When Mark G. Meadows walks onstage as music director for Tony Award–winning actress Cynthia Erivo, he’s responsible for every detail the audience never sees, but always feels.
Long before national stages, attention to musical chemistry was formed in a Dallas ISD classroom.Back then, Meadows spent much of his time practicing piano as a student at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. While several teachers there shaped Meadows as a musician, it’s the memories he made with his peers that stand out most.
He remembers freestyle rapping in class with his friend, Marc Rebillet and playing in jazz combos with his late friend, James Kings.
“I remember the excitement on our faces when we caught that same beat together,” he said. “We’d be crying, laughing so hard at how in sync we were. Connecting with other musicians made me fall in love with it.”
Being surrounded by talented, like-minded peers at Booker T. pushed Meadows to be his best, but it also made him question if music could be a sustainable career for him.
“I saw so many amazing musicians who weren’t doing great financially and thought, ‘If I could be as good as him and still broke, this ain’t for me,’” he said.
After graduating high school, Meadows enrolled at Johns Hopkins University to study psychology. Still, music never fully left his life. While at Johns Hopkins, Meadows continued playing in jazz combos at the Peabody Conservatory. Eventually, he was offered the opportunity to pursue a degree there as well, graduating with dual degrees in psychology from Johns Hopkins and jazz piano from Peabody.
From there, Meadows played gigs across the country, started his own band, and eventually found his way into musical theatre. In 2019, Meadows served as an in-house music director at Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C. It was there he played with Cynthia Erivo for the first time.
“We played ‘Summertime’ and a Sondheim song,” Meadows said.
Meadows recalls the musical chemistry between him and Erivo as immediate.“I knew what she wanted musically, and she sang the way I heard a singer in my head,” he said. “It felt like we’d been playing together our whole lives; it was just that easy.”
“It’s all of the fine details that make or break a show,” he said. “I know what she wants, and she knows that I know what she wants. She trusts me, and that trust is incredible.”
Throughout his career, Meadows collaborated with other world-renowned artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Usher, and Kendrick Lamar. Despite the span of his success, he remains closely connected to where it all began.
“The longer I’m away from Booker T., the more I realize what an impact it had on my life and career,” he said. “Shout out to Booker T.”
Looking back on his journey, Meadows hopes his legacy, both at his alma mater and beyond, is one rooted in positivity and connection.
“It’s kind of what my mantra has always been,” he said. “I think I’ve done that, and I think I’m doing that.”
For current students interested in pursuing a career in the arts, Meadows says it’s more than just being the best talent-wise.
“Be a person people want to have in the room,” he said. “It’s about your attitude, your spirit, your energy, how you collaborate and how you show up.”If you’re interested in making your artistic dreams a reality, apply today at dallasisd.org/discover.
