Mark Eager (born 17 March) is a London born

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and former

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) () is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both ...

Principal

Trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

. He lives in Chelsea and

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Biography

Eager graduated from the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

(1984), with Dip.RAM. He freelanced with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Concert Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia and others until joining the

as Principal Trombone (1993–2006). He undertook much concerto work until 2006 when the

Concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

2004 (commissioned by the BBC) written for him by

Alun Hoddinott Alun Hoddinott CBE (11 August 1929 – 12 March 2008) was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition. Life and works Hoddinott was born in Bargoed, Glamorganshire, Wales. He was educated at Gow ...

caused serious muscle damage, ending his playing career. In 1984 he was awarded the Silver Medal from the

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

of London and in 1998 Awarded Orchestral Recognition Award by the

International Trombone Association The International Trombone Association is the largest association of trombonists with 4,000 members from 74 countries. Formed in 1972, ITA is a registered non-profit organization. ITA undertakes numerous activities to further its mission: * prod ...

, along with

and

Christian Lindberg Christian Lindberg (born 15 February 1958) is a Swedish trombonist, conductor and composer. Biography Early life and career Lindberg was born in Danderyd. As a youth, he learned to play the trumpet, and subsequently began to learn the trombo ...

. In 2004 he was made an Associate of the

(ARAM).

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

During his years with BBC NOW, Eager performed and premiered several concerti for

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

and orchestra including: * 1995 world premiere recording: 'Concerto for Trombone and Ten Winds' by

Jean Francaix Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

. Conducted by

Adrian Leaper Adrian Leaper (born 1953) is an English conductor. Biography Leaper studied horn and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music and for eight years was co-principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra. He was Principal Conductor of the ''Orquesta ...

and broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. * 1997 'Trombone Concerto' by

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...

. Conducted b
Gregory Rose
with the

Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra ( or LVSO) is one of Lithuania's two national orchestras, founded in 1988. The other, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO, Lietuvos nacionalinis simfoninis orkestras) was founded in 1940.Jonath ...

. * 1998 BBC Commission for Eager: 'The Spindle of Necessity' by John Pickard. World Premiere

St Davids Cathedral St Davids Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral situated in St Davids, Britain's smallest city, in the county of Pembrokeshire, near the most westerly point of Wales. Early history Monastery of Saint David, Wales, A monastic community was ...

, Conducted by

Martyn Brabbins Martyn Charles Brabbins (born 13 August 1959) is a British conductor. Biography The fourth of five children in his family, he learned to play the euphonium, and then the trombone during his youth at Towcester Studio Brass Band. He later studi ...

and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. * 1999 'Sonata for Trombone and Piano' by

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

with Christopher Williams Piano. Recorded and broadcast on

BBC Choice BBC Choice was a British digital television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first United Kingdom, British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in Digital television, digital format, as well as t ...

. * 2001 'Fratres' by

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in p ...

. Performed as part of the

Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts The Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts is an annual The arts, arts festival that takes place in Swansea, Wales. The 2008 festival was its 60th anniversary. References Official Site
Mass media and culture in Swansea Festivals in Wales Cu ...

. Conducted by Petri Sakari and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. * 2002 'Fantasma Cantos II'

Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to: *TORU, spacecraft system *Tōru (given name), Japanese male given name *Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan *Tõru Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Es ...

. Conducted by

Tadaaki Otaka is a Japanese conductor. Biography Otaka was born in Kamakura, Japan on November 8, 1947. He studied composition, theory, and French horn, at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Chōfu. He was subsequently a conducting student of Hideo Saito ...

and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. * 2004 BBC Commission for Eager 'Trombone Concerto'

. World Premiere

Theatr Brycheiniog Theatr Brycheiniog is an arts venue in Brecon, Powys, Wales. Location Theatr Brycheiniog is located close to the centre of Brecon, on Canal Wharf fronting the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. Facilities The complex comprises an 477-seater c ...

, Brecon. Conducted by

Grant Llewellyn Grant Llewellyn (born 29 December 1960) is a Welsh conductor and music director of the Orchestre National de Bretagne. Biography Llewellyn was born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He began developing his conducting reputation in 1985, when ...

and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Conducting career

In 2005 Eager was awarded a scholarship to the Orkney Conducting course with Martyn Brabbins, which brought him into a conducting career. He is currently: *Principal Conductor and Artistic Director - The

Welsh Sinfonia The Welsh Sinfonia is a professional chamber orchestra based in Cardiff and is a full member of the Association of British Orchestras. It employs between 15 and 35 musicians, led by Robin Stowell. The Principal Conductor and Artistic Director is ...

. Appointed 2006. *Principal Conductor - Cardiff University Symphony Orchestra. Appointed 2008-2022.

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

Eager is a conductor at the

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

. Appointed 1994.

Trinity College London

Eager is an advisor, clinician and senior music examiner for

Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom which offers graded and diploma qualifications across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and teaching. Trinity Colleg ...

and was appointed 2005.

Magazine articles

2006 – Eager was the subject of a major feature in

Classical Music Magazine ''Classical Music'' is a trade magazine for the classical music industry. It co-sponsors the annual Association of British Orchestras, ABO/Rhinegold Awards for backstage work in music, held for the first time in January 2012, and has a network of ...

.Starting Over
. ''Classical Music Magazine'', 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 2010 – The

produced a CD of four

concerti A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ty ...

performed by Eager and the

including the world premieres of John Pickard 'The Spindle of Necessity' 1998,

'Concerto' 2004 and the premier recording of

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (pronunciation Fran-say or Fran-seks) was born on 23 May 1912, in Le Mans and died in 25 September 1997, in Paris). Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator known for his prolific outp ...

'Concerto for Trombone and Ten Winds' 1995. Internationally distributed as a complimentary disc with the ITA magazine.

References

External links

Mark Eager
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eager, Mark English conductors (music) 1962 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British male conductors (music) 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians