William Susman

American composer William Susman has created a distinctively expressive voice in contemporary classical music, with a catalog that includes orchestral, chamber, and vocal music, as well as numerous film scores. In addition to his work as a composer, he spearheads the contemporary ensemble OCTET and Belarca Records. AllMusic calls him an exemplar of "the next developments in the sphere . . . [of] minimalism," and textura describes him as “not averse to letting his affection for Afro-Cuban, jazz, and other forms seep into his creative output.” His music has earned praise from The New York Times for being “vivid, turbulent, and rich-textured,” from Gramophone as “texturally shimmering and harmonically ravishing,” and from textura for being “entrancing . . . harmonious and vibrant.”

Susman’s training as both a jazz and classical pianist was influential in his evolution as a composer. His academic training in composition grounded him in the traditions of mid-century modernism, and he was particularly fascinated by the sounds and techniques of Xenakis and Ligeti. He became increasingly dissatisfied with the expressive and formal limitations of post-war modernism, though, and began to incorporate more diverse elements and influences – free jazz, Afro-Cuban techniques, as well as other non-Western traditions – in what has become his recognizably American and individual voice. His music uses an eclectic array of devices, from medieval isorhythm and hocket to Afro-Cuban clave and montuño rhythmic patterns. With this toolkit, he crafts a bold sound world both familiar and complex, with highly energetic grooves and hypnotic modal-based harmonies.

Awards

ASCAP Foundation Young Composer Award for Trailing Vortices
ASCAP Foundation Raymond Hubbell Award for Movement for Orchestra
BMI Student Composer Award for Pentateuch
Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard for Trailing Vortices
Gaudeamus International Musicweek for Trailing Vortices
KUCYNA/ALEA III International Composers Competition for Twisted Figures
Moondance International Film Festival Best Film Score for Fate of the Lhapa
Moondance International Film Festival Best Film Score for Oil on Ice
Pare Lorentz Award - International Documentary Association for Oil on Ice
Park City Film Music Festival Best Impact of Music in a Documentary for Fate of the Lhapa
Park City Film Music Festival Best Impact of Music in a Documentary for Native New Yorker
Percussive Arts Society for Exchanges
Tribeca Film Festival Best Documentary Short for Native New Yorker

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