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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 crowning achievement being four concerti recorded with the Latvian National Symphony with Vivian Xia, Heidi Krutzen and the Khac Chi Ensemble as soloists under the direction of John Zoltek, 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, in 2006 to the Nanjing Jazz Festival, and in 2007 to Wuhan to study the Marquis Yi Bell Set, with performances and meetings in each city. With an extensive catalogue of over 60 works, Mark celebrates his musical association with intercultural ensembles, among them the Orchid Ensemble, who named their debut CD Heartland after its title track, written by Armanini. Mark is presently the acting Artistic Director of the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra and Project Co-ordinator with the BC Chinese Music Ensemble. http://www.armanini.ca

Butterfly & Cocoon

Mark Armanini (2007)

Composed for the dance spectacular Triaspora  featuring the Orchid Ensemble and Moving Dragon Dance , Butterfly is a meditation on the graceful fragile beauty of a butterfly. One moment it sits still on a leaf and the next is lying off at odd angles. The music is light, the melody line long an it floats over the harmonic landscape with occasional outbursts of irratic flight . The tremelos shared amongst all the instruments give the sonic image of a small quick moving world alive with motion.

Cocoon extends the use of colourful chromatic lines , weaving harmony and melody into a swirling mass of sound. The short quick Allegro at the heart of the piece is a frantic release from the brooding, mystic atmosphere  at the beginning and ending of this trio tableau.

Heartland

Mark Armanini (1998)

meditation - a musical exploration of our inner world during meditation, focusing on sparse textures and breathing rhythms

gentle wind - features the zheng weaving a thingly ornamented melodic line over a graceful lilting rhythmic accompaniment

streams of light - a fully textured accompaniment played on marimba and zheng, supporting the warmth and compassionate lyricism of the erhu melody