Professional Tuba Player & Bass Guitarist
Music Educator & Performer
Founder & CEO, Markola Beverages

MARK DAUMEN is first and foremost a tuba player, having started playing the instrument in the fourth grade at Buffalo P.S. #56. From the moment the dusty tuba was brought down from up high on the shelf and given to Mark during his trumpet lesson, a great adventure began. The importance of public school instrumental and choral music education in his artistic development could not be understated. It introduced a never ending love for music and art in pursuit of the words that hung above Mrs. Grabowski’s door: “Style and Excellence.” Later, at St. Joe’s High School, Mark became a member of the concert band and jazz lab band, whose hard gigging style demonstrated the value of music as rewarding work through frequent tours and three-hour dances. The band opened up a passion for performing and improvising, and led to being awarded First Chair All-State Tuba.

Playing the tuba took Mark to The Eastman School of Music, where he studied classical tuba performance with Don Harry of the BPO. There he learned the discipline of practice, the benefit of a full understanding of music theory, the connection between music history and being an artist, and the true study of your craft. After college, Mark moved to LA with the rock band SNMNMNM for a completely different music education, finding his own voice playing electric amplified tuba. While in LA, Mark performed with Dakah Hip-Hop Orchestra, took part in session work of many styles, began regular touring of the US, and developed his skills as a multi-instrumentalist. Following a move to North Carolina, these skills were used as a member of the folk-rock group Lost in the Trees (Anti Records), where he played a host of instruments (tuba, bass, electric guitar, keyboard, and percussion), toured internationally, and performed at world-class venues like Lincoln Center and Millennium Park.

A proud son of Buffalo, NY, and current resident of North Carolina, Mark can be heard playing tuba and bass all around his adopted state in rock bands and soul bands—classical, jazz, klezmer, ragtime, old timey, bluegrass, and whatever else he can. Mark has had the privilege of recording with NC artists The Avett Brothers, Superchunk, and Peter Holsapple (the DB’s); performing with Broken Social Scene; and sharing the stage with the likes of Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Matthew Sweet, and Ira Kaplan in the Big Star’s Third concerts.