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Les Marsden was a musically precocious child, beginning piano lessons at age 4. He was credentialed to teach piano by 11. While a pre-teen/teen he performed in many solo recitals and also with ensembles as pianist/harpsichordist, becoming proficient on many other instruments including various brass and the concert grand harp. Composed his first symphony at age 13; as a teen was principal trumpet of many ensembles including the California Honor Orchestra and the Fresno Junior Philharmonic for years. His interests in composing and conducting were nurtured by Maestro Guy Taylor, conductor of the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra. Marsden conducted the FJP in performances of his own work. As a teen he acted in local community and area theatre; upon entering CSU Fresno, Marsden chose theatre as a career, probably because it was the more challenging field for success. In 1978 (three years after graduating High School) he earned a BA in Communications. While a college student he wrote, produced and starred in a one-man show: "A Night at Harpo's" with the full assistance of the Marx Family. The show was booked directly from college and served as the young man's entry into professional show business. Well acquainted with the elderly Groucho Marx, he performed as that Marx Brother for years in many theatrical presentations. Groucho's son Arthur wrote the play "Groucho: A Life in Revue," creating the DUAL role of Harpo and Chico Marx specifically for Marsden who in addition to playing both brothers in and out of their well-known film personae also stunned audiences by actually playing lengthy piano and harp solos in each brothers' distinctive style. The play was a success in New York and played London's West End to high acclaim, where Marsden was nominated for the world's most honored acting citation: London's prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. Also the recipient or nominee for the London Critics' Award, Carbonell, Fringe First (Edinburgh Festival) etc. Seen nationally and internationally in innumerable dramas, comedies and musicals from Shakespeare to Chekhov, Neil Simon to Cole Porter, with countless appearances on film, TV and in commercials. He worked with greats such as Robert Redford, Vanessa Redgrave, Burt Reynolds, Albert Finney and Jeremy Irons to name only a few. While starring in a play in Washington, D.C. in 1999, he sustained a career-ending permanent injury to his left leg. He retired at age 42 and wife Diane and young son Maxfield moved to their native California to live near their beloved Yosemite National Park. In 2002 Marsden founded the Mariposa Symphony Orchestra as Music Director and Conductor. The orchestra has surprised outsiders with its very existence and level of proficiency and has likewise served as a source of great community pride. Marsden is delighted to share live symphonic classical music with friends and neighbors and has brought highly accomplished professional musicians from beyond the area to Mariposa as guest artists. Marsden's skills as composer have been much in demand since the formation of the MSO with a great many commissioned new works, including Marsden's 'American' Symphony on Old and New Tunes, Violin Concerto in g, Concerto Burlesco for Trombone and Orchestra, Idyll and Triumph, Mariposa Gazette March (both latter works marking the Sesquicentennial Celebrations of the Mariposa Courthouse and Gazette,) Foster Child-Fantasia on the Music of Stephen Foster. He established the Mariposa County Arts Council's MSO 'Young Master Composers Celebration,' 'Meet Classical Music!' and 'Acting in Mariposa' (AIM) programs; as Master Acting Teacher, his adult acting classes fill beyond capacity. Les Marsden is a member of The Conductors Guild and also the National Association of Composers. Currently inactive member of Actors Equity, AEA, SAG, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
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