Dr. Mark Hopkins
Professor
Conducting, Music Education, Acadia University Wind Ensemble

 

 

 

 

Contact Information
Office   Festival Theatre, Room 107
Email   mark.hopkins@acadiau.ca
Telephone   902-300-8244

Courses Taught
MUSI 43A3 Intro to High School Music Education
MUSI 3143 Conducting 1
MUSI 4153 Conducting II
MUSI 3310 Music Education Band Seminar
MUSI 2700b Wind Ensemble
MUSI 4393 SoundPainting
MUSI 4383 Wind Literature

 

Dr. Mark Hopkins is a Professor in the School of Music at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. In addition to leading the Wind Ensemble, Dr. Hopkins teaches undergraduate and graduate Conducting, Instrumental Music Education courses, SoundPainting, and chamber music courses.

Dr. Hopkins is in demand as a guest conductor and music education consultant. Since 2003 he has collaborated with Dr. Gillian MacKay as Artistic Co-Director of the Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra, which selects players through annual national auditions. He is Artistic Director of the Nova Scotia Youth Wind Ensemble (2008-2011, 2013-present), and is Past-President of the Nova Scotia Band Association. In May 2019 Dr Hopkins received the National Band Award from the Canadian Band Association, recognizing his contributions “…to the promotion, growth, and development of the musical, educational, and cultural values of band throughout Canada”.  In November 2016 Dr. Hopkins received an Established Artist Award from Arts Nova Scotia for his leadership as a conductor of new music projects, including Shattering the Silence, an innovative new music festival (www.shatteringthesilence.ca) His work as a conductor has been recorded on LIVE WIRED (2015) and In Sonorous Falling Tones (2017, nominated for a 2018 East Coast Music Award). In Canada, he has guest-conducted bands and orchestras in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec, and led the National Youth Band of Canada in 2019. Abroad, he has led collegiate and professional performances in the United States, Bermuda, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, and Romania.

A native of Toronto, Dr. Hopkins graduated from the University of Toronto (B.Mus. Ed.), the University of Western Ontario (B. Ed.), the University of Calgary (M.Mus. Conducting), and the New England Conservatory (D.M.A. Wind Conducting).  While attending NEC he served as Assistant to Frank L. Battisti and was awarded the Gunther Schuller Medal at graduation. Prior to his appointment at Acadia University Dr. Hopkins led ensembles and taught at the University of Calgary and Hanover College in Indiana (1999-2005). Dr. Hopkins taught music in high schools for twelve years, including seven years of service as Chair of the Music Department at Upper Canada College in Toronto. His professional work as a Conductor spans the full range of ensembles and genres.

Education
1982 B.Mus.            University of Toronto
1983 B.Ed.                Western University
1996 M.Mus.           Conducting and Trumpet Performance, University of Calgary
2000 D.M.A.            Conducting, New England Conservatory
2016 Level 1           SoundPainting Certification

Websites 
https://markemersonhopkins.ca/
https://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/education/clinician/profile/mark-hopkins
https://musicfest.ca/people/dr-mark-hopkins/

Links to Recordings and Performances
I Lost My Talk by John Estacio, arranged by Mark Hopkins, leading the Acadia University Wind Ensemble, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fUcmpQTgAo&ab_channel=AcadiaConducting
Song of the Tides by Derek Charke, recorded by the Acadia University Wind Ensemble, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvgmw_JFEPM&ab_channel=DerekCharke
CD trailer for “In Sonorous Falling Tones”, Mark Hopkins, conductor, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPzfdzpHKZs&ab_channel=DerekCharke
Interview, The Band Room Podcast, 2020
https://www.bandroompod.com/ep-13-markhopkins