Born in 1963 in Freudenstadt / Black Forest, Germany, Mark Mast studied music in Heidelberg, Paris and Munich.
Early in his career, he had the great fortune to meet and study with Leonard Bernstein, who provided a significant impetus for his professional development and confidence as a conductor. Soon after that, Mark had the opportunity to interact closely with the renowned Sergiu Celibidache, who became the central influence in Mark’s development as a conductor. Mark completed Master Studies under Celibidache’s tutelage during the years 1987–1992.
He is regularly invited to conduct orchestras in Germany including the South-West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Baden-Baden, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Wurtemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn and the Symphonic Orchestras of Munich Nurnberg and Hof. Mark has also conducted international orchestras such as the Athens Chamber Orchestra, Greece, the Latvian National Orchestra of Riga, the Slovenian National Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Slovenian Theatre Orchestra, the Ensemble Kanazawa of Japan and the Enescu Philharmony Bucharest.
Mark has been intendant and artistic director of the Bayerische Philharmonie (Bavarian Philharmonic) since 1994 working with greats such as Zubin Mehta, Sir Colin Davis and Esa-Pekka Salonen. As a part of his passion for encouraging and protecting high professional standards in the music world, Mark is a regular jury member at international music competitions.
From 1998–2009, Mark was music director of the music theatre festival Orff-in-Andechs. Since 1998, he is also intendant and artistic director of the Schwarzwald Musikfestival. In May 2010, he founded Orff-Tage der Bayerischen Philharmonie in the Prinzregententheater Munich.
In 2001, Mark was appointed Director of the Sergiu Celibidache Foundation and launched the Sergiu Celibidache Festival in 2002. The festival was held in Munich in 2004 and Iasi Romania two years later. From 2005–2009, Mark was Principal Guest Conductor of the Moldavian State Philharmony, Iasi. In 2012, he also became the Artistic Director of the Sergiu Celibidache 2012 International Festival, which took place in Bucharest and included a series of events including masterclasses, concerts, exhibits and film screenings. The festival closed with the world premiere of Romanian Suite ‘Haz de necaz‘ of Sergiu Celibidache.
In 2008, he received the Werner-Egk-Preis (Prize)Donauwörth for his contributions to cultural life in Bavaria, especially for his engagement of Bavarian composers, such as Werner Egk, Carl Orff, Karl Amadeus Hartmann and Richard Strauss. From 2011–2016, Mark was president of Jeunesses Musicales Bayern.
Mark first toured Colorado in 1993 with the Young Philharmonic Orchestra of Munich performing in Pueblo, Boulder, Denver and at the official dedication of the then-new Denver International Airport. In 1996, he returned as orchestra-in-residence of the Colorado Music Festival with concerts in Estes Park, Breckenridge, Denver and Boulder. In 2016, he returned to the Colorado stage with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra guest conducting Wagner’s Die Meistersinger Overture at the Grand Opening of the Antonia Brico Stage concert.