Mark Hiebert grew up in Tullahoma, Tennessee, “down yonder a piece” from the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg.

His father was the organist at his church, and his mother would make him sit in the choir loft to watch piano and organ so he wouldn’t cause trouble in the pews. Mark started piano lessons at the age of six, and started playing clarinet in the sixth grade. After hearing his first Charlie Parker record later that year, Mark switched to the saxophone. Within a year, he started playing in the local playhouse pit orchestras, and the community dance band: “South Jackson Street Band.”

After graduating high school, Mark moved away from his home in the South and came to the Windy City. He is currently a Music Education student at DePaul University, and has played in several bands at venues including the Green Mill, Navy Pier, the Harold Washington Library, and the Four Seasons hotel. Mark started playing in World Class Noise in July of 2008 and is proud to play the bari sax with the Tough Love Horn Section.