decades in performance, education, and leadership, Dr. Powell has built an extensive alumni network, which he counts as his most notable achievement. His current and former students serve in myriad facets of the professional music, non-profit, music education, health care, law, academic, consulting, financial, information technology, chemical research and development, and governmental fields. Utilizing their ensemble and performance training to the advantage of their organizations, projects, products, services, and students remains a hallmark of their present work. The scope of that work encompasses organizations and programs as diverse as the Fulbright Commission; Bausch and Lomb; the Grand Teton Music Festival; Proctor and Gamble; the Presser Prize; the Universities of Syracuse, California, Rochester, and Columbia; the Mannes, Berklee, and Aspen Music Schools; the Florida Orchestra; Goldman Sachs; and the Istanbul Ballet and Opera Orchestra. That roster of talent includes conductors, instrumentalists, singers, attorneys, professors, scientists, administrators, fundraisers, and writers.

Dr. Powell first earned a Bachelor of Music in Performance (clarinet) and music education from the School of Music at the University of Michigan. He subsequently pursued graduate studies and completed a Master of Music in Conducting from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston and now holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. He is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Music Alpha Sinfonia, and was awarded the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize from Eastman, a Ford Foundation American Conductors Award, and the VIP Award from Musiqa, Inc., Houston's professional new music ensemble.

Dr. Powell credits part of his success to a persistent fascination with how music affects listeners on both the physical and emotional levels. He regards sound as a landscape that helps shape the creative process—whether writing, performing or rehearsing—and remains grateful for a life immersed in music.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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