music director and principal conductor
Mark HeronThe LMO is delighted to announce Mark Heron's continuing tenure as Music Director of the orchestra for the 2007-2008 Season. Mark first conducted LMO concerts in November 2003 and May 2005 and has worked with the orchestra in rehearsal on other occasions. He directed the orchestra's successful 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 Seasons.
Mark Heron studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama and the Royal Northern College of Music. Following a successful chamber music career and freelance work with many of the UK’s professional symphony orchestras, Mark undertook conducting studies at the RNCM, where he is now on the staff.
His diverse musical interests have resulted in an unusually wide range of work: symphony, chamber and wind orchestras, contemporary music and opera all feature regularly in his schedule. Mark works regularly in Finland with the Pori Sinfonietta. Other overseas orchestras he has worked with recently include the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Pärnu City Orchestra, St Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra and Kaiserslautern Symphony Orchestra.
In the UK, in addition to his work at the RNCM, Mark is the Music Director of the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra and the Manchester University Symphony Orchestra. Future engagements include the Nottingham Philharmonic, Wilmslow Symphony and New Bristol Sinfonia.
He was the conductor of the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Israel in 2004 and 2005, and works with various orchestras and ensembles at the Royal Northern College of Music, particularly the RNCM Wind Orchestra with whom he has recorded and performed regularly.
In June 2006 Mark conducted the London Symphony Orchestra as one of three young conductors selected by the orchestra for their mentoring programme with Sir Colin Davis. The previous year he was awarded first prize in the Neeme Järvi conducting competition, held in Estonia.
Mark has a strong interest in contemporary music. He has led several commissioning projects involving composers from the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Finland and United States and has literally dozens of world, European and UK premieres to his name. In April 2006 he conducted the European premiere of leading American composer Daron Hagen’s opera, Bandanna.
Alongside his conducting engagements, Mark teaches conducting for the RNCM, University of Manchester and the Royal Air Force.