About

For composer Mark Marinic, music and stories have always gone hand-in-hand.

His earliest sonic obsessions were with Stephen Sondheim’s musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, and Dream Theater’s album Systematic Chaos. Since then – whether he’s making concert music or concept albums – Mark has aimed to weave characterful melodies, fantastical harmonies, and grooving rhythms together to build worlds and share stories through sound. Besides other people’s music, he takes inspiration from the smell of rain and the taste of whisky. He enjoys painting miniatures, reading old paperback novels, and noticing momentary occurrences in the world around him.

Mark has had the pleasure of working with soloists and ensembles across Canada. His music has been featured by ensembles such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Standing Wave Ensemble, Turning Point Ensemble, Friction Quartet, and Trinanina Trio. As a member of the Lake & Ocean Collective, he collaborates with sound, movement, and visual artists across Canada to create pop-sensible dramatic works for digital spaces. Lake & Ocean’s first digital opera, titled how are you?, premiered as part of Re:Naissance Opera’s 2021 Indie Opera Fest where it won the audience choice prize.

Other recent works include ephemera for flutes and classical guitar, written for the McGregor-Verdejo Duo, and Breath Chasing Wind, a mixed chamber ensemble piece composed for the University of British Columbia Contemporary Players. Mark is currently collaborating with Chroma Mixed Media on CORVA, a virtual reality experience featuring an original story and soundtrack created by Mark.

Mark lives and works in Vancouver, British Columbia, the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh Nations. When he isn’t writing music, Mark can be found making jam, hiking, playing table-top games with friends, reading, and trying to figure out how his espresso machine works.