Mark Churchill
Cello; Dean, Division of Preparatory and Continuing Education
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Educator, conductor, and cellist Mark Churchill is Dean New England Conservatory’s Division of Preparatory and Continuing Education, which is known as one of the best of its kind in the nation, emphasizing serious, professional training for the pre-college student in addition to numerous community based programs and local, national, and international partnerships. He is an active advocate for the improvement and expansion of music education programs in American schools and oversees the development of new music education curricula and music teacher training programs through New England Conservatory’s Research Center for Learning Through Music. He is the founder and vice president of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, established in 2002, which draws gifted young musicians from throughout North and South America. For eleven years he served as Resident Conductor and Faculty Chairman of the Asian Youth Orchestra in Hong Kong, a pan-Asian organization founded by the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin. He is on the cello faculty of the NEC Preparatory School and the Heifetz International Institute.
Churchill is widely known in New England and abroad. He has been Associate Conductor of the Boston Ballet since 1992, and is the founder and Music Director of Symphony Pro Musica, Worcester's Salisbury Lyric Opera, and the Salisbury Chamber Orchestra. He recently led the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra in its annual gala concert. In 2005, he spearheaded the signing of a "Friendship Agreement" between New England Conservatory and Venezuela's massive youth orchestral training program. He serves on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations including Project STEP, a pre-professional support program for string students of color; the Conservatory Lab Charter School, a K-5 public inner-city elementary school offering a music based curriculum; the Walnut Hill School, an independent school for serious high school age art students; the Berkshire Institute for Theology and the Arts; and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas.
As a cellist Churchill has appeared as soloist, recitalist and chamber music player throughout the United States and on tours of South America and Asia. Most recently he performed in Seoul, Hong Kong, and Taiwan with the Trio Pro Musica.
Mr. Churchill holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Hartford and the B.M. and M.M. degrees from New England Conservatory. His principal teacher include Herbert Blomstedt and Charles Bruck (conducting); Rudolf Kolisch (chamber music); and Raya Garbousova, Laurence Lesser and David Soyer (cello).
Churchill is married to violinist and educator, Marylou Speaker Churchill. They reside in Newon, Massachusetts, with their nine-year-old twin daughters.