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The Mark Tonelli Group performs music in various streams: Marks' award-winning original compositions; rock pieces by David Bowie, Queen, and Tom Petty that make unlikely but compelling jazz arrangements; hidden gems from Brazil; and Italian pop songs from the last several decades re-imagined for jazz small group. The group has released three critically-acclaimed CD's on the MTonal Music label. www.mtonalmusic.com

Mark Tonelli - guitar

Andrew Binder - bass

Tom Marko - drums

Mark Tonelli is an internationally-renowned musician and educator based in Decatur, Illinois. He is associate professor of music and coordinator of guitar studies at Millikin University, an Illinois Humanities Road Scholar, and a Fulbright Scholar to Brazil. Mark enjoys an active performing career, working with a wide variety of artists: American Idol Clay Aiken, Broadway legend Rita Moreno, rock icons The Platters; crooner Bobby Rydell; and jazz musician Peter Erskine. He has been seen on Fox News and in the Emmy- nominated PBS special Marina At West Point. Mark has had residencies in the major music hubs of New York City, Dallas, and Kansas City. His group has released three critically-acclaimed recordings on the MTonal Music label and performs Mark’s award- winning original compositions, rock pieces reimagined for jazz, and Brazilian gems.

He has performed on three continents, including Ukraine, Holland, Brazil, and Canada and in twenty-five U.S. states. As a Fulbright Scholar, Mark served as a visiting professor at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia in Minas Gerais, Brazil and traveled across the country performing in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Goiânia, and Campinas. For ten years, Mark was the guitarist for the U.S. Army Jazz Knights, touring and performing in the nation's top venues, including Jazz Standard, Blues Alley, Jazz Showcase, Kennedy Center, Jazz Kitchen, and Avery Fisher Hall. With the Jazz Knights, Mark performed with a who's who of jazz legends including Benny Golson, Billy Cobham, Bobby Watson, Rufus Reid, and Bob Mintzer, as well as the Boston Pops and the New York Philharmonic Brass Quintet.

Mark's music has been featured on National Public Radio's (NPR) All Things Considered. He has been a winner or finalist in the Billboard Magazine World Song Contest and the USA Songwriting Competition. Mark is the author of “Everybody's Jazz Guitar Method,” “Way To Play: Jazz Guitar Riffs and Chords,” and “Way To Play: Chord Melody,” published by the FJH Music Company; and “Entrepreneurship in Action: The Power of Student-Run Ventures,” published by Edward Elgar. He has made presentations at major music conferences, including the Jazz Education Network, National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the College Music Society. He proudly endorses D'Addario Strings and Eastman Guitars.

Andrew H. Binder is a bassist and composer from St. Louis, Missouri. He has performed regularly with notable musicians such as Chip McNeill, Tito Carrillio, Joel Spencer, Larry Gray, Chip Stephens and Joan Hickey. Andrew recently received his D.M.A. in Jazz Performance at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a current member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. Andrew obtained a M.M. in Music Composition from the University of Miami and B.M.A. degrees in Composition, Jazz Studies and Double Bass Performance from Bowling Green State University. Some of his accomplishments include winner of the 2018 Ensemble Ibis Competition Graduate division for his piece Brux, winner of the 26th Annual Craig's Keyboards/UT Young Composer's Competition. Andrew has had works performed by new music groups Dal Niente, Ritual Action, and Ensemble Ibis; works read by the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and members of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. Arrangements recorded and/or performed by University of Studio Jazz Band, Miami Vocal Jazz Ensemble, University of Illinois' Concert Jazz Band and Reperatory Jazz Orchestra. Andrew has participated in the Charlotte New Music Festival and the Dal Niente + DePaul Summer Residency for New Music.

Andrew has performed in a wide variety of groups with high caliber musicians. Some notable musicians he’s performed with include Chip McNeill, Joel Spencer, Tito Carrillo, Larry Gray, Chip Stephens, Mark Tonelli, and Tammy McCann.

