Composer Mark Buller (1986-) is a composer "who knows how to imbue feelings with ample warmth, colour and tension that keep the ear immersed in his sonic worlds" (Gramophone) and whose "compelling" (BBC Music Magazine) works seek to challenge listeners and performers alike. Each piece Mark writes attempts to burrow beneath surface-level concerns to examine deep emotional spaces in a way which dialogues with the "classical" tradition.

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Mark has written for a wide array of performing forces: four operas commissioned by Houston Grand Opera; major choral works for Conspirare and Houston Chamber Choir; chamber music for such ensembles as Apollo Chamber Players, Atlanta Chamber Players, Voices of Change, and Boston Musica Viva; and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Fox Valley (WI) Symphony, ROCO (Houston), ECHorchestra, and others. He has been privileged to have his music championed by such conductors as Robert Spano, Mei-Ann Chen, Delyana Lazarova, Craig Hella Johnson, and Robert Simpson. His music has been performed around the world, from Carnegie Hall, Rothko Chapel and the Moscow Conservatory to more unusual venues, such as the Sydney Maritime Museum and art spaces in Germany, Taiwan, Colombia and Cyprus. Mark is proud to have collaborated with leading poets and librettists, including Leah Lax (Mass in Exile; Requiem in the Light; Overboard); Charles Anthony Silvestri (The Passion of St. Cecilia; four operas); and Euan Tait (The Blessed Virgin's Outcry; Missa amoris; Joy Song).

In 2025 the Austin-based choir Conspirare, under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson, recorded Advena: Liturgies for a Broken World, an album entirely of Mark's music, to texts by Leah Lax and Euan Tait. The album, which was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Choral Performance, received rave reviews from Fanfare ("strongly recommended"), Gramophone ("Buller employs voices and instruments with subtle skill"), Pizzicato, and Cathedral Music.

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Upcoming performances include Mass in Exile at Carnegie Hall, with the Cecilia Chorus of New York and Mark Shapiro; a violin sonata for Atlanta Chamber Players; a short chamber opera for Apollo Chamber Players; and several other chamber works and song cycles. Further upcoming works include a short Mass with poet Euan Tait, a Psalm setting for the Benin (Nigeria) chorale, and concerti for violin, piano and trumpet.

 

Mark’s music has been featured multiple times on Performance Today, reaching over a million listeners on over 230 stations. He is a Hermitage Artist Fellow, a Hambidge Fellow and an AIR Serenbe Seikilos Focus Fellow. Commercial recordings are available on the Divine Art and Alice labels. Mark's music is published by E.C. Schirmer, Hinshaw, and Mark Buller Music.

Originally from Maryland, Mark studied as a pianist before earning his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Houston, where he studied with Marcus Maroney and Rob Smith. Previous teachers include composers Dan Forrest and Joan Pinkston and pianist David Lehman. He currently teaches at Houston City College and runs the precollege composition program at AFA.