Reflections on Music and Nature Ryan Suleiman

In Chinese, the word for university (大学) translates literally as “Great Learning.” For composer Lei Liang (prof. at UC San Diego), composing at a university means one has the ability to collaborate with and learn from other scholars in vastly different disciplines. The work of Huang Binhong (1865-1955) served as the inspiration for Lei’s orchestral work, “A thousand mountains, a million streams.” Binhong, having lost his sight later in life, demonstrates how a “handicap” can ultimately become a superpower leading to greater creativity. We also talk about the cicadas of his childhood in Beijing, the role of titles for composers/audiences, and how technology can actually deepen our listening practice, among many other topics. Lei also cautions against the dangers of “jumping on the bandwagon” of trendy labels and political expediency.
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YouTube: https://youtu.be/fOs8DgtRzLc 
Lei Liang: https://sites.google.com/site/leiliangcomposer2/
Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP): https://youtu.be/sj3JxTtNsjs?si=kuE9Uesc02imnVNY
Lei Lab: https://lei-lab.ucsd.edu/ 

How can we collaborate with the environment around us as theater-makers? What is the relationship between “process” and “product”? How can we see beyond the goal of a project to understand and honor its surprising reverberations outside the so-called “actual project”? Dramaturg Allyssa Schmidt and movement artist Alli Ross, both professors at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, help me ask and answer these questions on and off mic. They not only talk about their ideas, but implement them in the way they teach and make art… AND in the way they do an interview for a podcast: Outdoors, by a pond, welcoming the water sounds, wind, hikers, and helicopters overhead.
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Available on YouTube (video), Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Alyssa Schmidt: https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/directory/alyssa-schmidt
Alli Ross: https://www.alliross.com/  
Coastal Climate for Change at Berklee / BOCO: https://college.berklee.edu/faculty-development/events/coastal-climate-for-change-summit  
Climate Change Theater Action: https://www.climatechangetheatreaction.com/  
Superhero Clubhouse: http://www.superheroclubhouse.org/
Climate Ready Boston: https://www.boston.gov/environment-and-energy/climate-ready-boston 

Visual artist Peter London grew up in Brooklyn NY, which perhaps makes him a city kid. But for his entire life, he has been obsessed with escaping the limitations of cities and human perception, seeking insights not from other humans, but from the natural world. He sees the cosmos as the ultimate teacher for all of us. In our conversation, we discuss a wide range of topics, from how one’s artistic process can imitate the cosmos, to his involvement with civil rights in the 1960’s, to the fascinating intersection of his work as an artist, teacher, and art therapist. We also discuss his collaborations with musicians and why he sees music as the most emotional of the arts. 
This is the FIRST episode recorded face-to-face; you can see video on YouTube: 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXJjWPNCl6e_ujBOxUniEAA 

feat. Kurt Rohde (musician/composer), Dana Spiotta (writer), and Marie Lorenz (artist)
Why write a normal opera when you can write one for an outdoor performance on top of a polluted urban creek? Is it simple? No. Is it worth it? Absolutely. The creators of Newtown Odyssey, an actual floating opera, ask us to get our shoes a little dirty, let birds and machinery join the opera, and appreciate the horror and beauty of rainbow patterns of oil on the creek’s surface. They speak about the joys and challenges of collaborating with each other and their literal surroundings on unconventional work, and how they hope to help the efforts of the Newtown Creek Alliance. 
THIS OPERA PREMIERES ON SEP 8-10 NEAR BROOKLYN, NY.
LINKS:
Newtown Odyssey website: https://www.newtownodyssey.com/
Newtown Odyssey YouTube channel:    / @newtownodyssey4642  
Kurt Rohde (composer / musician): https://www.kurtrohde.com/
Dana Spiotta (writer): https://danaspiotta.com/
Marie Lorenz (artist): http://www.marielorenz.com/

What's to come in Season 2 of RMN:
www.ryansuleiman.com/rmn 
Newtown Odyssey opera
Kurt Rohde, composer/musician
Dana Spiotta, writer 
Marie Lorenz, artist
Lei Liang, composer 
Chromic Duo (Lucy Yao, Dorothy Chan)
Alyssa Schmidt (dramaturgy) & Alli Ross (movement)
Peter London, visual artist

from Oct 4, 2020: "Gabriela Lena Frank is 48, but wants to live to be 100, when we've re-imagined a better, greener society. For her, that starts with her music-making. GLF is a composer and pianist based in Northern California and founder of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. In our conversation and by example with the GLFCAM, she articulates what a genuinely eco-friendly musical practice could look like, easily connecting a range of big topics from climate change to capitalism, the ubran/rural divide, and authenticity, encouraging us to shed our over-perfectionism in order to overcome our paralysis. We also talk about her multi-cultural heritage and the journey that is connecting with one's roots."
GLFCAM: https://www.glfcam.com/