Mark Fortnum

Originally from Scarbrough, Yorkshire, 24 year old Mark Fortnum studied in Cardiff at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating with 1st class honours from the BMus Jazz course under the tuition of Geoff Simkins, Alex Merritt, Iain Ballamy, Steve Waterman, Huw Warren and Nick Weldon. He has performed across the UK and Europe as a member of various musical projects including; jazz groups of differing sizes, riot-jazz brass band Bass12, as a session player with Jack Mac's Funk Pack and other funk/soul/pop and theatre bands, as well as being a solo performer for weddings and functions. Performance highlights include London Jazz Festival, Amsterdam Blue Note, St Davids Hall Cardiff, Greenman Festival and Prague Quadrennial Festival, as well as performing for Shirley Bassey and supporting Hot 8 Brass Band. He has made TV appearances on S4C's Band Cymru competition, BBC Wales Today and with Bass12 as the Cardiff Blues resident band on BBC, S4C and SkySports. Mark has achieved the ABRSM Diploma both in Performance Saxophone and Instrumental Teaching but is also a versatile multi-instrumentalist, his ability to play all saxophones, clarinet, flute and bass guitar leading to theatre performances including; Carousel, Pirates of Penzance, Me and My Girl and Little Shop of Horrors to name a few.  As well as performing Mark also enjoys arranging music for big band and has a role in education, leading workshops and teaching 1:1 lessons.