Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the bassoon when in primary school, and at Bryanston School, Dorset, where he was one of the foremost musicians (bassoon and keyboards) of his generation. He attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge as a choral scholar, where he studied music. He later became a protégé of Sir Edward Downes and gained experience conducting Verdi operas (as well as Prokofiev's War and Peace and Wagner's Meistersinger) in Australia, at the Sydney Opera House. Family Elder and his wife, Mandy, have a daughter, Katie. The ENO and association with several orchestras From 1979 to 1993, Elder was the music director of English National Opera (ENO). He was known as part of the "Power House" team that also included general director Peter Jonas and artistic director David Pountney, and gave ENO several very successful years of productions. Elder served as principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1992–1995) and music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (1989–1994). He held positions as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1982–1985) and the London Mozart Players (1980–1983). The Hallé years Elder was appointed music director of the Hallé Orchestra in 1999. His first concert as music director was in October 2000. He proposed several novel ideas for concerts. These have included the abandonment of traditional concert evening garb. Elder is generally regarded as having restored the orchestra to high musical standards, after a period where the continuing existence of the orchestra was in doubt. In 2004, he signed a contract to extend his tenure from 2005 to 2008, with an optional two-year extension at the end of that time. A 2005 report indicated Elder's intention to remain with the orchestra until at least 2010. In May 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of Elder's contract to 2015. In November 2013, the Hallé announced the further extension of Elder's contract through "at least 2020". In February 2023, Elder stated his intention to stand down as music director of The Hallé at the close of the 2023-2024 season. Elder has been president of the London Philharmonic Choir from 2014 and is currently the Royal Academy of Music's Barbirolli Chair of Conducting. In November 2021,