A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Mark Skazinetsky has served as associate concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) for more than a decade. Upon completion of his music education at the State Conservatory of Odessa, he was awarded a degree with honours in all four qualifications of performer, teacher, chamber instrumentalist, and orchestral player. At age 15, he won first prize in the Ukrainian Competition for Young Talents, subsequently performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G Minor with the Odessa State Philharmonic Orchestra. Prior to his work with the TSO, he was assistant concertmaster with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and the Stratford Chamber Ensemble.

Mark is a prominent chamber musician and can be heard frequently on CBC Radio and in recital halls throughout Canada. He is a founding member of the Maple Trio and the Moveable Feast. He was also among the hand-picked group of TSO musicians that Glenn Gould chose for his last recording and conducting debut (Wagner: Siegfried-Idyll on Sony Classical). In addition, Mark teaches violin at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music.

Mark is also actively pursuing a conducting career. Since 1993, he has been studying privately and in various seminars with world-renowned conducting teacher Maestro Gustav Meier, head of the Conducting Program at Tanglewood, and recently retired from the same position at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.