William Susman | |
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| Born | William Joseph Susman August 29, 1960 Chicago, United States |
| Education | University of Illinois |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, pianist, film producer |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Website | www |
William Joseph Susman (born August 29, 1960) is an American composer of concert and film music and a pianist. He has written orchestral and chamber music as well as documentary film scores.[1]
Susman's music is inspired by Afro-Cuban montuño, medieval hocket and isorhythm. In addition to performances of his music in the U.S. and Europe, his compositions have been broadcast, for example his piano concerto on WQXR,[2] in New Sounds on WNYC,[3] Echoes[4] on NPR and Concertzender.[5]
He founded the record label Belarca Records to distribute his material and the work of other living composers.
Susman's earliest orchestral works were influenced by Iannis Xenakis and György Ligeti.[6] He is interested in algorithmic composition, following his composition teacher Herbert Brun at the University of Illinois.[7] His microtonal compositions were influenced by Ben Johnston. He also studied piano with Pauline Lindsey (a student of Artur Schnabel), Steve Behr (pianist with Louis Armstrong) and Alan Swain.
Orchestra
Chamber ensemble
Wind quintet
Brass quintet
Vocal/Choral
Percussion
String quartet
Piano Trio
Piano
Solo and duo
Electronic
Film music
