bio
Born in 1968 Marc grew up in a house full of music. Through his mother's love for music and her colorful musical friends (who took Marc under their collective musical wing) he was lucky to be surrounded by a wonderful variety of live and recorded music – American folk, blues, classical, pop, soul, reggae, opera, funk, southern rock, jazz...
Marc started bass at 10, then fell in love with guitar at 12. He studied classical guitar later and earned a Master's in guitar performance studying with the acclaimed guitarist Elliot Frank.
After college, Marc taught himself to play jazz and in his thirties studied and performed with many great jazz players including his mentor the jazz guitar icon Gene Bertoncini.
Marc is a rare find on today's jazz scene – a unique voice that strengthens and explores the jazz idiom with sensitivity, clarity, and uncompromising integrity. Marc's warm, expressive tones and tasteful phrasing have been delighting audiences for over 20 years.
His first CD of classical guitar music "416 S Front" was released and well received in 2000. "Superb guitar mastery..." “A sound space that surrounds and envelopes you...” The Beat Magazine
Marc now oversees the guitar studies at CFCC in Wilmington NC, he has been published in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine and he can be heard live around the southeast and internationally online.
After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
Press Release Photographs
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Publications:
From an article in The Beat Magazine:
Growing up in Tidewater, Virginia, guitarist and instructor of Music at Cape Fear Community College, Marc Siegel lived close to Yorktown, the final battleground of the Revolutionary War. He fondly remembers how at thirteen, he and his friends rode their bikes down to the site to watch Ronald Reagan give a speech at the bicentennial celebration. But despite the president’s appearance, the excitement of the crowd and the vivid memory of the day, Reagan didn’t inspire Marc onto the career path of a politician. Instead, it was his mother and the musical gatherings at his home that instilled a passion for music as a youth that is still with him today. “I have this wonderful free spirit of a mother who was always collecting interesting people around her and there always seemed to be a few who were in bands or played the guitar,” he recalls. “This was so cool for me because it impressed upon my young ears, a love for the sound of live music and especially the guitar.” As his life unfolded, Marc realized how enjoyable those times were and soon a passion for music became the most important part of his life.
But it takes more than passion to master a skill. Soon he would learn that it also took commitment. “I started saving for a guitar. I only had about sixty dollars to my name that I had saved up through odd jobs and cutting lawns. A friend of mine just bought a junky bass at a garage sale and he really wanted to learn to play it as well. He reluctantly sold it to me after increasing the price ten times what they bought it for, but I didn’t care. I was already sitting in with my mother's friends and I was so juiced about the experience that money was no object – at least up to sixties dollars!”
Since those days, Marc admits that he has learned a lot about music through the instructions of others. His formal music education includes an undergraduate degree at UNCW in guitar performance and a Master’s Degree at ECU. However, he underscores the importance of the "on the job training" that he acquired through many performances. Over the years, he has been a vital part of the Wilmington’s musical community and has witnessed first hand how UNCW and the CFCC music programs have grown and become a “feeder” system to the local live music scene. He points out that when he first started teaching at CFCC there were about 3500 curriculum students. Now there are approximately 8000 and space is limited; they even turn applicants away. “Specifically, the fine arts program at CFCC has grown exponentially, coming together in a solid way under the chairmanship of Frank Carter,” he explains. “Jazz band music started back in 1999 when a few dedicated students wanted to play in a band and asked me to coach them. After a few years, and thanks to Frank Carter, it was officially adopted as a class. Now we have a burgeoning program offering an Associated Degree in Music, four talented fulltime faculty and several adjunct faculty offering a wide array of music classes, and a Jazz Scholarship is in the works – sponsored by the great folks at The Cape Fear Jazz Appreciation Society.”
Whether it is performing or teaching music, Marc Siegel aspires to the level of being worthy of the listener's attention. He is keenly aware that to master any skill in life – not just music, it takes commitment, hard work, and a passion for what you are doing. And for Marc Siegel, his success is attributed to having all of those traits. He continues, “I would like to be considered a good communicator, one who is able to touch the listener in some way. Personally, I love the sound of the guitar and I hope I can bring my passion and love for music across to my audience.”
No worries, Marc. With this deep attention and passion for music, I’m certain your audiences and students alike will always be inspired.
