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Peter Mark (born 31 October 1940,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
) is an American violist,
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 ...
, opera teacher, and the Artistic Director Emeritus of the
Virginia Opera Virginia Opera is an opera company based in the Commonwealth of Virginia which was first organized in 1974 by a group of Norfolk, Virginia community volunteers. In September 1974, Thomas A. Lipton was engaged to produce a fully professional pro ...
, where he served as General and Artistic Director from 1975 to 2010.


Career

As a child Mark performed as a
boy soprano A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with a voice in the soprano range, a range that is often still called the treble voice range (in North America too) no m ...
at the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
Children’s Chorus and in 1955 took on the role of Shepherd Boy in a production of
Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
by Dino Yannopoulos. He later attended
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
from 1956 to 1961. Consecutive with his senior year at Columbia, he enrolled at The Juilliard School of Music (1960-1965) studying first as a violin pupil of
Joseph Fuchs Joseph Philip Fuchs (April 26, 1899 or 1900 – March 14, 1997) was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs. Born in New York, he graduated in 1918 from the Institute of Mu ...
and then as a viola pupil of
Walter Trampler Walter Trampler (August 25, 1915 – September 27, 1997) was a German musician and teacher of the viola and viola d'amore. Born in Munich, he was given his first lessons at age six by his violinist father. While still in his youth, he played well ...
. He served as the Principal Violist of the Juilliard Orchestra under Jean Morel from 1960 to 1963. The year before leaving Juilliard, Mark was appointed as Principal Violist of the
Chicago Lyric Opera Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included ...
in their 1964 and 1966 seasons. During this period he was recruited to teach viola and opera at the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
, Santa Barbara (1965-1992). There he first met the Scottish composer, fellow professor and wife-to-be,
Thea Musgrave Thea Musgrave Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972. Biography Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Barnton, Edinburgh, Mus ...
who was teaching as Guest Professor. Whilst there, she wrote her viola and cello duet
Elegy
' for Peter Mark. While taking a year-long sabbatical from his professorship, Mark became Assistant Principal Violist at the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
(1968-9). Mark married Musgrave in 1971. In 1973, Musgrave wrote her
Viola Concerto
'(1973) for him, which Mark premiered at the
BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...
that year with the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) () is a Scottish orchestra, based in Glasgow. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland’s ...
and Musgrave conducting. Spending more and more time in the UK and Europe, Mark took up a teaching position in the newly-merged
Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
in
Manchester, UK Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
(1974-75). In 1975 Mark returned with his wife to America where he served as conductor, Artistic and General Director of the Virginia Opera. Over thirty-five years in the role, Mark gave over 700 performances of 110 different productions including the US premiere of Musgrave’s seminal opera
Mary, Queen of Scots
' in 1977 and the world premiere her fifth opera
A Christmas Carol
'(1979) which was commissioned by the house. Mark conducted the forces of the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
at
Sadler’s Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...
in the European premiere of the work, which was later broadcast by
Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend Television was its ...
. Since 2013, Mark has worked as an opera coach working predominantly with North and South American singers in Los Angeles and New York City.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark, Peter Juilliard School alumni 1940 births Living people American male conductors (music) American classical violists Columbia University alumni University of California, Santa Barbara faculty Academics of the Royal Northern College of Music Players of the Los Angeles Philharmonic