Mark Sparks

Mark Sparks is a former principal flutist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Born in 1960, he was raised in Cleveland and St. Louis, where he studied under former St. Louis Symphony principal flutist Jacob Berg and former St. Louis Symphony piccoloist Jan Gippo. Sparks graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Robert Hugh Willoughby. He began his career with the Canton Symphony Orchestra in Ohio and the Caracas Symphony in Venezuela. Prior to joining the St. Louis Symphony, Sparks held positions as Associate Principal Flute with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Principal Flute of the San Antonio Symphony, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Sparks is currently a teacher at DePaul School of Music and an artist-faculty member at the Aspen Music Festival and School.