Mark Winges

Mark Winges was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and currently resides in San Francisco, where he is composer / advisor for the chamber choir Volti. He was also composer-in-residence for the San Francisco Choral Artists for the 2012 / 13 season. He is a graduate of the College-Conservatory of Music - University of Cincinnati, SF State University, and has studied at the Musikhögskolan in Stockholm, Sweden with composer Arne Mellnäs. His works have been performed by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Cornell Wind Symphony, the Verge Ensemble, Ensemble Ibis, the American Modern Ensemble, Earplay, Works-in-Progress: Berlin, the Empyrean Ensemble, the Piedmont Children's Choir, the San Francisco Girl's Chorus, The Crossing, Carmina Slovenica (Slovenia), the Guangdong Choir (China), Aarhus Pigekor (Denmark), the Marin, Berkeley and Piteå (Sweden) Symphonies and many others.

His Spun Light, a pandemic-inspired "distanced" concerto in three movements for violin and small ensemble, was premiered in a special online concert by violinist Hrabba Atladottir and The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble in February, 2021. It can be viewed here. Other recent works include Loki's Lair for flute, viola and cello (written for 8 Strings & a Whistle and featured on their recent CD, ...and nothing remains the same…), Solstice Dreams for chamber orchestra, Words Cast Shadows for chorus, and Adventure in the Air, a concerto for soprano saxophone and wind ensemble.

His most recent CD is Night-Voiced, a collection of his chamber works for viola. An earlier CD of his chamber music titled But This Is This is available on the Centaur label. In a review of that CD, Jason Victor Serinus characterizes Winges as “a composer who, while serious in intent, enjoys writing music that enables performers to indulge in and relish their instrumental back-and-forths”. Freed From Words, a CD of his choral music, was lauded by Amanda MacBlane of the American Music Center's New Music Box with these words: “the choral music of San Francisco-based composer Mark Winges probes deeply into the spiritual and sonic depths of the chorus.” Mark is a fellow of the MacDowell Colony, where he has had multiple residencies. He has also had residencies at Fundación Valparaiso, in Mojácar, Spain and the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, IL. He was in residence at the Visby (Sweden) International Centre for Composers (2022).