Mark N. Grant is a composer and writer. In 2006 he became the first composer to receive the Friedheim Award since the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award program ended in 1993. A pianist and organist, he has composed music for instruments and voice in all forms and is frequently his own librettist for his theater pieces. He is the author of two ASCAP-Deems Taylor award-winning books: Maestros of the Pen: A History of Classical Music Criticism in North America and The Rise and Fall of the Broadway Musical.

Mr. Grant has also written and lectured extensively on the legacies of the composers Percy Grainger and Kurt Weill. He is a frequent writer on musical and other cultural topics for various publications and has been a guest speaker at various venues and a commentator on radio programs and podcasts.