MARCUS BARCHAM STEVENS

He has guest led Aurora Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Ensemble Modern Frankfurt and Musikfabrik Köln. He was a member of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet for 7 years, with whom he recorded CDs of late Schubert and Shostakovich string quartets. Marcus currently also holds the position of Principal 2nd Violin with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Marcus has broadcast as a soloist and chamber musician on BBC Radio 3 and live in recital on Classic FM. He has performed chamber music with Peter Donohoe, Paul Lewis, Freddy Kempf, Peter Hill, Emmanuelle Haïm, Alina Ibragimova, Leon McCawley, Paul Watkins, and with Thomas Adès in music by Adès at Carnegie Hall. As a chamber musician, Marcus has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room with the Park Lane Group, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, Symphony Hall Birmingham, the International Musicians’ Seminar Prussia Cove, the Library of Congress in Washington, the Haydn String Quartet Festival, Esterhazy and the Opéra Comique, Paris. Marcus recently played Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending in Westminster Abbey for their centenary commemoration of the end of the 1st World War.

Since lockdown in March 2020, Marcus started with his pianist wife, Christina Lawrie, a series of solo and duo concerts every fortnight from their living room, concert videos from which can be seen here.

He has recorded over 20 pieces of contemporary chamber or ensemble music, and with the Eroica String Quartet, Marcus played in the world première recording of the original version of Mendelssohn’s Octet. Marcus has recorded with Ensemble Denote two CDs of Mozart’s chamber music, including a violin and viola duo, violin Sonata and piano quartet, and has recorded with Jonathan Cohen’s ensemble Arcangelo. Marcus also played for many years with Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchèstre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.

As composer, Marcus particularly likes writing sacred choral music. He was in the Final of the New Music for St.Paul’s Cathedral composition competition 2012; his choral music has been performed by Ex Cathedra Choir and Jeffrey Skidmore in their Christmas concerts 2018 and 2019; by Ely Cathedral Girls Choir and in Temple Church London. He has also written: string quartets for the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, “Dhyana” for soprano and ensemble for Chroma ensemble, described as “hugely impressive” (George Hall, the Guardian, 2011); “Octagon” for members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Guildhall students; and the ballet “Tela” for the Lantern Dance Theatre Company. One of his anthems, performed by Ex Cathedra, can be seen here.