Mark Armanini, (b. 1952) a native Vancouverite, studied composition with Elliot Weisgarber and piano with Robert Rodgers at the  University of British Columbia, graduating with a MMus. in 1984. In 1990 Mark began composing for various combinations of Asian and Western instrumentation. Major works, all under the direction of Maestro John Zoltek, include five concerti recorded with the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in 1995, The Spirit Emerges with Qiu Xia He (pipa), and the 2003 CD, Rain in the Forest (Centredisc) with the Latvian National Symphony, Vivian Xia (yangqin), Heidi Krutzen (harp) and the Khac Chi Bamboo Ensemble.

Mark represented Canada in composer exchanges in Taipei (2000) and Beijing/Shanghai (2003), and he performed at the Nanjing Jazz Festival in 2006. He travelled to Wuhan in 2007 to study the ancient Marquis Yi Bell Set. He also attended the Atlas Academy, a 2-week intercultural orchestra intensive in Amsterdam, from 2009-2016, where his compositions, Chroma and Decor premiered at the Concertgebouw and the Amsterdam Conservatory.

Mark has been the Artistic Director of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) since 2009. From 2009-21, he was the Producer of the BC Chinese Music Ensemble, the largest professional Chinese traditional instrument ensemble in Canada. He is Co-Artistic Director of the AU Ensemble,  an intercultural chamber ensemble that recently made its US debut with Maestro Zoltek at Festival Amadeus in Whitefish Montana.

armanini.mark@gmail.com

Rita Ueda (www.ritaueda.com) is a Canadian composer based in Vancouver, Canada the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Applauded as a composer whose ‘poetic is often very delicate and introspective…’ (Guido Barbieri, Warner Classics), her works inspire contemplation and dialogue between cultures in flux. Notable recent works include as the first spring blossoms awaken through the snow (2021), let us not be the reason someone out there is praying for peace (2020), and Bloom (2010). Her 27-minute concerto for shō, sheng/suona, and orchestra, Birds Calling… From the Canada in You (2022) is described as “… fresh, thoroughly Canadian, and breathtakingly original.” (James Imam, Musical America Worldwide).

Winner of the 2022 Jules Léger Prize for New Canadian Chamber Music, 2022 Azrieli Prize in Canadian Music, and the 2014 Penderecki International Composers’ Competition, Ms Ueda has premiered works with the Vienna RSO, Budapest MAV Symphony, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, l’Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, and the BC Chinese Music Ensemble.

Ms Ueda’s works are available on Stingray Classica and Warner Classics. Her chamber opera, I Have My Mother’s Eyes: a Holocaust Memoir Across Generations will premiere at the Chutzpah! Festival (Vancouver) on November 18-19, 2023, and her double concerto, Birds Calling… from the Canada In You will be performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra in London on October 15, 2023.

rita.ueda.music@gmail.com