Marcus Farnsworth

• Job title: Head of Vocal and Choral Studies
• Department(s): Vocal
• Specialism(s): Voice

Marcus is Head of Vocal and Choral Studies at Chetham’s School of Music and the Founder and Artistic Director of the Southwell Music Festival. He performs in opera, concert and recital around the world, and is also a conductor specialising in choral and vocal music.

Marcus began his musical training as a chorister at Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire. He went on to study at Chetham’s School of Music, the University of Manchester and the Royal Academy of Music. He is a past first prize winner of the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the Song Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Competition.

Marcus has appeared as a principal artist with opera companies in the UK and abroad including English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Bergen National Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and Teatro Real Madrid. Equally at home on the concert platform, Marcus has performed and recorded extensively with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Gabrieli Consort, Academy of Ancient Music, Arcangelo, and Aurora Orchestra. He is also a keen recitalist and an advocate for new music, having given recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, La Monnaie, the Oxford International Song Festival, Leeds Lieder and the Wigmore Hall.