Mark Korven

{{short description|Canadian composer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Mark Korven | image = | alt = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date =  | birth_place = [[Swift Current]], [[Saskatchewan]], Canada | death_date =  | death_place = | origin = | instrument = | genre = | occupation = [[Composer]] | years_active =  | label = | associated_acts = | website = {{URL|www.markkorven.com}} }}

'''Mark Korven''' is a Canadian musician and composer for film and television.<ref name="academy.ca"/>

==Career== During his early career in Winnipeg, Korven performed in a variety of rock and jazz music ensembles, mostly playing the guitar and singing in local bars.<ref name="jam.canoe.ca"/> In 1977, he started taking formal music education at the [[MacEwan University|Grant MacEwan Community College]] in [[Edmonton]] where he studied jazz and orchestration. After graduating, he developed into a singer / songwriter and recorded his first album of left-of-center pop entitled "Passengers". In 1987 he moved to [[Toronto]], where he recorded the album "Ordinary Man" with [[Duke Street Records]], and that same year he had his first chance at composing for film, with the score for [[Patricia Rozema]]'s debut feature ''[[I've Heard the Mermaids Singing]]''.<ref name="timeout.com"/> which went on to win the La Prix de la Jeunesse at the Cannes Film Festival.

His work includes the music on the sci-fi horror cult film ''[[Cube (1997 film)|Cube]]'' (1997), collaborations with director [[Robert Eggers]] on the period horror films ''[[The Witch (2015 film)|The Witch]]'' (2015) and ''[[The Lighthouse (2019 film)|The Lighthouse]]'' (2019), [[Scott Derrickson]]'s ''[[The Black Phone]]'' (2022), and [[Arkasha Stevenson]]'s ''[[The First Omen]]'' (2024).

Korven plays several exotic instruments, including the [[Sarangi]], the [[Nyckelharpa]], the [[Duduk]], the [[Erhu]], and the [[waterphone|water phone]].<ref name="ticketmaster.co.nz" /> He was also responsible for the co-creation of "The Apprehension Engine", a custom made musical instrument intended for the creation of unsettling noises to be used on scoring horror films, built by guitar luthier Tony Duggan-Smith.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/toronto-made-apprehension-engine-scores-the-stuff-of-nightmares/article35682601/|title=Toronto-made 'Apprehension Engine' scores the stuff of nightmares|website=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=2017-07-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.markkorven.com/Apprehension_Engine.html|title=The Apprehension Engine|publisher=Mark Korven}}</ref>

==Works== ===Film=== {{BLP unreferenced section|date=January 2025}} * 1987 – ''[[I've Heard the Mermaids Singing]]'' * 1990 – ''[[White Room (film)|White Room]]'' * 1991 – ''[[Sam & Me]]'' * 1992 – ''[[The Grocer's Wife]]'' * 1992 – ''Voices from the Shadows'' * 1994 – ''[[Henry & Verlin]]'' * 1994 – ''[[The Michelle Apartments]]'' * 1995 – ''[[Curtis's Charm]]'' * 1996 – ''Lyddie'' (TV) * 1996 – ''[[Joe's Wedding]]'' * 1996 – ''[[Giant Mine (film)|Giant Mine]]'' * 1997 – ''[[Cube (1997 film)|Cube]]'' * 1999 – ''[[Win, Again!]]'' (TV) * 1999 – ''The Sheldon Kennedy Story'' (TV) * 2000 – ''Falling Through'' * 2000 – ''Saint Jude'' * 2001 – ''[[Tagged: The Jonathan Wamback Story]]'' (TV) * 2014 – ''[[Cruel and Unusual (2014 film)|Cruel and Unusual]]'' * 2015 – ''[[The Witch (2015 film)|The Witch]]'' * 2017 – ''[[Awakening the Zodiac]]'' * 2018 – ''[[Our House (2018 film)|Our House]]'' * 2019 – ''[[The Lighthouse (2019 film)|The Lighthouse]]'' * 2021 – ''[[No One Gets Out Alive (film)|No One Gets Out Alive]]'' * 2021 – ''[[Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City]]'' * 2022 – ''[[The Black Phone]]'' * 2024 – ''[[Night Swim]]'' * 2024 – ''[[The First Omen]]'' * 2024 – ''[[Don't Move (2024 film)|Don't Move]]''

===Television=== * 1988 – ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' * 1991 – ''Grand Larceny'' * 1993–1994 – ''Destiny Ridge'' * 1997 – ''Michael Grey Eyes'' * 1997 – ''The New Ice Age'' * 1997–1999 – ''[[A Scattering of Seeds]]'' * 1999–2003 – ''[[The Nature of Things]]'' * ''Love Is Not Enough'' * 2002 – ''New Year's Resolutions'' * 2002 – ''Friday the 13th: The Devil in Dover'' * 2003 – ''The Ex-Factor'' * 2003 – ''Talk Mogadishu: Media Under Fire'' * 2003 – ''[[Hollywood Wives: The New Generation]]'' * 2004 – ''Winning'' * ''2005 – The Dark Years'' * 2007 – ''[[America at a Crossroads]]'' * 2008–2010 – ''[[The Border (TV series)|The Border]]'' * 2019 – ''[[The Terror (TV series)|The Terror: Infamy]]'' * 2020–2021 – ''[[Them (TV series)|Them: Covenant]]'' * 2020–2021 – ''[[Chapelwaite]]'' * 2022 — ''[[The Peripheral (TV series)|The Peripheral]]''

