Armand Birk

Armand Birk holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Alberta, where he studied voice with Elizabeth Turnbull and Shannon Hiebert. Hailing from Victoria, Armand had initially enrolled as a biology major. It was only when he began vocal studies with Laurier Fagnan at Campus Saint-Jean in 2014 that he found his love and passion for classical music and conducting.

Recently named a 2023 conducting fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Armand is currently pursuing a career in orchestral conducting and recently finished his graduate studies at the University of British Columbia. His primary mentors have been Petar Dundjerski and his current teacher, Jonathan Girard. He has also had the privilege of studying with James Ross, James Lowe, Yoav Talmi, Daniel Raiskin and other distinguished conductors. In July 2022, Armand was an orchestral conducting fellow at the Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, where he had the honour of learning from Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Thomas Rösner in masterclasses with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and Orchestre Métropolitain.

Armand’s current and past work is varied and includes engagements with the UBC Symphony Orchestra, UBC Opera, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, UofA Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Youth Orchestra, UofA Opera, Contempo New Music Ensemble and various choirs. In 2019, Armand founded a pre-professional orchestra in Edmonton, the River City Chamber Orchestra, whose mission is to offer unique opportunities to budding young musicians and develop inter-disciplinary performances that showcase live painting, dance and poetry. The former artistic director of the Centre d’arts visuels de l’Alberta, Armand’s passion for the arts knows no bounds and is dedicated to combining various art forms in innovative ways.