About William Susman
Orchestras
The Aspen Chamber Orchestra conducted by Stephen Mosko gave the world premier of Trailing Vortices.
The Memphis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Conner Gray Covington performed Zydeco Madness.
The San Jose Chamber Orchestra conducted by Barbara Day Turner premiered Angels of Light, Zydeco Madness and, In a State of Patterns.
The San Jose Youth Chamber Orchestra conducted by Anthony Quartuccio premiered Snow Lion of Peace for 14th Dalai Lama during his visit to San Francisco. The piece is based on the Tibetan folk song by Tashi Sharzur.
The University of Michigan Chamber Orchestra conducted by Richard Rosenberg performed Trailing Vortices.
North/South Consonance Chamber Orchestra conducted by Max Lifchitz premiered Katrina Krimsky’s Fluid Silk for flute and strings featuring Lisa Hansen, flute and orchestrated by William Susman.
The Pasadena Summer Youth Chamber Orchestra conducted by Allen Robert Gross performed Angels of Light.
The VARA Radio Orchestra of the Netherlands conducted by Ernest Bour gave the European premier of Trailing Vortices.
Ensembles
Cal Poly Piano Ensemble directed by pianist Nadia Shpachenko performs Quiet Rhythms No. 5 arranged for toy piano trio.
Glazbene Staze is a pierrot ensemble based in Zagreb, Croatia featuring Eda Rimanić, flauta; Vlade Matulić, klarinet; Đana Kahriman, violina; Alja Mandič, violončelo; Iva Ljubičić Lukić, klavir. They gave the Croatian premiere of The Starry Dynamo.
Dvesto3kvartet is a flute quartet based in Bratislava, Slovakia featuring Laura Lovišková, Eva Belicová, Melisa Láberová, and Hana Varmužová. They gave the European premiere of Seven Scenes for Four Flutes.
Figmentum is an ensemble featuring Daria Binkowski Kyle Rowan, and Ania Sundstrom. They performed Quiet Rhythms No. 5 for toy piano trio.
Organized Rhythm is an organ and percussion duo featuring Clive Driskill-Smith and Joseph Gramley. They commissioned Haskalah for marimba and organ.
The Mana Quartet is an award-winning saxophone quartet. They commissioned an arrangement of Native New Yorker for their Sight & Sound series and, an arrangement of The Starry Dynamo for quartet & piano.
In Process is a unique ensemble of jazz, classical and avant-garde musicians. Composer/conductor Ulli Götte arranged Camille for the ensemble.
Piccola Accademia degli Specchi, the Rome-based ensemble, gave the European premiere of The Starry Dynamo as part of Nuovi Spazi Musicali contemporary music festival at The American Academy in Rome's Villa Aurelia. They also premiered Camille in Middelburg, The Netherlands. Their 2019 album Collision Point (Belarca Records) features the pieces Camille, Clouds and Flames, Motions of Return and, The Starry Dynamo.
Palomar is the resident ensemble of Chicago-based organization Access Contemporary Music. They premiered the concert version of Native New Yorker conducted by Christopher Ramaekers on their Sounds of Silent Film series as well as Three Different Keyboards and, Zydeco Madness for solo accordion. Palomar also performed Native New Yorker at the Anthology Film Archives in NYC conducted by Francesco Milioto.
Quintet Tabor is a New York-based ensemble that has performed Six Minute Thirty Seconds for woodwind quintet and Waves for tape and ensemble.
Sapphire Ensemble is a New York-based ensemble that has performed Duo Montuño as well as Moving in to an Empty Space with guest artist Jacquelyn Familant.
The Buffalo New Music Ensemble performed Twisted Figures (1988) for chamber ensemble conducted by Ferruccio Germani. Under the artistic direction of Michael McCandless - a prolific composer, extraordinary pianist, and erudite writer, he was a founding member of two influential new music ensembles, the California E.A.R. Unit and the Buffalo New Music Ensemble, active from 1982 to 1992.
ALEA III conducted by Theodore Antoniou premiered Twisted Figures at The Kucyna International Composition Competition.
The City Winds This San Francisco wind quintet premiered Six Minutes Thirty Seconds and toured with it throughout the US. The City Winds also performed on the film score Alaska's Arctic Wildlife for The Discovery Channel.
Alternate Currents Performance Ensemble premiered The Starry Dynamo at The Community School of Music in San Francisco.
The Tuolumne Brass under the direction of Tom Heasley premiered The Heavens Above for Brass quintet.
