During his high school years he was Northeast Regional tennis champion for New England, and studied Mandarin Chinese through a State Department intensive language course, pursuits which he maintained throughout his life...
In 1992, he married Marguerite Serkin, and moved to Southern Vermont. He constructed their family home while teaching music at Bennington College, performing and recording in a wide spectrum of musical genres.
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Marguerite SERKIN one of four daughters of RUDOLF SERKIN and IRENE BUSCH (daughter of the great violinist & conductor, Adolph Busch); Peter Serkin her brother... Not a huge fan of Rudolf on record though his dedication to his teacher, MAX REGER, is admirable and... the Mazel / Malik connection to the Serkin family is interesting and seemingly unnoted?
Don't know his interest in classical but it'd be wild to learn he worked out on, say, Hindemith...