Guest Conductors

Mark Heron

Mark Heron studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama and the Royal Northern College of Music. Following a successful chamber music career with the Nemo Brass Quintet and freelance work with many of the UK’s professional symphony orchestras, Mark undertook conducting studies at the RNCM with Baldur Bronniman, Timothy Reynish and Clark Rundell. He has also worked intensively in international masterclasses with Neeme Järvi and Jorma Panula.
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 with the Pori Sinfonietta in Finland, whom he first conducted in 2002. Other orchestras he has worked with recently include the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Pärnu City Orchestra, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz and Kaiserslautern Symphony Orchestra.
In the UK Mark is the Music Director of the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra and regularly works with the Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra, Blackburn Symphony Orchestra, Bolton Sinfonietta and North Cheshire Wind Orchestra.
He is the principal conductor of the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Israel, and works with various orchestras and ensembles at the Royal Northern College of Music, particularly within the opera and contemporary music departments, and Manchester University.
Future plans include further work in Finland, Germany and Israel, a debut with Krisitiansand Symphony Orchestra in Norway and the European premiere of Daron Hagen’s opera, Bandanna.
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 over 20 world, European and UK premieres to his name. In March 2005 he conducted the inaugural concert of a new professional wind orchestra in Finland in a programme which comprised 5 world premieres by major Finnish and British composers.
Alongside his conducting engagements, Mark writes regularly for a variety of musical journals and websites and teaches conducting privately, on short courses, and for the Royal Air Force.

2006 Sale Chamber Orchestra