Mari Alice Conrad is an emerging, award-winning composer near Edmonton, Alberta currently studying graduate work in music composition at the University of Alberta.  Her compositions have been commissioned and performed across Canada, United States, and Europe including Babɛl Choir (Toronto), Standing Wave Ensemble (Vancouver), Exultate Chamber Singers (Toronto), Pro Coro Canada (Edmonton), Allegra Chamber Orchestra (Vancouver), SHHH!! Ensemble (Ottawa), Edmonton Winds, the Edmonton Saxophone Quartet, Soprano Maghan McPhee and pianist Valerie Dueck (Ottawa), Allen Stiles (Vancouver), and the Vancouver (Art) Song Lab with poet Madhur Anand, tenor Asitha Tennekoon, and pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa.  Her compositional practice shines an exceptional light on the human condition and fosters curiosity, authenticity, connection, and collaboration creating a compelling experience for both performers and audiences alike. Several of her scores have been recently published and commercially recorded.

Performances of her works have been presented at Ottawa Chamberfest, Vancouver’s Allegra Chamber Orchestra FestivELLE, Été musical de Barachois in New Brunswick, in the Žofín Palace for the World Wind Music Festival and WASBE Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, Toronto’s East Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, New Music Edmonton Summer Solstice Festival, the Canadian League of Composers 2022 PIVOT program, and the Toronto 2022 Choral Canada’s Podium Conference as the national recipient of the Stephen Chatman Student Award in Choral Composition.

Mari Alice is passionate about the next generation of music creators and has mentored young composers through the Tuckamore Festival Widening the Circle Program (Newfoundland), the Contemporary Showcase Edmonton, and as an instructor of composition at MacEwan University (2022/2023).  Her current research-creation focuses on composing accessible contemporary chamber music for developing musicians exploring the exciting potential within the small ensemble unit.  Her research suggests that chamber music can be an inclusive, participatory way of knowing that empowers youth to express their ideas and critically consider and engage with the world around them. You can learn about her upcoming composition project inspired by an expedition to Canada's High Arctic on the Looking North, Outside the Chamber page.