Mark is a music graduate of King’s College, Cambridge where he sang in its famed Chapel Choir before becoming Musical Director of the 1983 Footlights Revue. The following year, aged just 23, he came straight to the West End as the MD of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (Wyndham’s) and never left! With well over 100 professional musical theatre credits to his name, he has musically directed Les Miserables (Palace), Sinatra (Palladium), Pacific Overtures (Donmar – 2004 Olivier for Outstanding Musical Production), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Shaftesbury), Metropolis (Piccadilly), Into the Woods (Donmar), Sweeney Todd (Holland Park Opera), The Rocky Horror Show (Royal Court – 50th Birthday Gala), Groucho: a Life in Revue (Comedy), Martin Smith’s King (Prince Edward), Fields of Ambrosia (Aldwych), Enter the Guardsman (Donmar) and Babes In Arms (Chichester). He also conducted Kiss Me Kate (Victoria Palace), Children of Eden (Prince Edward) and The Lion King (Lyceum). He was the Musical Supervisor for two world premieres of Stephen Sondheim musicals – Saturday Night (Bridewell and original cast album) and Evening Primrose (Sadler’s Wells) – and for the European premiere of Adam Guettel’s first musical Floyd Collins (Bridewell). Since 1990 he has been the MD of 18 productions for Discover the Lost Musicals, including Cole Porter’s Dubarry was a Lady which he conducted live with the BBC Concert Orchestra at His Majesty’s Theatre for broadcast on Radio 3. As conductor his varied and extensive recording credits range from the double-platinum Voices of the Valleys (the fastest-selling classical album ever) to the latest experimental album by Scott Walker: The Drift. He has worked with the London Sinfonietta, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the City of London Philharmonic and countless freelance studio orchestras. In his own studio, he records and produces both solo and cast albums for performers and composers of musical theatre. Mark is much in demand as an orchestrator and arranger. For the theatre he scored Hard Times (Theatre Royal, Haymarket), Nine (Donmar: London premiere), Nelson (Arundel Festival), Into the Woods (Donmar), Moll Flanders (Lyric, Hammersmith and original cast album) and Adrian Mole. He has orchestrated many scores for Carl Davis, including the BBC’s award-winning Pride and Prejudice, A Year in Provence, The Thatcher Years, Oliver’s Travels, The Queen’s Nose and Anne Frank Remembered (Oscar for Best Documentary Film 1995). Other television and film arrangements include the signature tunes to the hit sitcoms May to December and Watching, the TV drama Mr Pye, the film A Penny for your Dreams and the Omnibus documentary Mr. Abbott’s Broadway. He has composed incidental music for plays at the RSC (Three Hours After Marriage), Chichester Festival Theatre (School For Scandal) and the West End (The Rivals at the Albery Theatre). He is also a skilled synthesiser programmer, responsible for the keyboard sounds on many West End and touring shows including High School Musical, Hairspray, Porgy and Bess, Spamalot, The Producers, Fame, Riverdance, Our House and Sunday in the Park with George. At the Royal Academy of Music he has taught the craft of Musical Direction from the inception of the course in 2002.