English conductor Marcus Creed was born and raised on the south coast of England. He began his studies at King's College in Cambridge, where he had the opportunity to sing in the famed King's College Choir. Further studies took him to Christ Church in Oxford and the Guildhall School in London. Marcus Creed began living in Berlin in 1977. Stations along his way have been the Deutsche Oper Berlin (where he worked as opera coach and choir director), Hochschule der Künste (lecturer on song), as well as the Gruppe Neue Musik and the Scharoun Ensemble (pianist and conductor). Starting in 1987, Marcus Creed was artistic director of the RIAS Chamber Choir, which won numerous international awards under his direction (including the Edison Award, the Diapason D'Or and the Cannes Classical Award). His work together with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Concerto Koln formed an important part of his concert activities. He has appeared at the Berlin Festwochen, Wien Modern, the Salzburg Festspielen and at festivals in Montreux, Edinburgh, Lucerne and Innsbruck. In 1998, he accepted a call to take up the position of professor of conducting at the Musikhochschule in Cologne. Since January 1, 2003, he has been artistic director of the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart.