Where tech and music merge with the literary, Crane alum delivers impact
Marc Schonbrun '00 came for the music—and stayed for the plot twists that would throw in a literary career and finally land him in key software technology management roles for Apple.
Looking back on his trajectory since graduating from The Crane School of Music, Schonbrun remembers a delicate web of events that were impossible to foresee and for which he just had to be grateful—as if they were pulled into place by invisible hands.
An improbable phone call set his entire career and creative arc in motion.
“When I left Crane, I assumed that my life path was set and that I’d perform and teach music—and that was that,” Schonbrun recalled. “About six months after I graduated, I got a call from a literary agent who knew my guitar professor, Dr. Douglas Rubio, about writing a book on guitar. Since the book was aimed at the mass market rock and blues musician, Dr. Rubio had recommended me.”
“I am so grateful to Crane and SUNY Potsdam for setting me up to be successful and teaching me the formative skills to thrive outside of the university. I look back on that time now with warmth and gratitude, as those were some of the best times of my life.”
While the guitar had engulfed his creative life, some aspects of music had not come easily to Schonbrun, and he had never penned anything more than a term paper. The concept of writing a book was a daunting request.
“I gave it a shot and with a lot of support from a very patient editor, I got the book done ahead of schedule,” he said. “And I really enjoyed the process of writing and educating at a larger scale. The book immediately sold well, and they asked me to write another. And another. And before I knew it, I was writing every day and churning out books.”
One of the works was “The Everything Home Recording Book,” a guide to setting up a home studio. His research for the manuscript introduced Schonbrun to music software companies and the software development lifecycle, initiating connections that would prove vital down the line.
“I ended up testing a lot of software and being part of feature ideas as an expert user. Doing this work created deep connections and friendships with these companies and many of these people had deep industry ties,” Schonbrun said. “One such connection knew someone who worked at Apple and in an unrelated turn of events, someone else at Apple read my book, really liked it and asked for more copies to be sent over.”
Leveraging his newfound network, Schonbrun landed a successful job interview with Apple, left behind a career as a professional musician and teacher in New York City and moved to California in 2008. Even as his career evolved into senior software engineering management roles, he continued to find time to write, producing more than a dozen books, several self-published works, two video courses and numerous magazine articles.
Among the books are “The Only Guitar Book You’ll Ever Need,” “The Everything Guitar Scales Book, 2nd Edition,” “The Everything Music Theory Book, 3rd Edition” and “The Everything Rock & Blues Guitar Book.”
Schonbrun consistently strove for and reached the manageable but significant goal of writing 5,000 words each week.
“That same approach works in every facet of my life, so I use it often,” he said. “Small measurable goals and hold yourself accountable to hitting those goals. And don’t give up.”
Schonbrun currently works on Health Software at Apple. In earlier work, he contributed to iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Health, and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning including Siri and Autonomous systems.
“The impact of Apple Watch and Health is really meaningful to me, knowing that something I worked on enabled someone to live a better life and in many cases, saved their life,” Schonbrun said. “I feel so fortunate to have my work impact so many fellow humans. It’s humbling and something I think about often. It’s also a tremendous responsibility and one that I take very seriously.”
“It is the honor of working with amazing people on incredibly hard problems,” he added. “Throughout my time at Apple, it’s always been about the people and the joy of solving new and novel problems. No day is ever the same, and I feel really lucky to be here.”
Music in the house
Schonbrun grew up on Long Island in a home filled with music from an upright piano and a radio that was always playing. As a youngster, he picked up different instruments, tried them, and none of them stuck. Entering his teens, he found the guitar, and something shifted tectonically. Up to that point, he had been interested in computers, but the allure of the guitar entirely eclipsed them—tech and music would converge only much later. Accepted to SUNY Potsdam and The Crane School of Music, he found a watershed of like-minded people where his passion for the strings had full rein.
Still, the road wasn’t an easy one. Like many guitarists, Schonbrun struggled to read music fluently and spent his first year remediating that deficit so he could thrive and compete in Crane’s guitar studio. Once his tools were sharp, a world opened.
“I eventually got deeply into jazz and found my voice as a musician,” he recalled. “I also learned how to be part of a group and not just think so much about being a soloist, which is something that I take with me every day. The ‘life is a group sport’ mentality really took hold while at Crane, and it’s something that has shaped how I think every day.”
Ultimately, Crane taught Schonbrun to think critically about music, and this led to a habit of critical thinking more broadly.
“When I look at the throughline from Crane to Apple, it’s really about this and being able to thrive in ambiguity—both of those were seeded at Crane and flourished after,” he said.
Music remains the soundtrack of Schonbrun’s life. He plays daily, and his participation in live performances and a weekly guitar ensemble keeps him grounded in the art. He continues to take and teach guitar lessons and has recently started seriously studying piano. Marc also serves on the board of the Carmel Guitar Society and is heavily invested in expanding the guitar's reach into the community. His love of music has passed to his son who is learning bass and is a voracious listener of all styles of music. Marc lives on the Central California coast with his wife, son and their dog Jack.
Decades after his graduation, he remains part of Crane’s tight community. He keeps in touch with faculty whom he considers dear friends and connects with peers, some of whom attended his wedding and remain among his most cherished relationships despite the distance.
“A group of us talk all the time,” he said. “I just met my closest friend from Crane at Carnegie Hall recently to see a concert by one of my heroes, Pat Metheny. These are lifelong connections. I haven’t been back to Potsdam in quite some time and would cherish the opportunity to do so again in the future.”
“I am so grateful to Crane and SUNY Potsdam for setting me up to be successful and teaching me the formative skills to thrive outside of the university,” Schonbrun said. “I look back on that time now with warmth and gratitude, as those were some of the best times of my life.”
Article by Bret Yager, Photos by Rachel Maxfield