Mark Coughlan | Mark Coughlan

Biography

IMG_6854-1.5MB-e1436272666915-1024x729 Mark Coughlan is a concert pianist, conductor, music critic, teacher, concert promoter and company director. He grew up in Perth and studied music at the University of Western Australia before moving to London where he lived and worked for several years. He returned to Australia to become Head of the Music Faculty at UWA and since this time has held leadership roles at state and national levels in the performing arts and higher education sectors.

He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Musica Viva Australia and was Federal Chairman of the Australian Music Examinations Board, Australia’s largest music examination and publishing company. Mark has also been Chairman of the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference and was Head of the School of Music at the University of Western Australia for eight years.

As a concert pianist Mark has performed in Europe, South East Asia and around Australia. He plays a wide variety of repertoire including piano concertos, solo recitals, vocal accompaniment and chamber music. As a conductor, Mark works with a number of orchestras, at both professional and community levels, often playing and directing from the piano.

Mark is also a distinguished piano teacher and mentor, a former head of keyboard at the University of WA, AMEB federal examiner and guest teacher at the Pan Pacific Summer Schools in Sydney. For several years he lectured in piano pedagogy at the WA Academy of Performing Arts where he currently gives piano masterclasses and performance workshops.

Mark is currently Artistic Director of the Government House Ballroom concert series, Music on the Terrace, which he established in 2006. This program has a strong focus on nurturing young talent as well as presenting major national and international artists. Mark is also Artistic Director of the annual New Year’s Eve concert at the Perth Concert Hall, a fundraising event for the Rotary Club of Perth which has been running for 28 years. He is also a music critic for The Australian newspaper.

Mark is a member of the Board of Directors of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the West Australian Youth Orchestra, Chairman of the Government House Foundation of Western Australia, Chairman of Lost and Found Opera and a committee member of the St George’s Cathedral Arts Foundation. Mark is also Executive Director of the Leeming Medical Group, a family general medical practice in the southern suburbs of Perth.

Mark studied in Perth and London and holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from The University of Western Australia, where he won five University prizes. He has twice been a finalist for West Australian of the Year in the Arts and Culture category.

Biography

Concerts

2016 Major Events

2015 Major Events