David Marks

Vancouver born violist David Marks began his career in Europe, performing as Principal Viola with L'Orchestre de Montpellier and L'Opera de Bordeaux, La Orquesta de la Ciudad de Granada, Holland Symfonia and Amsterdam Sinfonietta.  He was Principal Viola of the London Philharmonic under the batons of Vladimir Jurowski, Christoph Eschenbach, Yannick Nezet-Seguin and Marin Alsop.  As a fixture on the contemporary music scene, he performed across Europe with the Asko/Schonberg Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, Mondriaan Quartet, Fabrica Musica and Nieuw Amsterdamse Peil.  He was a member of the avant-garde Dutch contemporary music group, Nieuw Ensemble, with whom he toured China and recorded over 40 works.  

In 2014, he moved back to Canada to join the NAC Orchestra as Associate Principal Viola.  He became a member of the Ironwood Quartet and performed frequently with Chamberfest, Music and Beyond and Groundswell.  In Ottawa, he is also Principal Viola of 13 Strings with whom he regularly appears as soloist.

As a folk musician, David has toured Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia singing his songs with The History of Dynamite.  His folk-opera, The Odyssey was performed at the Banff Centre and subsequently at Theater de Cameleon in Amsterdam.  He plays fiddle and guitar and has performed with Van Dyke Parks, Bill Frisell and Patrick Watson.  David's an active member of the folk music scene in his hometown of Wakefield, QC where he lives with his wife and 4 children.  He’s currently composing a folk-musical!