Skylar Marks, age 15

Skylar Marks is a fifteen-year-old singer/songwriter. She is currently working on recording her fourth CD. She writes, sings, plays piano, guitar, and drums, as well as creates and edits her own videos.

Skylar Marks was born on August 19th,1996 in northern California. Her paternal grandmother was Peggy Weksler Marks. Peggy was a child prodigy violinist who played solo at Carnegie Hall when she was ten, and six years later, graduated from Juilliard. Skylar's father, Gary Marks, is a critically acclaimed songwriter and novelist. Her mother, Theresa Marks, is an artist and author. Skylar is the oldest of three children.

As a toddler Skylar loved to sing and watch people play. A folk guitarist once remarked, after two-year-old Sky had watched her up close at a live gig for an hour straight, "She's studying my finger patterns. She is trying to figure out how this thing makes music." By this age Skylar also loved to watch her father sing and compose, and would often inspire him to create spontaneous compositions while she danced to them.

At the age of six, Skylar began playing piano and singing with no lessons. Instead, she would ask her father questions from time to time, and he would show her only what she asked of him. She often would respond, "That's too hard," to his explanation. But her father would just say, "Well then don't worry about it," and walk away. The next day Skylar would be at the piano, working out the previous "lesson." At age seven Skylar began to write her own songs. The songs were profoundly deep and touching, often moving adults to tears when they first heard them.

When she was first studying piano, Skylar learned to play a few songs from the play, "Annie." Then came her father's songs, usually learned in a few hours at most, despite the complexities of the chords and rhythms. She rarely forgot the chord patterns he showed her even though she didn't know their names. Then she learned dozens of Beatles songs by ear, followed by Elton John, Chaka Kahn, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, and John Ondrasik. She also began to play guitar. By the time she was eight, Skylar could play almost anything she heard and liked on either guitar or piano. Her tastes and repertoire expanded as she choose for herself how to grow as a musician.

Skylar's first CD, "Sky Writing," was recorded at eight years old. She wrote all the songs, sang all the vocal parts, and played all the instruments -- as she has done on all of her CDs since. She recorded the entire five song CD in single takes. She and her younger sister played their first live concert later that year as well, when Skylar was just nine, wowing a crowd of over a thousand people with their guitar playing and singing.

By the time Skylar was ten, she had written and recorded her second CD, "Running Home." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuswGUNjQss

In early 2009, Skylar finished her third CD "Walking with the Wind," consisting of nine new compositions. It includes Skylar playing a wild harmonica solo on the title track.

Skylar is currently learning drums. She has also learned to record herself on Garageband and Logic.

Skylar's lyrics cover topics such as the environment, world peace, love for nature, spirituality, hope, friends and family.

She has performed on a number of occasions in northern California, New Mexico, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Hawaii, and Toronto. (One of the songs on her latest CD is live from one of these performances.)

Skylar has also written three novels. In addition, she enjoys Taekwondo, acting, photography, art, making videos, dancing, and comedy. Her younger siblings both play instruments and sing, so there is often collaboration and sharing of ideas in the family.

Skylar shares profits from sales of her first two CDs with charitable organizations.