New York based composer Brian Mark (b. 1976) has been hailed as an “attractive and intelligible” artist (Boston Musical Intelligencer), whose work is “compelling” (London Jazz News), and "preserves the vibrancy and relevance of contemporary art music" (New York Examiner). The American Composers Forum recently esteemed Brian as an “intelligent, modern composer who employs many media elements and does so with marked idiosyncrasy and depth.” Brian's music have been performed by many notable ensembles, such as the BBC Singers, Psappha Ensemble, Chelsea Symphony, Signal Ensemble, Atlas Ensemble, MikroEnsemble, Brave New Works, Choral Chameleon, both the Ligeti and Esterhazy String Quartets, Juventas Ensemble, Dither Quartet, members of the London Symphony Orchestra, among many others. His works have been presented around the world in festivals such as Bang on a Can, London Contemporary Music Festival, Atlas Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Spitalfields Music Festival, June in Buffalo Festival, Tutti Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, i=u, and the highSCORE Festival. Brian has been awarded the 2016 Jerome Composers Commissioning Program/Jerome Fund, and a recent commission from the Astoria Music Project. He has also received multiple awards from SCI and ASCAP, New London Singers, Ross McKee Foundation, Florence Gould Michael Iovenko Memorial Fellowship, the BMI Henry Warren Film Scoring Award, and was very highly commended for the 2016 Alan Bush Prize. He has been featured as a composer-in-residence with the Chelsea Symphony, the Bizarre Noir Theatre Company, and was awarded multiple artist residencies at the I-Park Artists’ Enclave, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and the Ucross Foundation. His symphonic work The Persistence of Time received an honorable mention from the 2015 American Prize in Orchestral Composition. As a composer for film, his music for the Independent Short Film Misunderstood, directed by Pablo Herrán de Viu, was exhibited at the 2009 Screen Loud Film Festival in New York City, and the 2010 Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre de Humberto Solás in Habana City, Cuba. From 2009-2011 Brian was the Co-Artistic Director and Founder for DETOUR, a composer collective and New Music Ensemble, which was featured as "one the top five new music events of 2011" from New York’s Classical WQXR. He was appointed as an Associate Member with the London Symphony Orchestra’s Composer Soundhub Scheme from 2015-2017, which culminated of a video installation premiere comprising of members from the LSO. Brian has completed his PhD studies at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Gary Carpenter. He is also a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the University of Southern California (Film Scoring) Berklee College of Music, and Boston University. He has received a graduate certificate in film scoring from the University of Southern California, and has also studied with Philip Cashian, Samuel Adler, David Conte, David Garner, James Russell Smith, and Howard Frazin.
Major Performance Highlights “First they Came…” (2018) for vocal quartet (soprano, alto, baritone, and bass) and string trio. Premiered at the 2018 Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium Vocal Fellows Program at the University of Oregon on 7/5/18, conducted by Dawn Sonntag. We Interrupt this Broadcast 1936-69’ (2013) for violin, flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, piano, narration, and sound design, to have its third UK performance at London Symphony Orchestra’s Soundhub Associates Concert at LSO St Luke’s on 5/27/17 (with video installation), conducted by Darren Bloom. Breathe (2017) for 2 pianos, narration, and sound design. Awarded the 2016 Jerome Commissioning Grant from the American Composers Forum. Premiered by pianists Kathleen Supové and Isabelle O’Connell at the Yamaha Piano Salon in New York City on 1/23/17. Construction STILL in Process… (2016) for large ensemble. Premiered at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival at MASS MoCA, conducted by Bang on a Can All Stars Ken Thomson on 7/25/16. My Starry Night (2015) for the MIkroEnsemble (quarter-tone flute, quartertone clarinet, quarter-tone accordion, quarter-tone guitar, quarter-tone piano, violin, cello). Premiered at the 2nd International Pasimusic Festival, Kuopio Music Centre in Kuopio, Finland on 10/4/15. Seascape (2014) for the Atlas Ensemble. Conducted by Artyom Kim. Premiered by the Atlas Ensemble at the Muziekgebouw aan't 1J in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 9/7/14. towers, beautiful, mourning, Tuesday (2013) for viola, delay pedal, and sound design. Commissioned by Glen Donnelly. Premiered at the 2013 London Contemporary Music Festival, Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park, and performed by Stephen Upshaw on 8/4/13. Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum (2012) for SATB choir a cappella. Commissioned by the Royal Academy Chamber Choir and conducted by Patrick Russill. Premiered at Neresheim Abbey, Germany on 9/2/12. Construction in Process… (2010) for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, & violoncello. Written for the 2011 June in Buffalo Festival. Performed by Ensemble Signal and conducted by Brad Lubman at Slee Hall on 6/6/11. The Persistence of Time (2009) for full symphony orchestra. Commissioned by the Chelsea Symphony and conducted by Ankush Bumar Bahl. Premiered at St. Paul’s Church in New York City on 9/26/09 and 9/27/09.