BIOGRAPHY

Mark D’Leon (b. 2003) is a Mexican-American composer and Los Angeles native. Mark began his musical journey at the age of 7, performing alongside his father at church. From 2017 to 2019, D’Leon was mentored by “Blue Devils” and DCI legends Tom and Catherine Float, performing marching snare and other percussion instruments with the St. Francis High School Drumline. Mark has performed percussion and saxophone with numerous ensembles, including the Salvation Army Pasadena Tabernacle Band, the Maranatha High School orchestra, and various student-led bands.

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Mr. D’Leon began his career in composition at the age of 17 by writing music for his classes and professors, a decision that eventually led to him being selected as a student in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Nancy and Barry Sanders Composer Fellowship Program (2021–22) by the age of 18. Since then, Mr. D’Leon has received mentorship in composition from acclaimed composers such as Thomas Kotcheff, Sarah Gibson, Andrew Norman, Sean Friar, and Juan Pablo Contreras. He has collaborated with world-class instrumentalists such as Sara Andon and Cristina Montes Mateo and has had the privilege of working with some of Los Angeles’ most influential conductors and visionaries, including Anthony Parnther and Donald Crockett. Mark is currently pursuing his BM in Classical Composition at Azusa Pacific University, where he studies privately under the mentorship of Mark Gasbarro and has also begun scoring for student films.

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Mark has premiered work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Southeast Symphony, Sunset ChamberFest, and the Azusa Pacific University Symphony Orchestra. His work has been performed in esteemed venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Beckman YOLA Center, and Warner Brothers Studios.

Mark hopes to encapsulate his childhood imagination and experiences through his ambition for storytelling in music, aiming to bring a reimagined perspective on culture, storytelling, and imagination.