Mark Rimple

Mark’s Rimple has been described as “among the first rank of US Lutenists” and praised for his “transparent…” and “extraordinary sensitive” playing; his debut solo lute CD Tre Liuti features Italian lute music for three different instruments.  Mark has appeared as instrumentalist and/or vocalist with Trefoil, The Newberry Consort, The Folger Consort, Severall Friends, Piffaro, Tempesta di Mare, Les Délices, and Blue Heron, among many other groups.  He has recorded the treacherously beautiful music of the ars subtilior with Trefoil and The Newberry Consort, Renaissance broken consort music with Seven Times Salt, and daring new music with Cygnus Ensemble and Network for New Music.

As a composer, he often writes for early instruments, and his first solo composition CD, January:  Songs and Chamber Music of Mark Rimple (2016) includes works for archlute, countertenor, viola da gamba and harpsichord.  His works have been featured by the 21st century consort, ChoralArts Philadelphia, counter(induction, Mélomanie, The ISCM Chamber Players, and Parnassus.

Mark is also a scholar of early theory and notation, and recently contributed several transcriptions and entries on the curious use of tablature for the voice in an upcoming landmark dictionary of tablature by CESR (Toulouse, Fr.).  Mark holds the rank of Professor in the Department of Music Theory, History and Composition at The Wells School of Music at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches composition, counterpoint, theory, aural skills and the collegium musicum among other courses.