What does it mean for one's music to be inspired or informed by nature? How do musicians engage with nature in their own work? What does this word nature even mean?
In this interview series, composer Ryan Suleiman (Ph.D.) talks with composers and performers about the role of nature in the work they do generally and asks what the role of artists is in our troubled times.
On an aesthetic level, music provides a crucial space for us to reflect on the beauty around us and try to grapple with very deep and sometimes troubling philosophical questions that face us as individuals and as a civilization.
Inspired by the heroic contributions of others at the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Ryan hopes that sharing ideas and conversations about how musicians engage with nature will help inspire others to use their skills to help us find a way out of this crisis of our relationship with nature.
Visual art by Sakurako Kanemitsu. www.ryansuleiman.com/rmn
Lei Liang: "Great Learning" and Opening the Inner Eyes (composer)
In Chinese, the word for university (大学) translates literally as “Great Learning.” For composer Lei Liang (prof. at UC San Diego), composing at a university means one has the ability to collaborate with and learn from other scholars in vastly different disciplines. The work of Huang Binhong (1865-1955) served as the inspiration for Lei’s orchestral work, “A thousand mountains, a million streams.” Binhong, having lost his sight later in life, demonstrates how a “handicap” can ultimately become a superpower leading to greater creativity. We also talk about the cicadas of his childhood in Beijing, the role of titles for composers/audiences, and how technology can actually deepen our listening practice, among many other topics. Lei also cautions against the dangers of “jumping on the bandwagon” of trendy labels and political expediency.
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YouTube: https://youtu.be/fOs8DgtRzLc
Lei Liang: https://sites.google.com/site/leiliangcomposer2/
Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP): https://youtu.be/sj3JxTtNsjs?si=kuE9Uesc02imnVNY
Lei Lab: https://lei-lab.ucsd.edu/
How can we collaborate with the environment around us as theater-makers? What is the relationship between “process” and “product”? How can we see beyond the goal of a project to understand and honor its surprising reverberations outside the so-called “actual project”? Dramaturg Allyssa Schmidt and movement artist Alli Ross, both professors at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, help me ask and answer these questions on and off mic. They not only talk about their ideas, but implement them in the way they teach and make art… AND in the way they do an interview for a podcast: Outdoors, by a pond, welcoming the water sounds, wind, hikers, and helicopters overhead.
Want to support these conversations? Give the podcast a rating and a comment, let us know your own thoughts and what you think :)
Available on YouTube (video) (https://youtu.be/Dq-zObLOMTA), Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Alyssa Schmidt: https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/directory/alyssa-schmidt
Alli Ross: https://www.alliross.com/
Coastal Climate for Change at Berklee / BOCO: https://college.berklee.edu/faculty-development/events/coastal-climate-for-change-summit
Climate Change Theater Action: https://www.climatechangetheatreaction.com/
Superhero Clubhouse: http://www.superheroclubhouse.org/
Climate Ready Boston: https://www.boston.gov/environment-and-energy/climate-ready-boston
1 Oct 2023
Peter London: Nature is Our Teacher (visual artist)
Visual artist Peter London grew up in Brooklyn NY, which perhaps makes him a city kid. But for his entire life, he has been obsessed with escaping the limitations of cities and human perception, seeking insights not from other humans, but from the natural world. He sees the cosmos as the ultimate teacher for all of us. In our conversation, we discuss a wide range of topics, from how one’s artistic process can imitate the cosmos, to his involvement with civil rights in the 1960’s, to the fascinating intersection of his work as an artist, teacher, and art therapist. We also discuss his collaborations with musicians and why he sees music as the most emotional of the arts.
This is the FIRST episode recorded face-to-face; you can see video on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXJjWPNCl6e_ujBOxUniEAA
1 Sept 2023
Newtown Odyssey: The Beauty and Ugliness of a Polluted Creek (floating opera)
feat. Kurt Rohde (musician/composer), Dana Spiotta (writer), and Marie Lorenz (artist)
Why write a normal opera when you can write one for an outdoor performance on top of a polluted urban creek? Is it simple? No. Is it worth it? Absolutely. The creators of Newtown Odyssey, an actual floating opera, ask us to get our shoes a little dirty, let birds and machinery join the opera, and appreciate the horror and beauty of rainbow patterns of oil on the creek’s surface. They speak about the joys and challenges of collaborating with each other and their literal surroundings on unconventional work, and how they hope to help the efforts of the Newtown Creek Alliance.
THIS OPERA PREMIERES ON SEP 8-10 NEAR BROOKLYN, NY.
