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Mark Prescott - Director of Music/Conductor
Mark Prescott was born in Madrid and is of Romany heritage. He was educated in Edinburgh where he studied the piano and cello. At age of 16 he made his conducting debut leading performances of Beethoven and Schubert with the Orchestre Jeunesse de Liege et Tournai following masterclasses with the Greek conductor Alexandre Myrat. A scholarship enabled him to study conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he had the opportunity to participate in masterclasses with Colin Davis, Mark Elder, and Rostropovich among others. Mark has conducted many professional and amateur orchestras in chamber, symphonic and operatic repertoire. These include the BBC Philharmonic, Orchesta Sinfonica de Galicia, City of London Sinfonia and Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra. He has collaborated with musicians such as Alison Balsom, George Benjamin and Angela Hewitt. 2024/5 will see him give concerts with a range of orchestras in the UK and Europe. Alongside symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Dvorak and Sibelius he will be performing a range of diverse and contemporary repertoire, including works by Augusta Holmes, Dobrinka Tabakova, John Woolrich, Florence Price, Grace Williams, Ruth Gipps and Elizabeth Maconchy.
Former conductor - Derek Williams
At the end of the 22/23 season, after 40 successful years at the helm, Derek Williams retired as Musical Director. Derek made a huge contribution to the Orchestra and to the musical life of the area. The Orchestra held a celebration concert in July 2023 to mark the event.