Founding artistic director, conductor, and baroque violist Mark Bailey is extensively involved in the performance of baroque, classical, and early romantic instrumental, vocal/choral, and operatic works. He is founding artistic director of the American Baroque Orchestra (and through it the American Baroque Singers), and he frequently guest conducts renowned ensembles, such as the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Cappella Romana, and Pro Coro Canada. As well, Mr. Bailey often is invited to give seminars on conducting technique, performance practice, and Slavic baroque music, as he has at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto, Canada, the University of Oregon Musicking Conference, and the Performance Practice Institute Conference at Indiana University. Other guest appearances include conducting two gala concerts by invitation at Carnegie Hall, featuring the music of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

In the field of performance practice research, Mr. Bailey is head of Yale’s renowned collection of Historical Sound Recordings. At Yale, he also is faculty adviser of the Tiny Baroque Orchestra of Pierson College and was artistic director of the renowned Yale Russian chorus for 20 years. Mr. Bailey earned his undergraduate music degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he was also an assistant conductor for the Eastman Philharmonia, the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, the opera department, and, by extension, the Heidelberg Castle Opera Festival, Heidelberg, Germany. He then earned is masters degree in conducting from The Yale School of Music (through the Yale Institute of Sacred Music), Yale University. He has studied orchestral conducting principally with Harold Farberman, David Effron, and Daniel Lewis, and choral conducting with Marguerite Brooks. Outside of music, Mr. Bailey is a state commissioner for the Connecticut Task Force on Animal Welfare and a member of the advisory board for Connecticut Votes for Animals, reflecting his passion for humane legislation and welfare.