LINKS:
Newtown Odyssey website: https://www.newtownodyssey.com/
Newtown Odyssey YouTube channel: / @newtownodyssey4642 (https://www.youtube.com/@newtownodyssey4642)
Kurt Rohde (composer / musician): https://www.kurtrohde.com/
Dana Spiotta (writer): https://danaspiotta.com/
Marie Lorenz (artist): http://www.marielorenz.com/
11 Aug 2023
Season 2 Trailer
What's to come in Season 2 of RMN:
www.ryansuleiman.com/rmn
Newtown Odyssey opera
Kurt Rohde, composer/musician
Dana Spiotta (https://danaspiotta.com), writer
Marie Lorenz, artist
Lei Liang, composer
Chromic Duo (Lucy Yao, Dorothy Chan)
Alyssa Schmidt (dramaturgy) & Alli Ross (https://www.alliross.com/) (movement)
Peter London, visual artist
17 Apr 2023
Gabriela Lena Frank, composer/activist
from Oct 4, 2020: "Gabriela Lena Frank is 48, but wants to live to be 100, when we've re-imagined a better, greener society. For her, that starts with her music-making. GLF is a composer and pianist based in Northern California and founder of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. In our conversation and by example with the GLFCAM, she articulates what a genuinely eco-friendly musical practice could look like, easily connecting a range of big topics from climate change to capitalism, the ubran/rural divide, and authenticity, encouraging us to shed our over-perfectionism in order to overcome our paralysis. We also talk about her multi-cultural heritage and the journey that is connecting with one's roots."
GLFCAM: https://www.glfcam.com/
24 Mar 2023
Carlos & Brennen, composer/performer duo
from Sep 3, 2020: Composer/pianist Carlos McMillan Fuentes and clarinetist/multi-instrumentalist Brennen Milton are a Sacramento-based duo known as "Carlos and Brennen." We talk about their February performance with soprano Robin Fischer at Sacramento's Crocker Art Museum complementing American impressionist Granville Redmond's (who was deaf) landscape paintings. Other topics include the meaning of the phrase "natural," and Carlos and Brennen's ideas about representation in music. We end with one of Carlos's compositions, "Silentium Amoris," a lustful piece inspired by an Oscar Wilde poem that depicts aspects of human nature.
Carlos and Brennen: https://www.carlosandbrennen.com/
Granville Redmond: https://www.crockerart.org/exhibition...
Silentium Amoris (Jan '14): https://soundcloud.com/carlos-mcmilla...
Sacramento Community Concert Association: https://www.sccaconcerts.org/
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at https://landscapemusic.org/
19 Sept 2022
Song Sessions, whale song ensemble
from August 6, 2020:
Humans aren't the only ones who make music. The whales were not available for this interview, but I was able to chat with the lovely humans of "Song Sessions," an ensemble that performs music inspired by the complex structures underneath the surface of whale song. We talked about the ensemble's work, songs and improvisations of whales, past composers inspired by whales, and the intersection of art, science, and activism.
Song Sessions (https://www.songsessionscollective.com)
Full Performance from excerpt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BEGv3FprkA)
Hovhaness: "And God Created Great Whales" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pTu4pkmtpU)
Tavner: "The Whale" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nxxmQuu1xs)
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at https://landscapemusic.org/
12 Sept 2022
Omari Tau, performer/composer/director
from July 9, 2020:
Omari Tau feels at once like a student and an old man. He does it all - and well! He's Sacramento-based singer, actor, composer, musical director, and co-founder of Rogue Music Project and Trio MôD. Omari talks with Ryan about the notions of "mastery" and well-roundedness, one's naturally evolving career, ideal environments for creativity, his opera about Dorthy Parker, and a multimedia project with MôD which explores the rich and complicated history of Oak Park, one of Sacramento's oldest suburbs.
Omari Tau (https://www.omaritau.com)
Tau: Night at the Algonquin (scene ends at 26:38): https://youtu.be/b--VQco2y9k?t=1203
Rogue Music Project (https://www.roguemusicproject.com)
MôD (https://www.facebook.com/modartists/)
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at https://landscapemusic.org/
5 Sept 2022
Nell Shaw Cohen, composer
from July 2, 2020:
New York-based composer Nell Shaw Cohen draws an analogy between her process and the "Landscape" visual artists. Nell talks with Ryan about her music, her work on the LandscapeMusic.org publication/network, the notion of the audience, and the role of an artist as someone, among other things, uniquely positioned to imagine alternatives to the ridiculous and destructive society we live in.
