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Mark Damisch: Peaceful Pianist

Mark Damisch first played the organ at 4, performed his first piano concert three years later and orchestrated the first of three musical tours of Eastern and Western Europe in his teens. It makes sense, then, that in addition to a successful career as a personal injury lawyer, a stint as a corruption-busting prosecutor and three terms as mayor of Northbrook, Ill., Damisch (C78, L81, KSM86) returned to his music. For several summers over the past decade, Damisch, who overcame a slight case of stage fright in his return to the dais, and his family have performed classical concerts to promote peace and goodwill in parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Last August, Damisch and two of his daughters, Katherine and Alexandra, together known as K, K and A Productions, traveled to Germany and Austria to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the reunification of Germany. They are planning a return trip to Japan and China for 2011. “All I want to do is leave the world a little bit better than I found it,” Damisch says. — Kira Lerner (J11)Check out this Voice of America profile on Mark Damisch.