Mark Walton

Mark Walton (born 1957) is a New Zealand clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and musical educator. Early years Walton was born in Christchurch, growing up in a household with no car, no television nor phone for a time. His early education was at Linwood North School before later attending the Christchurch School of Music. Walton continued clarinet studies in New York and London from 1975 to 1984, and, after a brief spell back in New Zealand, he left for Sydney, Australia, in 1985. Music career Walton was Chair of Woodwind at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for several years before being appointed Chair of Performance, Outreach and Communications there, posts he held for nearly 20 years until 2006. By 2009, Walton was doing double duty between being the Musical Director of the Christchurch School of Music in New Zealand, and continuing to hold events and workshops for woodwind musicians across Australia.