Early in his career, Mark had the great fortune to meet and study with Leonard Bernstein, who provided a major impetus for his professional development and confidence as a conductor. Soon after, Mark had the opportunity to interact closely with the renowned Sergiu Celibidache, who became the central influence in Mark’s development as conductor. Mark completed Master’s Studies under Celibidache’s tutelage during the years 1987–1992.
Mark is consistently invited to conduct orchestras in Germany like the South-West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Baden-Baden, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Wurtemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, the Symphonic Orchestras of Munich, Nurnberg and Hof, but also 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 where he has worked with such greats 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, he was musical 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, he was appointed director of the Sergiu Celibidache Foundation, initiating the Sergiu Celibidache Festival in 2002; in 2004, the festival took place in Munich; and in 2006, in Iasi, Romania. From 2005–2009, he 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: masterclasses, concerts, exhibits, film screenings, etc. As a closing highlight of the Festival he conducted the world premiere of Romanian Suite ‘Haz de necaz‘ of Sergiu Celibidache.
In 2008, he received the “Werner-Egk-Preis 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, he 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 fall of 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.
In autumn 2017, the first German concert of the transatlantic partnership between the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bayerische Philharmonie took place in the Herkulessaal in Munich. On May 10, 2018, the Chamber Orchestra of the Bayerische Philharmonie under the direction of Mark Mast performed at the memorial concert as part of the Jewish-German Festival Week at the Stadttheater Landsberg. This concert took place on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Leonard Bernstein concert with Holocaust survivors in Landsberg in 1948. A guest conducting position with the Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra took Mark Mast to Nagoya/Japan in May 2018.
In April 2019, Mark conducted a concert featuring the Bavarian Philharmonic Choir and the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra on stage in Denver. Back in Germany, he was on “Weltenbrand-Tour” with Konstantin Wecker & Bavarian Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
In the year 2020, Mark conducted the “Mozart +” festival concerts in January and the official New Year’s Concert of the Free State of Bavaria at the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin and in October the 11th Orff-Tage der Bayerischen Philharmonie in Bamberg, Munich and Füssen. In 2021 he conducted, among others, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid at the memorial concert for the 25th anniversary of the death of Maestro Sergiu Celibidache and in September and October 2021 the annual Orff-Tage der Bayerischen Philharmonie with four concerts in Bavaria.
In February 2022 Mark traveled to Romania for conducting the Filarmonica Moldova Iasi. From May 20 to June 6, 2022, Mark will present the 24th Black Forest Music Festival as artistic director. He will then appear as guest conductor with the Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra in Nagoya, Japan in June 2022.