Mark Molnar

Mark Molnar is a Canadian composer and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans contemporary composition, free improvisation, and experimental sound. Performing on strings, electronics, erhu, and rebab, he has co-founded or contributed to countless projects across three decades of creating and curating in Ottawa. He established Kingdom Shore as a vehicle for touring his compositions and Black Bough Records as a platform for releasing boundary-pushing music. 

His collaborators have included artists like Sam Shalabi, Craig Pedersen, Sandro Perri, Peter Zummo, Phil Minton, Satoko Fuji, Tetuzi Akiyama, Naoto Yamagishi, Akira Sakata, and Keiji Haino. He has played a central or recurring role in bands like Land Of Kush, Black Seas Ensemble, Seppuku, Gamelan Semara Winangun, 1/4 Tonne Overhaul and Horseman, Pass By.

Molnar’s compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Quasar Saxophone Quartet and the Thin Edge Music Collective and feature on recordings by Buried Inside, Alaskan, Kee Avil, and Lockjaw, among others. His work extends to theatre and film, scoring productions for Vision Theatre and Baccus Players, and films by directors like Patrick David Elise and Martin Dupuis. His extensive discography comprises dozens of albums as a core or contributing composer/musician. His studio work spans sound design, mixing, and cinematography, having created concert films and documentaries featuring artists such as Craig Pedersen, Stefan Christoff, and David Broscoe. 

Molnar studied performance, theory, and composition under Aubrey Rolfe, James Tenney, and Murray Schaefer. His creative approach is shaped by an expansive listening practice that draws from contemporary classical, folk traditions, punk, noise, jazz, electronic, ambient metal, and early music—fueling a genre-bending approach to sound and performance.

Live Dates 

Contacts & Links

Mark Molnar Instagram
Mark Molnar Bandcamp
Black Bough Records

Press enquiries UK & North America:
Lauren Barley at Rarely Unable

Press enquiries EU:
Ed Benndorf at Dense Promotion

Booking enquiries North America:
Mark Molnar at Black Bough

Artist Photos

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