Volume 18, February 2024
E-portfolios as Learning Tools for Applied Double Bass Study; a Research-Based, Practice Oriented Approach

by Mark Elliot Bergman

About the Author

Dr. Mark Elliot Bergman is the Director of Strings and Orchestral Studies at Sheridan College and the double bass studio instructor at the University of Wyoming. He teaches double bass, electric bass, cello, viola da gamba, composition, songwriting, and music history. As an ensemble leader, Mark directs the Sheridan College Symphony Orchestra, the Sheridan College Viol Consort, and the professional early music ensemble Wyoming Baroque. He is also the Assistant Principal Double Bassist of the Billings Symphony Orchestra. During the summer, Mark performs with Assisi Performing Arts in Assisi, Italy, and the Peter Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon. Mark has an active background as an orchestral double bassist. He is the former Principal Double Bassist of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the Mato Grosso Chamber Orchestra in Cuiabá, Brazil. He formerly served as a Professor of Music History and Ensemble Director at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

With Wyoming Baroque, Mark released three CDs, two featuring his original compositions for historically informed performers. Mark published two books about popular music pedagogy and authored multiple articles selected for publication with the peer-reviewed Online Journal of Bass Research. In 2022, the International Society of Bassists awarded him their Grand Prize in Research for his article about e-portfolio learning. Mark received the 2018 Performing Arts Fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council to recognize his work as a composer and performer. He earned his doctorate from George Mason University in 2015. He also holds degrees from Yale University, the Eastman School of Music, and the Manhattan School of Music.