Mark Boerebach
Encyclopedia
Mark Boerebach is a savant
, able to recall Australian music chart top hits from the 1970s and 1980s.
as a child. Prior to entering school, he underwent a series of operations which restored 20% of his eyesight, although he is blind in one eye. His condition made it difficult for him to socialize at school, but despite the difficulties he encountered, Boerebach has completed five TAFE
music business courses. He lives in Sydney
, Australia
.
station called 2PR FM based in Sydney which plays continuous 1970s and 1980s pop music
.
He has been described as having the ability to instantaneously list all the songs on a particular chart from any given week in the 1980s and is able to recall roughly 15 years of Australian music chart top hits, an ability that has been reported as one result of his Asperger syndrome. One of Boerebach's teachers at TAFE, Russell Kilby, contacted him after reading about him in local papers, and encouraged him to try out for the RocKwiz television show. Fellow students helped raise funds for the trip to Melbourne to try out for the show, and after passing the public eliminations at St Kilda's Espy, and meeting with Glenn Baker, the three-time winner of the BBC's Rock Brain of the Universe, he appeared on the television game-show "RocKwiz
". A documentary of his preparations for and appearance on the game show was aired under the name Rainman goes to RocKwiz and was shown at the Anchorage International Film Festival in 2010. In 2011, the documentary won an Aloha Accolade at the Hololulu Films Awards.
Savant syndrome
Savant syndrome , sometimes referred to as savantism, is a rare condition in which people with developmental disorders have one or more areas of expertise, ability, or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations...
, able to recall Australian music chart top hits from the 1970s and 1980s.
Personal life
Boerebach was born blind and diagnosed with Asperger syndromeAsperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
as a child. Prior to entering school, he underwent a series of operations which restored 20% of his eyesight, although he is blind in one eye. His condition made it difficult for him to socialize at school, but despite the difficulties he encountered, Boerebach has completed five TAFE
Technical and Further Education
In Australia, training and further education or TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational tertiary education courses, mostly qualifying courses under the National Training System/Australian Qualifications Framework/Australian Quality Training Framework...
music business courses. He lives in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Career
Boerebach founded an internet radioInternet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
station called 2PR FM based in Sydney which plays continuous 1970s and 1980s pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
He has been described as having the ability to instantaneously list all the songs on a particular chart from any given week in the 1980s and is able to recall roughly 15 years of Australian music chart top hits, an ability that has been reported as one result of his Asperger syndrome. One of Boerebach's teachers at TAFE, Russell Kilby, contacted him after reading about him in local papers, and encouraged him to try out for the RocKwiz television show. Fellow students helped raise funds for the trip to Melbourne to try out for the show, and after passing the public eliminations at St Kilda's Espy, and meeting with Glenn Baker, the three-time winner of the BBC's Rock Brain of the Universe, he appeared on the television game-show "RocKwiz
RocKwiz
RocKwiz is an Australian television quiz show series, focused on rock music, and broadcast on SBS One. It premiered in 2005.-Summary:The forty minute program airs on Saturday at 9:20 pm, and is hosted by Julia Zemiro. It is shot in The Gershwin Room at St Kilda's Esplanade Hotel, commonly...
". A documentary of his preparations for and appearance on the game show was aired under the name Rainman goes to RocKwiz and was shown at the Anchorage International Film Festival in 2010. In 2011, the documentary won an Aloha Accolade at the Hololulu Films Awards.