by Gabrielle Post ’26
On Thursday, May 1, and Friday, May 2, electric violinist Mark Wood energized the KO audience during the annual Goodman Banks visiting artist assembly, as well as during Kingswood Oxford’s fifth annual Patricia Rosoff Upper School Arts Night.
At the Goodman Banks assembly, Mr. Wood was introduced by sophomores Carlotta Patroni and Marin Backer, who shared Mr. Wood’s extensive experience with the KO Community. Mr. Wood doesn’t just have an amazingly electric personality and passion, but also an immense talent as an electric violinist.
He is well known as the original string master for the Trans Sibierian Orchestra, which is a rock band composed of string instruments, famous for their rock renditions of classic Christmas carols. Mr. Wood has played with renowned artists, like Billy Joel and Lenny Kravitz. Mr. Wood also owns Wood Violins, a company that makes electric violins, violas, and cellos. He created the company as a way to promote and sell his own patented invention, the Viper, which is a self-supporting violin.
Starting off, Mr. Wood dazzled the crowd in Roberts Theater for roughly 45 minutes, performing and speaking about his upbringing in a creative household, and even performing with the Jazz Band.
Band and Upper School Orchestra Director Todd Millen said that the draw to Mr. Wood was his enthusiasm and passion for what he does and sharing that with others. “Mark Wood is all about energy, excitement, and trying to help people to find the joy and the passion of music and the human connection between that comes from music,” Mr. Millen said.
Mr. Wood introduced himself under several titles. “I am a builder, inventor, musician, entrepreneur,” he said. “You name it, I do it.” He continued to explain his path to becoming an electric violinist. “I got a full scholarship to a school called Juilliard in New York,” Mr. Wood said. “At that time, I’m listening to Beethoven, Mozart, and Mahler. I loved classical music, I played every day. But then I heard Jimi Hendrix, I heard The Beatles, I heard Led Zeppelin. I wanted to be a rock musician.” His unconventional path to becoming an electric violinist is inspiring, especially for students in middle and high school to hear.
To conclude the assembly, Mr. Wood was accompanied by the Jazz Band for one last performance. This group includes seniors Margaret Miller and Anna Ollenschleger, and juniors Aarav Mathur, Alex Gumkowski, Miles Gruber, and Adam Gold. “That was his request,” said Mr. Millen. “I think he liked the idea of the smaller ensemble, and it was a little less coordination. With our band being small enough and the quality musicians that we have here, they were able to play it without the backing track.”
Mr. Wood’s passion for music, especially rock, is not lost on KO and the musicians at KO who had the chance to perform with him at the fifth annual Patricia Rosoff Upper School Arts Night. Arts Night started during COVID when there were restrictions, and so this night was created to bring the artists together for an outdoor concert. This event has flourished over the past five years and is now held indoors.
With a night filled with honoring the creativity of KO’s Wyverns, both visual and performing arts, the night was extra special due to the inclusion of Mr. Wood.
The first half of the performances included performances by Concert Band, Concert Choir, Orchestra, Outlook, Voce, and Jazz Combo. Secondly, all music groups were joined by Mr. Wood for a performance. While Arts Night is a special night for artists on campus and a culmination of hard work, it goes without saying that Mr. Wood’s presence created extra electricity. This excitement was seen throughout the crowd and in the number of attendees. “On the stage and in the audience, the reaction of the audience was great,” Mr. Millen said. “We probably had close to 400 people here. We weren’t packed, but we were pretty close.”
The reaction to Mr. Wood was incredible, but our Wyvern artists were spectacular as well. Mr. Wood performed “Born to be Wild” with Jazz Combo, “Inferno” with Concert Band, “Carry on my Wayward Son” with Combined Choir, “Radioactive” with Outlook, and “Durga” with Orchestra. “Every one of the groups in their own way took a step up,” Mr. Millen noted.
Everyone at KO is grateful to Mr. Wood and everyone who made his visit possible. His energy was infectious on campus and will definitely follow us!