The Harrington String Quartet premiered Streams during their New York debut. Members included Dawn Harms and James Lyon, violinists; Amy Brandfonbrener, violist, and Brian Manker, cellist.
Film
Game Day Website for the movie starring Romeo Miller and Elizabeth Alderfer, directed by John Susman.
ImageReal Pictures Production company for the film When Medicine Got it Wrong.
Citizen Film Production company for the film Balancing Acts: A Jewish Theatre in the Soviet Union.
Indigenous Lenses Production Company for the film Fate of the Lhapa
Native New Yorker Official Website for the Tribeca Film Festival best documentary short.
Bo Boudart Productions Scored several of his wildlife, ecology, cultural, educational and science programs.
Naatak Films Producer of the film Asphyxiating Uma
Internet Movie Database Listing of films scored by William Susman with complete credits.
Music Festivals
Seven Hills Music Chamber Festival performed Camille with Lauren Scanio, flute; Kurt Cox, alto sax; Nathan Southwick, violin; Nicco Mazziotto, cello; Nicole Brancato & Jonathan Mak, piano.
Romaeuropa Festival Pianist Vanessa Wagner and electronic musician Murcof performed Quiet Rhythms no. 9.
The New York Chamber Music Festival Founded by Elmira Darvarova, this festival premiered Amores Montuños for flute and marimba and, Seven Scenes for Four Flutes.
The American Festival of Microtonal Music Founded by Johnny Reinhard, this annual New York music festival premiered Turbulence for flute solo and Nnyl for trombone solo.
The Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Orchestra with Stephen Mosko conducting gave the US premier of Trailing Vortices (1986) during Fromm Music Week commissioned in 1985 while Earle Brown was director of the Fromm Music Foundation.
The International Gaudeamus Music Week The VARA Radio Orchestra with Ernest Bour Conducting gave the European premier of Trailing Vortices.
Performers
Organist Pedro Monteiro, arranged and recorded Marimba Montuño.
Accordionist Stas Venglevski, marimbist Brett Jones and, pianist Hector Landa performed Three Different Keyboards.
Pianist Vanessa Wagner and electronic musician Murcof perform selections from Quiet Rhythms for piano and electronics in France. In 2019, she released the solo piano album INLAND including Quiet Rhythms no. 9. In 2020, Vanessa Wagner performed Quiet Rhythms No. 9 with Arthur H reciting the poetry of Yves Bonnefoy at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
Pianist Erika Tazawa has performed selections of Quiet Rhythms Books I & II in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, and Palo Alto. She appears on the Belarca Records release Rhythm of Silence.
Saxophonists Michael Mortarotti and Michael Hernandez are members of The Mana Quartert. They commissioned the arrangement of The Starry Dynamo for saxoppnoe quartet & piano (Erika Tazawa) and, Native New Yorker for saxophone quartet.
Composer and pianist Francesco Di Fiore has performed film score suites Balancing Acts and When Medicine Got it Wrong in his series Pianosequenza(Piano Stories) and recorded the When Medicine Got it Wrong suite on his album PIANOSEQUENZA: Piano Music in Film. He also has performed Quiet Rhythms 1, 5, and 8 in his series Visual Piano. Both Pianosequenza and Visual Piano feature video by Valeria Di Matteo.
Violinist Karen Bentley Pollick premiered Aria for violin & piano in New York at Spectrum and, recorded it at OTR Studios in Belmont, California. Aria is available as a single from Belarca Records.
Pianist Nicolas Horvath has performed selections of Quiet Rhythms Book I in Kyiv, Ukraine and recorded all of Quiet Rhythms Book I for the label Collection 1001 Notes.
Pianist R. Andrew Lee premiered Books I & II of Quiet Rhythms in the UK and US.
Met Opera musicians principal percussionist Greg Zuber and flutist Patricia Zuber commissioned and premiered Amores Montuños at Symphony Space in NYC.
Multi-wind instrumentalist/composer Demetrius Spaneas has performed Duo Montuño, Waves and a new live performance version of the award-winning film Native New Yorker throughout the US, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Stas Venglevski is a Russian accordion and bayan master who premiered Zydeco Madness and Three Different Keyboards.
Soprano Jacquelyn Familant has performed Moving in to an Empty Space as well as Waves.
Cellist Joan Jeanrenaud has performed on six film scores: Game Day, When Medicine Got it Wrong, Balancing Acts,Making the Man, Fate of the Lhapa and Oil on Ice recorded at Fantasy Studios, Different Fur, and other Bay Area Sound Studios.
