Mark Armanini, a native Vancouverite, studied composition with Elliot Weisgarber and piano with Robert Rodgers at UBC, graduating with a MMus. in 1984. In 1990 Mark began composing for various combinations of Oriental and Western instrumentation: the major works being four concerti recorded with the Latvian National Symphony with Vivian Xia yangqin, Heidi Krutzen harp and the Khac Chi Ensemble as soloists under the direction of conductor John Zoltek. The CD has been released as Rain in the Forest on the Centredisc’s label.

In 2000 Mark traveled to Taipei, in 2003 to Beijing and Shanghai as part of composer exchanges, with performances and meetings in each city. In 2006, he performed at the Nanjing Jazz Festival, and in 2007 travelled to Wuhan to study the Marquis Yi Bell Set, which has rarely been studied by non-Chinese composers. In 2009, 2010 and 2011 Mark attended the Atlas Academy, a two-week intercultural orchestra intensive in Amsterdam, where his composition Chroma was premiered at the Concertgebouw.

With an extensive catalogue of over 60 works, Mark is building on his Vancouver roots. Many of his works celebrate his musical association with intercultural ensembles, among them the Orchid Ensemble. Their Heartland, the title track of the Orchid’s debut CD is an Armanini composition. Mark is presently the Artistic Director of the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra (VICO) and Producer of the BC Chinese Music Ensemble. He is on Faculty at Capilano University in North Vancouver.  http://armanini.ca