Mark Hensley started playing the piano when he was 9. Within a few years, he discovered the joys of real classical music, and quickly abandoned his insipid lesson books, with the encouragement of his understanding teacher, Marilyn Russell. He continued taking piano lessons until his first year of university studies.

During his undergraduate years at the University of Denver, Mark double-majored in molecular biology and piano performance. The piano major was an afterthought that he added several years after he started school, with the happy coincidence of the music school moving to the main campus – it has been one of the best indulgent decisions of his life. While at DU, he studied mainly with Alice Rybak, and some with David Genova.

Mark is currently working on his molecular biology PhD at the University of Pennsylvania in a hemophilia gene therapy lab. Research takes a lot of time, but when free, he spends time exercising, doing outdoor activities, reading, and of course playing the piano.









Recordings