A few formal groups include Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra, Ibis New Music Ensemble, and Bowling Green New Music Ensemble. Andrew has also worked as a bassist for Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, Little Theatre on the Square, and Adirondack Performing Arts Fellowship. Additionally, he's an in demand bassist with jazz groups and R&B/popular music groups.

Andrew has studied with composers Stephen Taylor, Christopher Dietz, Mikel Kuehn, Marilyn Shrude, Dorothy Hindman and Lansing McLoskey. He has also received multiple lessons through residency from prestigious composers including Augusta Read Thomas, Martin Bresnick and Christopher Theofanidis. He has studied jazz bass with Willem Von Hombracht, Jeffery Halsey, Don Coffman and Larry Gray; Classical bass under Robert Rohwer and Dr. Brian Powell.

Additionally, Andrew has studied jazz composition and arranging with Scott Lavender (arranger for Johnny Mathis) and Gary Lindsay (author of the book "Jazz Arranging Techniques: From Quartet to Big Band"). Andrew is currently finishing his DMA at the University of  Illinois Champaign-Urbana and is a current participant in the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop under the direction of Alan Ferber and Andy Farber.

Tom Marko is a drum set player and composer currently serving as Director of Jazz Studies at Illinois State University in Normal, IL where he directs two jazz big bands, coordinates jazz combos and teaches improvisation, and private drum set lessons.  Dr. Marko is also the coordinator of ISU’s annual Jazz Festival that has featured guest artists such as Randy Brecker, Marshall Gilkes, Dave Pietro, Wayne Bergeron, Ernie Watts, Marvin Stamm, Steve Wiest, Eric Marienthal and many more.  Very active in central Illinois and the mid-West as a performer and adjudicator, Marko can often be heard with “Kevin Hart and the Vibe Tribe,” “The Brazilionaires,” “The Todd Kelly Quintet,” “David Hoffman,” “The Travis Wesley Trio,” and his own group “Tom Marko and the Inner Light.” He holds the Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance from Washington State University, the Master of Music degree in jazz performance from the University of South Florida and the Doctor of Arts degree in theory and composition from the University of Northern Colorado, where he played drums in the award winning “UNC Jazz Lab Band I,” and “Combo I.” He has studied percussion and drum set with David Jarvis, Dave Hardman, David Via, Gray Barrier and Steve Davis. He has also studied theory and improvisation with Greg Yasinitsky and Jack Wilkins and jazz composition and arranging with Chuck Owen. In the summer of 2001 Tom was one of twenty-three students from across the U.S. selected to attend “Jazz Aspen Snowmass” in Aspen, Colorado under the artistic direction of Christian McBride. His drum set playing can be heard on Algo Diferente (2015) by The Brazilionaires, The Travis Wesley Trio’s recent recordings Cycle by Three (now playing on Pandora Internet Radio) and Natural Diversion (2012), The David Hoffman Sextet Live (2004), Alive XVII: For the Last Time (2000) by UNC Jazz Lab Band I, Greenwich Blue’s When Our Time Comes (1997), and Fireshaker (1997) by The Dan McMillion Groovin’ High Big Band.  “Inner Light” is Marko’s first album as a composer/leader and features the great Scott Wendholt on trumpet, Doug Stone on saxophone, Harold Greene on guitar, Kevin Hart on piano, keyboard and vibraphone, Mike Stryker on piano, Andy Crawford on bass, and Manny Bedi on Tabla.

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from the Wells Fargo Philanthropic Services Private Trust Foundations, which include grants from the Stanley A. and Flora P. Clark Memorial Community Trust Foundation (2020-2021; 2022-2023 seasons), the John, Anna, and Martha Jane Fields Memorial Trust Foundation (2021-2022; 2022-2023 seasons), and the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust (2021-2022; 2022-2023 season). Special concert event support provided by the Arts Midwest Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund grant (2022-2023 season). Activities are made possible in part by the Arts Organization Support (AOS), Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency (2023-2024 season).

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from The Esther and George Jaruga Charitable Foundation (2020-2023 seasons).

The Student and Home Grown Series concerts made possible, in part, with support from the ArtsEverywhere Grant from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, and the Arts Project Support Grant and the Arts Recovery Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission.