Fabrice Marandola

Fabrice Marandola obtained a ‘Diplôme de Formation Supérieure’ in the class of Jacques Delécluse at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMD) in 1997. Currently he is a professor of percussion at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, co-director of the McGill Percussion Ensemble and a guest instructor at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY (State University of New-York) since September 2006. Marandola previously taught at the Conservatoire National de Region of Grenoble and Angers (France) and at the CNSMD of Paris (Pedagogy department).

A large part of his musical activities is devoted to new music, collaborating particularly with composer Arnaud Petit. The CD "Chants …" that he recorded with Les Jeunes Solistes (dir. R. Safir), devoted to the vocal works of Claude Vivier, won the Académie du disque Charles Cros "Grand Prix 2003". Marandola remains equally attached to orchestral music and has participated in numerous concerts with the orchestras of Radio France (Orchestre National de France, Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique of Radio France) from 1998 to 2005.

Since his arrival in Montreal, Marandola has performed with Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and Kore.  In addition to launching percussion duo Akrostick with Kristie Ibrahim, he is also a founding member of Sixtrum, the new percussion ensemble in residency at the University of Montreal.

In parallel to his career as a musician, Marandola carries out research in ethnomusicology. In 2003 he completed a PhD in Ethnomusicology at Sorbonne, Paris. He is currently a member of the Langues-Musiques-Sociétés laboratory (CNRS-Paris V) and published in collaboration three compact discs on the topic of the traditional music of Cameroon (Inédit and Ocora/Radio France). He recently became co-leader of the group of research devoted to “Expanded Musical Practice” within the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology of Montreal (CIRMMT).