Nell Shaw Cohen, composer (https://www.nellshawcohen.com)
Tranforming Forest
"Rewriting the Future: Using Science Fiction to Re-Envision Justice" (Walidah Imarish)
"Soulworkers" (Ben Krywosz)
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at https://landscapemusic.org/
29 Aug 2022
Calliope's Call, art song collective
from June 25, 2020:
Megan Roth and Evan Leontis, two tremendous singers and co-directors of Calliope's Call talk with Ryan. Calliope's Call is an art-song collective based in New England dedicated to diverse and inspiring programming. Topics include activism in music, curating programs, calls for scores, and the complexity of writing and performing vocal music, among many other things.
Calliope's Call (https://www.calliopescall.org)
Mothers Out Front (https://www.mothersoutfront.org)
Melissa Dunphy, composer (https://melissadunphy.com)
decketh joy, water destroy (by Ryan Suleiman)
22 Aug 2022
Citywater, chamber ensemble
from June 18, 2020:
Sacramento-based Citywater's Tim Stanley (cello) and Cathie Apple (flute) talks with Ryan about collaborating on large-scale works by Griffin Candey and Derek Keller, not consciously seek inspiration from nature, and the intersectionality of issues artists must face. Tim also reveals a few things about Sacramento State School of Music's Festival of New American Music 2020 (spoiler: it will be different this year, but in some ways, for the better)
Citywater (https://www.citywatermusic.com/)
Derek Keller (https://www.derekkeller.com)
Griffen Candey (http://%20https//www.griffincandey.com/)
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at https://landscapemusic.org/
15 Aug 2022
Vijay Chalasani, violist
from June 11, 2020:
What does it mean when musicians invoke a “natural” sound, or method of music making? This week’s guest, violist/scholar Vijay Chalasani, explores this question and other topics, discussing musical pedagogy, tuning configurations, and artists he enjoys performing from the last many centuries. We also discuss his work on the music of Pauline Oliveros and a future project of his.
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at https://landscapemusic.org/
8 Aug 2022
Left Coast Chamber Ensemble
from May 28, 2020:
San Francisco Bay Area-based Left Coast Chamber Ensemble's Anna Presler (violin/artistic director), Tanya Tomkins (cello), and Stacey Pelinka (flute) discuss their collaboration with composer Clarice Assad on “Lemuria,” about ancient mythical people and their work on George Crumb’s timeless Vox Balanae. They get philosophical about the question of what does an artist do in times like these (should one become an activist?) and speculate about the influence of soundscapes on musicians in past centuries versus now. Anna reflects on her walks in the Berkeley hills and we talk about birds, who evidently learn better from their teachers than from pre-recorded songs.
Left Coast Chamber Ensemble (https://www.leftcoastensemble.org)
Clarice Assad (composer) (https://clariceassad.com)
Crumb: Vox Balanae (LCCE) (https://youtu.be/6nTtJ69xO40)
Messiaen: Abîme des oisseaux (https://youtu.be/jsArPZ9eoFs)
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at https://landscapemusic.org/
1 Aug 2022
Juhi Bansal, composer
from May 21, 2020:
Composer Juhi Bansal talks with Ryan about her work and shares excerpts from two of her compositions, including "Sirens," a collaboration with the Los Angeles Opera on a multimedia work performed outdoors on a historic dock. Topics include composing music that integrates ambient sounds (which sometimes includes a surprise Mariachi band!), plastic, the joys and challenges of writing for amateur performers, and the role of artists in our times.
Juhi Bansal: https://juhibansal.com
Sirens: https://juhibansal.com/sirens-for-two-sopranos-mezzo-soprano-and-pre-recorded-track/
Travels (for piano): https://juhibansal.com/music/teaching-pieces/
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at https://landscapemusic.org/
26 Jul 2022
Marti Epstein, composer
released May 14, 2020:
PREMIERE EPISODE: Ryan talks with composer Marti Epstein about the role of nature in her work and we listen excerpts from two of her compositions. Topics include Nebraska, Boston during quarantine, the meaning of sounds, climate change, and one of our mutual heroes, Toru Takemitsu.
Marti Epstein: https://martiepstein.com/
Hothouse: https://soundcloud.com/marti-epstein/hothouse
Komorebi: https://soundcloud.com/marti-epstein/komorebi
About this series: https://www.ryansuleiman.com/rmn
This project is affiliated with Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 - learn more at LandscapeMusic.org
21 Jul 2022
What is this podcast?
Reflections on Music and Nature. What is this thing about? Why is it important? www.ryansuleiman.com/rmn
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