ABOUT

Mark Cauvin is an avant-garde double bass and electronics musician who has made a significant contribution to the contemporary double bass. He is skilled in composition, interpretation, and improvisation, drawing inspiration from the experimental music explorers of the 1950s to 1970s. Mark has performed and recorded with ensembles Chamber Made Opera and Decibel Ensemble and cross platformed with choreographer Hellen Sky, performance maker Nikki Heywood and Visual Artist Jody Graham and toured extensively throughout Australia.

Since 2000, Mark has interpreted and recorded double bass music by prominent European avant-garde composers such as Grillo, Scelsi, Dubrovay, Berio, Xenakis, Stockhausen, Toeplitz, and electronic tape music by Boguslaw Schaefer. His discography includes six published works to date, including Transfiguration 2CD (2008), Kontrabassarium 7” (2012), Die Dunkelkammer DVD (2013), Installation of Sound CD (2015), Concerto for Double Bass with Electronics and Visual Artist DVD (commissioned by Art Zoyd Studios 2022) and Composition, Interpretations and improvisations CD (2023).

Mark's innovative approach to improvisation involves using an extended shifting method that organises the entire range of timbres within his double bass with a constant variable bow and hand technique, allowing him to push the boundaries of what the instrument can do. He studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and SIAPM in Perugia Italy with Maestro Fernando Grillo (1943-2013).

Mark has been the recipient of three Australia Council Grants for Music, for projects in 2008, 2010, and 2015, which speak to his exceptional talent and contribution to the music scene in Australia and beyond. His classical avant-garde double bass schooling originating from Australia, Italy, and Germany underpins his extraordinary musicality, coupled with immense creativity and an outstanding ability to explore the double bass as not only a musical instrument but also a "sound emitting device" and a sound art device in visceral experimental performances.