Mark Stone,
Jumbie Records Co-Founder

As a percussionist and ethnomusicologist, Mark Stone has an extensive knowledge of African and American musical traditions. He has performed with the foremost percussion groups of Ghana (West Africa), Uganda (East Africa), and Trinidad (West Indies). In Ghana, Mark performed with Godwin Agbeli's Sankofa Dance Theatre. In Uganda, he was an honorary member of the Nakibembe Xylophone Group for a six-month period, performing at village funerals and weddings. During a research trip to Trinidad in 2001, Mark joined the steel drum ensemble, Scrunters Pan Groove, performing in the finals of the individual steel drum competition and throughout the carnival festivities. This past December, Mark performed with master-xylophonist Bernard Woma at the Filmua Kukur Bagr Festival in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

In the United States, Mark is a founding member of the New York based jazz ensemble, Imaginary Homeland. He is co-artistic director of Jumbie Records (jumbierecords.com), a newly formed label dedicated to promoting and recording "New Traditions in World Music". In addition, Mark directs the Biakuye Unity Ensemble, performing at Festivals, Art Institutes, Universities, and Public Schools throughout Michigan.

Mark holds a Master's degree in Percussion Performance from the World Music Center of West Virginia University and a Bachelor's degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music. During the 1996-1997 academic year, he was the recipient of a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. As a Rotary Scholar, Mark researched traditional Ugandan music while attending music and language courses at Makerere University. His research in Ugandan music has been published in African Music, the Journal of the International Library of African Music in South Africa. Mark currently teaches at Oakland University where he directs the African Ensemble and Steel Band while teaching courses in music history.