Mark Simpson

Simpson performs worldwide as a clarinettist, both as a concerto soloist and chamber musician. Recent concerto highlights include the World Premiere of his own Clarinet Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic at the Bridgewater Hall, the Lindberg Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic at the BBC Proms, the Nielsen Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has also appeared with orchestras including the Mozarteum Salzburg, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Royal Northern Sinfonia, collaborating with conductors including Martyn Brabbins, Baldur Brönnimann, Sir Andrew Davis, Ben Gernon, HK Gruber, Cristian Măcelaru, Juanjo Mena, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo, Vasily Petrenko, Clemens Schuldt and Yan Pascal Tortelier. In 2015, Simpson was appointed Composer in Association at the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, a creative partnership that is in place for a period of four years.

As a recitalist and chamber musician, he regularly performs at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cologne Philharmonie, as well as at festivals including Salzburg, Edinburgh International, Aldeburgh, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, BeethovenFest and Reykjavik Midsummer Music, with premieres of works by Simon Holt, Jonathan Harvey and Edmund Finnis. His regular chamber partners include Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Isabelle Faust, Danielle de Niese, Vikingur Olafsson, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Antoine Tamestit. Recent chamber highlights have included an Artist Residency at Lammermuir Festival, a BBC Radio 3 Chamber Weekend at Saffron Hall curated by Simpson, and a play/direct performance with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s Ensemble 10/10, all of which included Simpson’s own compositions.

As a composer Simpson’s most recent composition is his Violin Concerto which premieres in April 2022 and is performed by Nicola Benedetti with the London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda. His recent Clarinet Concerto (2019) was discussed in a feature with BBC Music Magazine, giving a glimpse into the creative and psychological processes of writing new music: “It’s dark. It’s like a dark, deep expressive thing. It’s there, and I don’t know what it is, but it cries out with pain. That’s the emotional rawness I need before I even get going”. His Cello Concerto (2018), premiered by Leonard Elschenbroich with the BBC Philharmonic and Clemens Schuldt, was rapturously received and The Immortal (2015), an oratorio for baritone, chorus and symphony orchestra, was premiered by the BBC Philharmonic and Mena at the Manchester International Festival, with support from Sky Arts Futures Fund and IdeasTap. In July 2016 The Immortal won the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Classical Music and in spring 2019, the work received its North American premiere with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Mena.

Other orchestral works include Israfel (2014), premiered by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Litton, sparks (2012), commissioned for the Last Night of the BBC Proms and A mirror-fragment… (2008), written for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Previous composing highlights include the premiere of Simpson’s first opera Pleasure, with a libretto by Melanie Challenger, commissioned by Opera North, the Royal Opera and Aldeburgh Music with performances in Leeds, Liverpool, Aldeburgh and London. Simpson’s trio for clarinet, piano and viola Hommage à Kurtág was commissioned by the Salzburg and Edinburgh International Festivals and in 2016 he gave the online premiere of Darkness Moves for solo clarinet, commissioned by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust.

Born in Liverpool in 1988, Simpson became the first ever winner of both the BBC Young Musician of the Year and BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer of the Year competitions in 2006. He went on to read Music at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, graduating with first class honours, and studied composition with Julian Anderson at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama before being selected for representation by the Young Classical Artists Trust. Simpson was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2012-2014. He received a Borletti-Butoni Trust Fellowship in 2014 and the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Award in 2010, and is a Visiting Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.

Simpson’s first disc on NMC, Prism, featured him as performer; the second disc for NMC was released in 2016, featuring his own chamber and ensemble works including Night Music, a cello and piano piece written for Elschenbroich and premiered at the Wigmore Hall.

Mark Simpson's compositions are published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Mark plays on Peter Eaton International model clarinets since April 2004.

2020-21 season / 770 words. Not to be edited without permission.

Intermusica represents Mark Simpson worldwide.