Susan Frykberg Susan Frykberg is a composer and poet who tries to balance chi-rho spirituality, creativity and social justice. Previously a lecturer in Acoustic Communication at Simon Fraser University, Canada, she quit her job to return to New Zealand with her then thirteen year old son, so he could get to know to his New Zealand family and so she could study theology and ancient languages. After a hiatus, Susan returned to composing with the chant Virgin Mother (2002), a monophonic work that grew out of her study and performance of Gregorian Chant. Other acoustic works followed, including a solo piano work - Three Studies on Ancient Idioms, commissioned by pianist Ross Carey. This has been performed widely in Australia, China and New Zealand. In addition, Susan also began to work on alternative liturgies for churches - combining soundscapes, new music, prayer and scripture, and currently has a portfolio of about a dozen of these for a variety of different spiritual concepts. In 2008, one of her compositions was selected to be performed in Beijing, at the Congress for the International Alliance of Women Musicians. After purchasing Ableton Live in 2009, Susan returned to composing and performing electroacoustic music. In September 2009, she presented Salve Regina Electronica in the New Zealand Electroacoustic Symposium at Auckland University and in October, Redaction at the Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth in conjunction with the works of Australian artist Judith Wright. This was followed by: Ubi Caritas Electronica (2010), at the 9th International Festival of Women Composers in Indiana, Pennsylyvania; and three 2011 works: Suffering; Thank You Arnold; National Poetry Day; at various festivals in New Zealand. Susan continues to use Ableton in free improv groups in various centers. Other work with improvising musicians includes a free collective of professional musicians called Let the Art Sing who play a range of instruments from classical to indigenous to electronic, and come together under Susan’s direction to create structured improvisation around high quality art. The philosophy of Let the Art Sing is quite simply to reveal the ‘songs’ of both the building in which the art is shown, and the artworks themselves. Let The Art Sing’s first performance was at the Govett-Brewster, New Plymouth NZ in May 2010 and continued in 2011 year in various galleries in NZ. Susan currently has a semi-regular radio show on electroacoustic music on Radio New Zealand. She is a citizen of Canada and New Zealand and has degrees in experimental music and theatre, ancient languages, and theology. She is a member of the Canadian Music Centre; The New Zealand Music Centre(SOUNZ); Socan; The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology and was a founding member of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community.
earsay CDs
Astonishing Sense
harangue 1