Friday 8th December 2006
Mark Forkgen joins Tonbridge as Director of Music from a career as a professional conductor. After studying at Queens' College, Cambridge, he became Conducting Scholar at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
He is now the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of Kokoro (the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's contemporary music group), Music Director of the London Concert Choir and Canticum and Principal Conductor of Dorset Youth Orchestra. He has worked with a number of leading orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia and the English Chamber Orchestra, appearing at all the major venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall.
The opening concert in his new post was a triumph. He led the symphony orchestra through an excellent account of Schubert's difficult 'Unfinished' Symphony, followed by a rousing performance of Haydn's 'Nelson' Mass with the combined choral societies of Tonbridge School, Tonbridge Grammar School and Walthamstow Hall.
The performance of Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor is available here to listen to online. You can use the player below to listen to either the full performance in high quality if you have a fast internet connection, or a short extract in low quality if you are using dial-up. Alternatively you can download the high-quality MP3 (3.05 MB).