Born and raised in England, Mark Bulmer developed an interest in music quite late in life. His early focus was on chess which he learned at just six years of age. For the next seven years, he won many adult tournaments and multi-board exhibition games and was expected to challenge for Masters levels while still a teenager.
At age thirteen he stopped playing chess altogether to concentrate on soccer. A prolific goalscorer at youth and academy level, his hopes of a professional career ended prematurely due to injury. So, he moved to the United States in 1989 to attend college and work in the fitness industry.
At the time, he had never even touched a piano. But, to deal with the frustration of surgery and rehabilitation, he began teaching himself the keyboard. Within weeks he had composed and memorized several original piano solos. The response was overwhelming and he began performing at weddings and restaurants all over Central Florida. After a number of performances at prestigious venues such as The Peabody, The Plaza, The Swan and Dolphin; Mark accepted a six night per week engagement at The Buena Vista Palace.
Over the next three years he completed more than 1000 performances of his original music to audiences from around the world. He also appeared at the Hotel Napoleon in Rome & The Bechstein Piano Hall in New York City.
His music focuses on providing new age, relaxing, ambient, sleep music, study music, meditation music and therapy music for people suffering from stress, anxiety and insomnia. After making a full-time return to the music industry in 2023, Mark has been focused on composing new music for content, scoring and soundtracks. A brand new album called Paradigm Shift was released in December 2023
He has been the subject of many articles including Jam magazine and he also appeared on the "Echoes" show by National Public Radio. PBS and other radio stations have continued broadcasting his original piano solo music over the years. Although most likened to George Winston, his personal music taste is very diverse and ranges from classical to progressive metal. His biggest influences are Mozart, Pink Floyd and early Elton John; Whereas his favorite bands are Tool, Opeth, Gojira.
To date, he has composed, recorded and produced four original piano solo albums. Images was released in 1996 and then remastered in November 2014. After the Storm, originally a 5 track demo tape, was remastered in April 2013 as a 20th Anniversary edition with 4 bonus tracks. A third original piano solo album entitled Kōan was released in January 2017. All three albums were remastered and re-released with all new cover art in 2023. His latest album of all new material Paradigm Shift was released in December 2023.
When not working on music, Mark still trains 6-7 days a week and enjoys shooting and mixed martial arts, particularly the UFC. His other love is comedy, having written humorous material and satire for various media. He also loves to travel, hike and is an avid reader, especially Roman History & Eastern Philosophy. He remained active in soccer as a Head Coach at high school, college and semi-pro levels until 2017.
