"Don't be surprised if composers such as Mahler, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Richard Strauss come to mind as you listen to [Dal Porto]"

Textura

Mark Dal Porto has received numerous commissions with his works receiving hundreds of performances by many instrumental and vocal ensembles throughout the United States and abroad. In 2019, he released Peace, Nature & Renewal¸ a CD featuring some of his orchestral, choral, and chamber works. In the 2013 CODA (College Orchestra Directors Association) International Composition Contest, he was awarded first prize for his orchestral work Song of Eternity. He has also received certificates of excellence in band, choral, orchestral, and chamber music composition from The American Prize organization.

Dal Porto serves on the faculty of Eastern New Mexico University as Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition. In 2012, he received the ENMU Presidential Award in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities. In 2022, he received an ENMU College of Fine Arts Award for excellence in scholarly activity. A former student of Donald Grantham, Dal Porto received degrees from California State University, Sacramento, and the University of Texas at Austin. He frequently serves as a guest composer, conductor, and pianist. Further information about Dal Porto can be found at markdalporto.com.

News

January 24, 2023

The Inside Story: Mark Dal Porto and SPARKS: EYE OF LONDON

March 20, 2019

The Inside Story: Mark Dal Porto and PEACE, NATURE & RENEWAL

Albums

Sparks: Eye of London

Release Date: October 28, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6454
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Navona Records presents SPARKS: THE EYE OF LONDON, an assembly of original fanfares performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Drawing from the compositional strengths of today’s composers, the orchestra navigates chaos and order, isolation, and ascension towards triumph through passionate orchestral writing reminiscent of the fire that burns within us. A collection spanning thought-provoking narratives, scenic synesthesia, soothing passages, and the whimsically abstract, the London Symphony Orchestra explores a vast musical landscape of emotions, tackling each with precision and verve.

Peace, Nature, & Renewal

Release Date: March 22, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6220
21st Century
Chamber
Orchestral
Choir
Orchestra
Wind Ensemble
Composer Mark Dal Porto's award-winning, neo-Romantic Song of Eternity for Orchestra starts off THE MUSIC OF MARK DAL PORTO in epic fashion. If Mahler and Prokofiev had collaborated on a composition, it would probably have sounded a lot like this: pensive, evocative, and nostalgic. Song of Eternity describes the eternal renewal of nature with cinematic impact. It is inspired by an ancient Chinese poem, as is the next piece, I Seek Rest for My Lonely Heart for A-Cappella Choir. This work continues the subject of nature, albeit in a more individualized fashion, capturing the sentiment of a distressed soul in search of peace in a pastoral setting.

Figments

Release Date: February 12, 2016
Catalog Number: NV6023
21st Century
Chamber
Cello
Piano
Violin
Navona Records presents FIGMENTS, a compilation of eclectic contemporary works for chamber ensemble that highlight the dramatic, the mysterious, and the inventive through diverse instrument combinations and use of extended techniques. The album features music by composers Mark Dal Porto, Richard Campanelli, David Nisbet Stewart, Paula Diehl, Jason R. Lovelace, and Mel Mobley.

Dances Of Eternity

Release Date: April 1, 2013
Catalog Number: NV5907
21st Century
Orchestral
Large Ensemble
Orchestra
DANCES OF ETERNITY presents a group of orchestral works by composers who explore music's potential to capture the more overlooked aspects of human experience. Ranging from representations of optimism and energy to the surging power of nostalgia, to lighthearted frolics and the eternality of life, DANCES OF ETERNITY asks the listener to ponder life, death, and everything in between.