Mark Agnor
Violinist Mark Agnor’s most recent accomplishment is his tenure as traveling conductor and concertmaster of the Il Divo World Tour 2007. With concerts in Asia, Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, and the Americas, Mark is in international demand. In addition to his appointment as concertmaster of the Mantovani Orchestra, he performed seven years as concertmaster of the Sarasota Opera, and spent the five-week 2006 holiday season as one of four featured on-stage musicians with Mannheim Steamroller in their Branson, MO show at the Grand Palace.
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. Mark is 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 also appeared with some of these artists on The David Letterman Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
In recent years, crossover ensembles have tapped Mark’s various talents to best advantage. Mr. Agnor has toured world-wide with Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues whose recent live recorded release Corky Siegel’s Traveling Road Show on Alligator Records enjoys critical acclaim. Jazz String Quintet, a collaboration of Chicago-based HAWK string quartet and soprano saxophonist Jim Gailloreto, released their debut CD on the Naim label at the inaugural concert of the 2006 Chicago “Winter Delights” Jazz Festival to a sold out audience. A new crossover ensemble, Orquestra de Samba, is drawing audiences out of their seats with percussive Batucada, exciting brass choruses, poignant melody, and the unique sound of their own arrangements of Brazilian masters such as Jobim, Gilberto, and Villa-Lobos. A little-known fact about Mark is that he holds a Master of Music degree in euphonium from the University of Michigan.