Audiences Unlimited is thrilled to introduce our newest performing artist extraordinaire. Meet Mark Eisemann, a one-man show and longtime professional entertainer. A New York native, Mark and his wife have recently relocated to the Fort Wayne area to be near family and pursue a change of pace in daily life.

Mark has found all that and more in Northeast Indiana, and we at AUI are lucky to have him! No stranger to the stage, Mark toured the country, including Las Vegas, on guitar, vocals, and trombone with several bands. Settling back in New York in the mid 1980s, he made a good name doing studio recording work, both as a musician/vocalist and arranger/producer for sessions of all kinds. Mark has also performed for over 2,000 weddings, dinner dances and private parties, expanding his repertoire to sing over 700 songs and play hundreds more.

Around 1997, Mark began entertaining at high-end senior living facilities in New York City and Long Island, including the famous Long Island State Veterans Home. When he played for the dementia ward at the veteran’s homes in particular, Mark could see the visible impact of his performances on the residents.

“Some of the guys were completely nonverbal and totally checked out. It’s like they weren’t even there,” he said. That is, until Mark performed a song they might have heard before shipping out on deployment to World War II, Korea, or Vietnam. “The song would awaken something deep within, and a light would go on in their eyes,” he said. “They would start singing along. Seeing that goes right to your heart. You see the reaction you get from these folks, and it’s just incredible for them to hear songs they grew up with, tapping their toes,” he said. “I see them wanting to dance, so I tell them if they can’t stand, they can dance right there in their chairs.”

Mark’s styles span several decades and include standards of the 1930s through the 1950s, along with 60’s and 70’s oldies and classic rock, pop hits, R&B, Motown, beach party music, country, and even disco. Mark also plays classical music. In fact, he toured Italy with the Rome Symphony Orchestra as first trombone at age 18. “We were playing Vivaldi, Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Schubert, Beethoven, all this amazing music, echoing through these ancient basilicas of Rome. It was an astonishing experience!”

And while performing for unreached audiences is not new to Mark, he says that it never gets old. “It’s second nature, like breathing,” he said. “I live music.” Creating backup tracks in his home studio allows Mark to bring a whole orchestra or band of any size, including backup harmony vocals, to his performances.

To get a taste of Mark’s music, visit his website at www.markeisemann.com. Click on My Music, scroll down to “My vocal and guitar styles” and click on the links to tracks he’s recorded, showcasing him singing his impersonations of many great singers.

And while he’s available for booking private events in the area, Mark will always be performing for unreached audiences as well. “I love every minute of it,” he says.