Sir Mark Elder
Musical Director
Sir Mark Elder was Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester from 2000 to 2024. He is currently its Conductor Emeritus. Since 2022, he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic. He previously held the positions of Music Director of the English National Opera (1979–1993) and of the Rochester Philharmonic, New York (1989–1994), as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Since September 2025, he has been Music Director of the Palau de les Arts. He conducts some of the world's leading orchestras: the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestra of Paris, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Berlin and London Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Boston, Chicago, and London Symphony Orchestras. He is a Principal Artist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, collaborates regularly with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and has conducted at the Proms for many years.
His presence is also a regular feature at major opera houses: Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera, and the Glyndebourne Festival. He has also been a guest at the Bayreuth Festival (where he was the first English conductor to lead a new production), Chicago, Munich, Amsterdam, Zurich, Geneva, Berlin, and the Bregenz and Aix-en-Provence Festivals. His recent engagements include Carmen in Paris; Benvenuto Cellini in Amsterdam; Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in San Francisco; Lohengrin, Peter Grimes, Aida, and La forza del destino at Covent Garden; Le prophète at the Aix-en-Provence Festival; and Samson et Dalila at the Metropolitan Opera.
Sir Mark Elder has recorded with the Hallé Orchestra (The Dream of Gerontius and the complete Ring cycle), the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Lohengrin), the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra, the Royal Opera House, and the English National Opera, with a repertoire ranging from Verdi, Strauss, and Wagner to contemporary music. He was also artistic director of the Opera Rara label, for which he recorded several bel canto works.
