Our story
Founded in 2021, ArtBeat is a multi-instrumental duo formed by Mark Morton and Grace Marín, a pair of versatile musicians with distinguished international careers as soloists and chamber performers. Their artistic approach uniquely blends violin and double bass, enriched with keyboard, guitar, and voice, allowing them to explore a wide range of sonic and stylistic possibilities. ArtBeat’s repertoire spans Latin, Celtic, Baroque, and ragtime music, as well as pop, easy listening, film soundtracks, and more. This diversity turns every performance into a vibrant musical journey full of color, surprise, and connection with the audience.
In addition to their work as performers, the duo is actively engaged in music education, offering masterclasses, workshops, and lectures in the communities they visit. They have shared their music and knowledge on stages across the United States, Europe, and Latin America, including the 5th Naolinco International Music Festival (Veracruz, Mexico), University of Costa Rica, Astor Piazzolla Superior Conservatory of Music (Buenos Aires, Argentina), TEDx Texas Tech (Lubbock, USA), Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain), and the 39th Sierra Musical Festival (Madrid, Spain).
Among their upcoming international appearances are performances at the 10th Biarritz International Music Festival (France) and the 2025–2026 season of the Promenade Series at Cypress Creek (Houston, USA). With a proposal that balances artistry, entertainment, and education, ArtBeat transforms every stage into a deeply enriching musical experience.
"We don’t play “classical music concerts”, but include classical music in our concerts!"
Members
Perfect harmony
Dr. Grace Marín Aguilar
Violin
She is a distinguished Costa Rican-Spanish violinist and a current member of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (Texas, USA). Her career as a soloist and chamber musician has taken her to perform at the most important theaters and festivals in Costa Rica, as well as in various countries across Latin America and Europe. She is a member of Syntagma Musicum, an ensemble specializing in Baroque and Latin American colonial period music, with which she has recorded two albums and received Costa Rica’s National Chamber Music Award in 2013. She has served as concertmaster and soloist with several orchestras in Spain and Costa Rica, and in 2017 she performed the world premiere of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by composer Pilar Aguilar, alongside the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Costa Rica. With a strong commitment to education, she has taught violin at the National Music Institute and the University of Costa Rica. From 2021 to 2025, she served as a violin instructor and taught the Music of Latin America course at Texas Tech University, where she also completed her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree. She earned her bachelor's degree from the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg-Augsburg (Germany) and obtained a master’s degree in Musical Creation and Performance at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid.
Dr. Mark Morton
Double bass, Guitar, Keyboard and Voice
Dr. Mark Morton is Professor of Double Bass at Texas Tech University. He was principal bass of the Columbus (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra, in which he was a member for 23 years. He is currently principal bass of the Lubbock, Abilene, and Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestras. First-prize winner of the 1990 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition, Morton has soloed in Europe, South America, Central America, Canada, Taiwan, and the U.S. Earning his Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees from the Juilliard School, Dr. Morton is only the second bassist to earn the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the history of Juilliard. A multi-instrumentalist since a teenager, Morton has performed as piano soloist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. His Albany Records CD, Bottesini Greatest Hits, features Morton accompanying himself on piano, for which American Record Review says, “Mark Morton is a fine player on both instruments, and the music is lovely…” His newly acquired skills as vocalist and guitarist can be enjoyed in his numerous Beatle cover videos on The DrMarkMorton YouTube Channel in which he sings and plays all the parts.
