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Mark Ford Series
This four mallet series has been designed exclusively to the specifications of marimba soloist and percussion educator Mark Ford. Using a variety of rubber cores combined with an extra-soft yarn, the results are mallets that produce a legato tone at all dynamic levels. The unfinished natural birch handles allow the player additional control in demanding performance situations. In conjunction with Mark Ford, Innovative Percussion has designed this line of mallets to meet the needs of today's contemporary marimba soloist.
Features:
- Rubber cores to create a full, rich tone and warm fundamental
- Unfinished natural birch handles
- Extra-soft yarn wrap for minimal contact sound
These four new models are an expansion of the popular mallet series designed to the specifications of marimba soloist and percussion educator Mark Ford. This series began with the previous addition of the IP800 to his original series, now renumbered as IP811. This series of four mallets features larger rubber cores for a full tone and stronger fundamental, while still using an extra-soft yarn to produce legato tone at all dynamic levels. These new models also feature natural birch handles, allowing the player additional control in demanding performance situations.
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Mark Ford
Coordinator of Percussion Activities
University of North Texas
Mark Ford is the coordinator of percussion activities at The University of North Texas in Denton, Texas and a Past-President of the Percussive Arts Society. He is a marimba specialist and the coordinator of one of the largest percussion programs in the United States at UNT. Ford is an active performer on the marimba and he has been featured throughout the United States at universities and music conferences. He also regularly performs at International Music Festivals in South America, Asia, Australia and Europe.
With several marimba and percussion CDs to his credit, Mark’s recordings have further established his dedication to excellence in music. Ford’s solo marimba CDs, Motion Beyond and Polaris, have received outstanding reviews including The Instrumentalist which stated Ford's performance is "superb and his compositional style is equally outstanding." Mark has also recorded two DVDs and a CD with Japanese virtuoso marimbist Keiko Abe and the UNT Wind Symphony.
As a composer Mark Ford has written several popular works for solo marimba and percussion ensemble including Head Talk, Polaris, Kingdom Lore Fanfare, Stubernic, Afta-Stuba!, Heads Up! and The Surface of Life. His compositions have been performed at universities and concert halls throughout the world and also featured on National Public Radio. Ford is also the author of Marimba: Technique Through Music, a four-mallet marimba method book published by Innovative Percussion, Inc. Mark’s latest composition, Marimba Heritage is a mallet ensemble showcase. The work is built on motives of numerous marimba solos and is designed to honor the tradition of solo marimba performance.
Ford has been recognized as a leading percussion educator and his UNT Percussion Ensemble was selected as a winner in the 2009 PAS International Percussion Ensemble Competition. Mark Ford proudly represents Dynasty Percussion, The Zildjian Company, Evans Drum Heads, Latin Percussion and Innovative Percussion Inc. as performing artist and clinician.
For more information on Mark Ford and the UNT Percussion Area, please go to www.music.unt.edu/percussion.
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