Mark Agnor
Violinist and conductor Mark Agnor has led and performed with more than 50 orchestras in 38 countries while on worldwide tours with pop opera group Il Divo and operatic tenor Paul Potts. He has also appeared across the U.S. as electric violin soloist with Mannheim Steamroller in its annual Christmas tours. With concerts in Asia, Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, and the Americas, Mark is in international demand.
In June of 2006, Mark joined Il Divo as concertmaster for the final segment of their inaugural tour, and was conductor and violin soloist for their entire 2007 world touring season. 2008 took Mark on a 77-concert world tour as music director for operatic tenor and Britain's Got Talent winner Paul Potts. Mark led the show as conductor, except when joining Paul beside the piano as violin soloist. Mark is also an extremely accomplished orchestral and studio recording violinist. He has had the pleasure of performing with artists including Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Led Zeppelin, Smokey Robinson, Yes, Earth Wind & Fire, Siegel-Schwall Blues Band, Peter Cetera, Dennis DeYoung, The Moody Blues, Don Henley, Burt Bacharach, Ron Isley, Doobie Brothers, Yanni, Linda Ronstadt, Dionne Warwick, The Pointer Sisters, George Benson, Three Irish Tenors, and Liz Carroll. He has made many TV appearances on The David Letterman Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and PBS Soundstage.
A versatile musician with skills that also include Brazilian percussion and vocals, he can swing with a wide array of musical styles including classical, jazz, rock, blues, bossa nova, and samba. From 1999 through 2006, Mark performed internationally with Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues in a unique marriage of blues harp, classical string quartet, and world percussion. During this same period, Mark performed and recorded wtih Jim Gailloreto's Jazz String Quintet, an ensemble comprised of jazz soprano saxophone and string quartet. Mark was also a founding member of the Orquestra de Samba, with which he performed violin, euphonium, percussion, and vocals. Together, these exciting projects comprise the wonderful complementary flavors of this “crossover” love affair. A little-known fact about Mark is that he holds a Master of Music degree in euphonium from the University of Michigan.