===Documentaries=== * 1990 – ''Transplant, the Breath of Life'' * 1990 – ''Between Two Worlds'' * 1994 – ''Lawn and Order'' * 1994 – ''The Lucky Ones: Allied Airmen in Buchenwald'' * 1996 – ''[[Power (1996 film)|Power]]'' * 1997 – ''Confessions of a Rabid Dog'' * 1998 – ''The Man Who Might Have Been: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Herbert Norman'' * 2001 – ''A Moment in Time: The United Colours of Bronstein'' * 2003 – ''Arctic Dreamer'' * 2004 – ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire]]''<ref name="nytimes.com"/> * 2005 – ''[[Hogtown: The Politics of Policing]]'' * 2005 – ''The Ungrateful Dead: In Search of International Justice'' * 2006 – ''The Man Who Couldn't Sleep'' * 2007 – ''[[Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma]]'' * 2005 – ''Nugliak'' * 2007 – ''[[A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman]]'' * 2007 – ''Turning Pages: The Life and Literature of Margaret Atwood'' * 2008 – ''[[Tiger Spirit]]'' * 2009 – ''The Experimental Eskimos'' * 2009 – ''Pushing the Line: Art Without Reservations'' * 2011 – ''Earth from Space'' * 2013 – ''Fight like Soldiers, Die like Children'' * 2016 – ''[[All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I. F. Stone]]''<ref name="allgovernmentslie.com" />

===Video Games=== * 2024 – ''[[Until Dawn]]''

==Awards and nominations== {{Expand section|date=December 2010}} During his career, Korven has received several awards, many at the [[Gemini Awards]],<ref name="allmovie.com"/> [[Genie Awards]]<ref name="academy.ca"/> and the [[Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival]].

===List of Awards=== Source:<ref name="imdb.com"/>

[[Gemini Awards]] * 2008 – Won – Best Original Music Score for a Documentary Program or Series: "A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman" * 2008 – Nominated – Best Original Music Score for a Program or Series: [[The Border (TV series)|The Border]] For episode "Enemy Contact" * 2005 – Nominated – Best Original Music Score for a Documentary Program or Series: "Continuous Journey", award shared with: Philip Strong, Kiran Ahluwalia, Ben Grossman, Ravi Naimpally * 2000 – Nominated – Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series: "The Sheldon Kennedy Story" * 1999 – Nominated – Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series: "Win, Again!" * 1992 – Nominated – Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series: "Between Two Worlds"

[[Genie Awards]] * 1999 – Nominated – Best Music Score: "Cube" * 1996 – Nominated – Best Achievement in Music – Original Score: "[[The Michelle Apts.]]" * 1996 – Won – Best Achievement in Music – Original Score: "Curtis's Charm" * 1994 – Nominated – Best Music Score: "Henry & Verlin" * 1993 – Nominated – Best Music Score: "The Grocer's Wife" * 1991 – Nominated – Best Music Score: "White Room"

Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival * 2005 – Won [[Golden Sheaf Award]] – Best Original Music, Non-Fiction: "Continuous Journey", award shared with: Philip Strong, Kiran Ahluwalia, Ben Grossman, Ravi Naimpally

==References== {{Reflist | colwidth = 30em | refs =

<ref name="academy.ca"> {{cite web |url=http://www.academy.ca/hist/history.cfm?nname=Mark+Korven&winonly=0&awards=0&rtype=1&curstep=4&submit.x=23&submit.y=14 |title=Canada's Awards Database Mark Korven |author=Geminis, Genie Award |work=academy.ca/awards/ |publisher=[[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television]] |accessdate=4 February 2011 }} </ref>

<ref name="allmovie.com"> {{cite web |url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/mark-korven-97921/awards |title=Mark Korven Awards |publisher=[[Allmovie]] |work=allmovie.com |accessdate=4 February 2011 }} </ref>

<ref name="imdb.com"> {{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0466805/awards |title=Mark Korven, Awards |work=imdb.com |publisher= [[IMDb]] |accessdate=30 July 2014 }} </ref>/>

<ref name="jam.canoe.ca"> {{cite web |url=http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/K/Korven_Mark.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310163551/http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/K/Korven_Mark.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2016 |title=Korven, Mark Biography |date= 29 November 2004 |work=canoe.com |publisher=[[Jam!]] |access-date=5 February 2011 }} </ref>

<ref name="nytimes.com"> {{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/97921/Mark-Korven/filmography |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104040032/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/97921/Mark-Korven/filmography |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2012 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2012 |title=Mark Korven Filmography |accessdate=5 February 2011 }} </ref>

<ref name="ticketmaster.co.nz"> {{cite web |url=http://www.ticketmaster.co.nz/Mark-Korven-tickets/artist/774457 |title=Mark Korven Biography |work=ticketmaster.co.nz |publisher=[[Ticketmaster]] |accessdate=4 February 2011 }} </ref>

<ref name="timeout.com"> {{cite web |url = http://www.timeout.com/film/chicago/people/296401/mark-korven.html |title = Mark Korven Filmography |work = [[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]] |accessdate = 4 February 2011 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018023054/http://www.timeout.com/film/chicago/people/296401/mark-korven.html |archivedate = 18 October 2012}} </ref>

<ref name="allgovernmentslie.com"> {{cite web |url = https://allgovernmentslie.com/film |title = Credits |work = allgovernmentslie.com |accessdate = 3 March 2019 }} </ref> }}

==External links== * [http://www.markkorven.com/ Official homepage] * {{IMDb name|id=0466805}} * [http://apprehensionengine.com/ The Apprehension Engine]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korven, Mark}} [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Musicians from Winnipeg]] [[Category:Canadian film score composers]] [[Category:Canadian male film score composers]] [[Category:Canadian television composers]] [[Category:Canadian male television composers]] [[Category:Best Original Score Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners]] [[Category:MacEwan University alumni]]