Mark R. Candasamy is a British/Norwegian composer and pianist, internationally acclaimed for the IFMCA nominated orchestral score for "Anne & Alet".

(Short bio in Norwegian here / kort bio på norsk her)

From London, eventually a resident of Kristiansand, Mark has composed for concert, theatre and visual media since requests and commissions began piling up during his time as an undergraduate at Agder University College. His early activities culminated in the composing of the orchestral film score for Stephan Hergel's debut film, "Bak Fasaden", performed by members of the Kristiansand Symphony, and conducted by the composer. The film premiered at the Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF), and the musical score received recognition via shortlisting for the Spanish GoldSpirit Awards.

Upon completion of his MA in piano performance, completed jointly at Agder (Norway) and Winthrop Universities (SC, USA), Mark went on to study composition and film scoring (Agder and Lillehammer Universities, respectively) in a time that saw his third full-feature film score for the docudrama "Anne & Alet" nominated in the category "best original score for a documentary feature" by the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA).

For the experiential film project "Sympho-Noir" Candasamy's original symphonic composition would be interpreted visually after-the-fact, and gained attention from the Short Film Corner of the Cannes Film Festival as well as winning a "Film Of the Year" award from the South-Norwegian Film Centre (Sørnorsk Filmsenter). Another notable project was "Besessenheit" for solo piano, Mark's contribution to Susanne Kessel's international project "250 piano pieces for Beethoven", which amongst other things featured in seperate radio specials aired on German BR Klassikand Norwegian Broadcasting Network ("Spillerom Søndag"), as well as numerous scheduled performances in Germany, Norway and USA.

Mark has collaborated closely with contemporary music ensemble Agder Camerata; a project immensely aiding the development of his craft as a concert composer. The group has commissioned and performed numerous new concert works as of date. As a pianist, the patient, uncompromising and discipline-inducing instruction of professor Tellef Juva has been an invaluable part of his education.

Mark's music has been performed and commercially released by groups and labels including Agder Camerata, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, F.A.M.E.'s (Macedonian Radio Orchestra), Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra, Trio Koniro, MovieScore Media, Kronos Records, Normann Records, Editions Musica Ferrum, Kessel Music Projects.

He is a member of the Norwegian Composer's Society (Norsk komponistforening).