Pianist Elaine Kwon performed Duo Montuño along with Demetrius Spaneas at The Knitting Factory and The Stone in NYC.
The Classical Composers Database features information about classical composers and classical music.
Tibetan Vocalist extraordinaire Tsering Wangmo performed on the soundtrack to Fate of the Lhapa.
David Holzman (2003 Grammy Award Nominee) premiered Uprising at The Greenwich House, NYC, and gave the west coast premiere at The Community School for Music & Arts. He also performed Uprising at Old First Concerts in San Francisco.
Joseph Gramley, Grammy award winning multi-percussionist for the Silk Road Ensemble, recorded Marimba Montuño (2002) for his CD Global Percussion.
André Emelianoff and Jonathan Haas premiered Floating Falling for cello and timpani at Merkin Concert Hall.
Esther Landau and Lee Alan Nolan premiered Motions of Return for flute and piano at Old First Concerts in San Francisco.
Radio
Marvin Rosen host of Classical Discoveries and Viva 21st Century 50/50-24hour Marathon on WPRB 103.3 FM, Princeton NJ has broadcast numerous times music from A Quiet Madness, Collision Point, Blackbird Redux, Rhythm of Silence, Scatter My Ashes, Music for Moving Pictures, and Oil on Ice.
Tom Schnabel host of Rhythm Planet on KCRW 89.9 FM, Los Angeles, included Collision Point in his New Music Favorites.
Bruno Letort host of Tapage nocturne on France Musique featured Quiet Rhythms on the show Tapage nocturne reçoit le pianiste Nicolas Horvath.
Dave Drexler host of Inside Art on KSDS 88.3 FM, San Diego interviewed toy piano ensemble Figmentum and featured Quiet Rhythms No. 5.
Interview with Dean Suzuki host of Discreet Music on KPFA featuring music from the album Scatter My Ashes.
Seth Boustead host of Relevant Tones on WFMT featured music on the shows Modern-Day Moonlighters and CD Grab Bag.
John Schaefer host of New Sounds on WNYC has featured music on shows entitled Psychosounds, Small Ensembles, Pattern-Based Music, and Tibetan Buddhist-Based Film Scores.
The Netherlands radio station Concertzender broadcast a two-hour special of Susman's music several times in 2003. Since then they have featured Susman's music on numerous occasions. They play a very diverse and compelling mix 24 hours a day.
Sarah Cahill host of Then & Now on KALW interviewed Susman and Jack Sullivan, author of numerous books on film-scoring. Broadcast included excerpts from Fate of the Lhapa.
Radio Interview featuring various concert works recorded in Chicago for Bruce Duffie's "Classical and Beyond" WNUR, 89.3 FM, and Contemporary Classical Internet Radio.
Interview with host David Latulippe of KALW 91.7 FM, San Francisco, for David Holzman performance at Old First Concerts and the Community School for Music & Arts. The interview with composer Daniel David Feinsmith included a broadcast of Susman's Twisted Figures (1988) and Motions of Return (1996) and, Feinsmith's Leviathan and String Quartet #1.
KUSF 90.3 FM hosted by Renee Witon in San Francisco broadcast WAVES for piano and computer-generated sound.
Robert Emmett of Radio Station KFJC frequently broadcasts Susman's music on The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show.
The Kalvos and Damian Show WGDR 91.1 FM heard in Vermont and hosted by Dennis Báthory-Kitsz broadcasts Susman's concert music.
Barbara Schwarz broadcasts several works on her radio show "Fretless" heard on ArtSound FM 92.7 in Canberra, Australia.
Reviews
textura, EarRelevant, Sharps and Flatirons, Pundicity, New Music Buff, Spellbinding Music and, The Flute View Magazine reviewed A Quiet Madness.
Fanfare Magazine, An Earful, Fanfare Magazine, textura, The Mindful Bard, New Music Buff and, Spellbinding Music reviewed the album Collision Point.
Gramophone and textura reviewed the album Rhythm of Silence.
Fanfare, All Music, textura, Second Inversion, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, The Voice, New Music Buff and INFODAD reviewd the album Scatter My Ashes.
Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange reviewed the album Music for Moving Pictures.
All Music Guide reviewed Oil on Ice.
All Music Guide reviewed Fate of the Lhapa.
San Francisco Classical Voice reviewed David Holzman's performance at Old First Concerts.
Michael McDonagh for Classical Music Review reviewed music and performances.