C o n c e r t s
Click here or scroll down for upcoming performances featuring the music of Ryan Suleiman.
24-25 Jan 2020 | Fri 7'30pm, Sat 2pm, Sat 7'30pm
Rogue Music Project (RMP) - Bones of Girls
Venue: the CLARA (2420 N St.) - Sacramento, California
Admission: $20
Details/Info: https://www.roguemusicproject.com/bones-of-girls
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/755245674975907
"Composer, Ryan Suleiman has set an intriguing libretto by Cristina Fríes that is a surreal exploration of the eerie, fairytale imagery of Donkey Skin by Charles Perrault (Cinderella) and the librettist’s own experiences as a young woman alone in Argentina surrounded by predatory men and roving packs of wild dogs.
In the opera, Bones of Girls, a lost princess called Idiot Girl has fallen from the sky into an unknown land, escaping the clutches of her abusive father only to be pursued by hungry dogs and ridiculed for it all by a dispassionate moon. As the girl wanders, searching, trying to recall who she is, the audience comes to understand that this is the rite so many young girls and women must endure: they are often hunted and must find a way to understand and perhaps define themselves through the breaking.
In the production, director Omari Tau has partnered with visual artist Claire Hurni to present the fable as ritual. With the help of young actor-puppeteers, soprano Carrie Hennessey sings the lost and fragile Idiot Girl to life as a disembodied narrator-goddess. The dogs on her trail are similarly portrayed by baritone/director Omari Tau, on the hunt with confusion, curiosity, madness, and insatiable hunger. Kevin Doherty also stars as The Moon and Jennifer Reason performs on keys.
Suleiman’s expansive music is juxtaposed against the chilling story to stunning effect, garnering the work national attention in its various phases of composition. RMP is proud to present this world premiere, fully staged production of Bones of Girls."
31 Jan 2020 | Friday, 8pm
West Edge Opera - Snapshot
Venue: Ed Roberts Campus - Berkeley CA
Admission: $40
Tickets/Info: https://www.westedgeopera.org/snapshot
"A partnership between West Edge Opera and Earplay, Snapshot is an opportunity to see new works of opera in an informal concert setting." Under the musical direction of Jonathan Khuner, the opera company will perform Moon, Bride, Dogs (formerly known as Moon, Bride, Dogs II) in Berkeley as part of their Snapshot series along with several other interesting contemporary operas by Benavides/Koch, Huang, and von der Nahmer/Ferrell. For this production, I have added double-bass to the piano quartet orchestration to increase the lushness and depth of sound.
1 Feb 2020 | Saturday, 8pm
West Edge Opera - Snapshot
Venue: Taube Atrium Theater - San Francisco CA
Admission: $40
Tickets/Info: https://www.westedgeopera.org/snapshot
"A partnership between West Edge Opera and Earplay, Snapshot is an opportunity to see new works of opera in an informal concert setting." Under the musical direction of Jonathan Khuner, the opera company will perform Moon, Bride, Dogs (formerly known as Moon, Bride, Dogs II) in San Francisco as part of their Snapshot series along with several other interesting contemporary operas by Benavides/Koch, Huang, and von der Nahmer/Ferrell.
5 March 2020 | Thursday noon
UC Davis Thursdays at Noon: Sakurako Kanemitsu, solo piano
Venue: Pitzer Center, UC Davis - Davis, California
Admission: FREE
Tickets/Info: https://arts.ucdavis.edu/event/sakurako-kanemitsusolo-piano
Sakurako Kanemitsu performs my solo piano work, The Floating Island II, which is inspired by Yann Martel's Life of Pi. Works by Beethoven, JS Bach, and others will also be performed.
11 March 2020 | Wednesday noon
Westminster Music at Noon: Sakurako Kanemitsu, solo piano
Venue: Westminster Presbyterian Church - Sacramento, California
Admission: FREE
Tickets/Info: https://www.sakurakopiano.com/events-calendar/2019/9/4/music-at-noon-sakurako-kanemitsu-solo-piano-recital
Sakurako Kanemitsu performs my solo piano work, The Floating Island II, which is inspired by Yann Martel's Life of Pi. Works by Beethoven, JS Bach, and others will also be performed.
