Bio
From London UK, and eventually a resident of Kristiansand, Mark Rayen Candasamy has composed actively for concert, film, and theatre since he as a student began accepting small commissions - primarily from local cultural groups such as community theatre, film students as well as taking up requests from fellow music majors. His early activities culminated in the composing of the orchestral film score for Stephan Hergel's debut film, "Bak Fasaden" (2008), performed by members of the Kristiansand Symphony, and conducted by the composer.
Upon completion of his MA in piano performance of which he took a semester abroad at Winthrop University in South Carolina, Mark went on to study both concert composition and film scoring in a time that saw his symphonic 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) in 2014.
Later the avant-garde film project "Sympho-Noir", crafted in close collaboration with film maker Stephan Hergel and where Candasamy's original symphonic composition was to be interpreted visually after-the-fact (rather than the reverse), gained attention from the Short Film Corner of the Cannes Film Festival and won 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 Klassik and Norwegian Broadcasting Network ("Spillerom Søndag"), as well as numerous scheduled performances in Germany, Norway and USA.
Mark's music has been performed and commercially released by a variety of performers, ensembles and labels, including Agder Camerata, Macedonian Radio Orchestra (F.A.M.E.'s), Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, MovieScore Media, Kronos Records, Normann Records and Kessel Music Projects.
Mark teaches composition and piano while also occupying a part-time administrative position at Knuden - Kristiansand school for performing arts. Between 2017 and 2020 he also worked as the head teacher of Songdalen school for performing arts.
Upcoming performances sees the premiere performances of "Avgrunn" ("Abyss") for chamber music initiative Agder Camerata, the premiere of a new concert arrangement for string orchestra & alto saxophone based on material from "Anne & Alet", as well as a symphonic song arrangement commissioned for the inauguration of Knuden's new £40 million home in central Kristiansand. As pianist, he is currently working on a recital program consisting of works by Schubert and Mendelsohn with flutist Thor Magne Vesterhus.