22 March 2020 | Sunday 3pm CANCELED due to COVID-19
Performances at Pioneer presents Sakurako Kanemitsu, solo piano
Venue: Pioneer Congregational Church - Sacramento, California
Admission: FREE
Tickets/Info: https://www.sakurakopiano.com/events-calendar/2020/3/22/performances-at-pioneer-presents-sakurako-kanemitsu
Sakurako Kanemitsu performs my solo piano work, The Floating Island II, which is inspired by Yann Martel's Life of Pi. Works by Beethoven, JS Bach, and others will also be performed.
30 Oct 2020 | Friday 7:30pm livestream *encore*
Indiana State Contemporary Music Festival
Venue: Boyce Recital Hall, Indiana State University - Terre Haute, Indiana
Info:
At Indiana State University, Suleiman presents his music virtually and his work Animato Misterioso receives an "encore video performance" from Chris Froh.
5 Nov 2020 | Friday 7:30pm livestream *encore*
Local Voices - Festival of New American Music
Venue: Online via Sacramento State School of Music - Sacramento, California
Info: https://www.csus.edu/college/arts-letters/music/spotlight/fenam-festival.html
As part of the Festival of New American Music's Local Voices program, an "encore" performance video will be presented of my work, The Floating Island II, from Sakurako Kanemitsu's stunning performance at UC Davis in March 2020.
25 Jan 2021 | Monday 7:30pm livestream *world premiere*
Left Coast Chamber Ensemble - Long Distance Call
Venue: Livestream - San Francisco, California
Admission: suggested donation of $25
Info: https://www.leftcoastensemble.org/call
"Responding to the safety measures required in the pandemic, Left Coast has commissioned new works conceived as long distance conversations between a piano trio and a soprano. Laura Rose Schwartz and Ryan Suleiman will each write a new work using a call and response model: the singer and ensemble alternate in sending each other musical postcards! Music by George Lewis and Louise Farrenc completes the program."
Postponed due to the pandemic
19 April 2020 | Sunday 3pm POSTPONED due to COVID-19
Empyrean Ensemble
Venue: Pitzer Center, UC Davis - Davis, California
Admission: FREE
Tickets/Info: https://arts.ucdavis.edu/event/empyrean-ensemble-2
Empyrean Ensemble premieres my vox mysterium, based on material from my Piano Concerto, which is in progress. Works also by Orkun Akyol, Trey Makler, Emily Sullivan, Addie Camsuzou, and Aida Shirazi.
8 May 2020 | Friday 7'30pm POSTPONED due to COVID-19
Calliope's Call: There is no plan(et) B
Venue: First Church & Parish 670 High St. - Dedham, Massachusetts
Admission: see link below
Tickets/Info: http://calliopescall.org/score_call.php
The New England-based vocal / art-song collective, Calliope's Call, will premiere my soprano/piano arrangement of decketh joy, water destroy, which uses Ralph Waldo Emerson's meditation on water to contemplate the meaning of water for humans in our troubled century. The work was selected along with pieces by Catarina Domenici, Andrew List, and Katie Palka for a performance in a program that focuses on the climate crisis. Grateful for the selection and to the ensemble for highlighting this issue through art!
9 May 2020 | Saturday 7'30pm POSTPONED due to COVID-19
Calliope's Call: There is no plan(et) B
Venue: Old West Church 131 Cambridge St. - Boston, Massachusetts
Admission: see link below
Tickets/Info: http://calliopescall.org/score_call.php
The New England-based vocal / art-song collective, Calliope's Call, will premiere my soprano/piano arrangement of decketh joy, water destroy, which uses Ralph Waldo Emerson's meditation on water to contemplate the meaning of water for humans in our troubled century. The work was selected along with pieces by Catarina Domenici, Andrew List, and Katie Palka for a performance in a program that focuses on the climate crisis. Grateful for the selection and to the ensemble for highlighting this issue through art!
16 May 2020 | Saturday 7pm POSTPONED due to COVID-19
Compositions for Dance, Cello & Piano
Venue: Pitzer Center, UC Davis - Davis, California
Admission: $12 students / $24 general
Tickets/Info: https://arts.ucdavis.edu/event/compositions-dancepiano-and-cello
In a cross-disciplinary collaboration, Sakurako Kanemitsu (piano) and Michael Dahlberg (cello) team up with choreographer Jacob Gutiérrez-Montoya for a performance of original music and dance, with compositions by myself, Aida Shirazi, and Sarah Wald. They will premiere my new piece, in a field of stars.