Kotoka Suzuki | Department of Arts, Culture and Media

Biography

Kotoka Suzuki is a Japanese-born composer and sound artist. Her work frequently investigates the relationship between visual elements and sound, often crossing into theater. Her compositions reflect on life, breath and nature, proposing sound as a physical form manipulated through the sculptural practice of composition. Inspired by the synthesis of technology and music, her work is written for a wide range of mediums, including acoustic instruments, electronics, video, dance, and multimedia, such as spatially interactive audio-visual work for both concert and installation settings. They are at times produced in collaboration with artists and scholars from other disciplines.

Suzuki’s work has been featured internationally by performers such as Arditti String Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, Pacifica Quartet, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Continuum, and Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra (Germany). Her work has been presented at numerous venues and broadcasters such as Deutschland Radio, BBC Radio3, Ultraschall (Germany), ISCM World Music Days, The Stone, ZKM Media Museum (Germany), and Music at the Anthology (MATA).

She has taught at the University of Chicago and Arizona State University and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough with a graduate appointment in the Faculty of Music on the St. George campus. Her work is published by Edition RZ, EMF Media, IMEB records and Signpost Music. She has been an associate composer at the Canadian Music Centre since 2001.

Constraint Obstacle Studies
Courtesy of Follow My Score - incipitsify
Performers: Aiyun Huang, Austin Lamarche, Britton Rene Collins, Chung Ling Lo, David Schotzko, Haruka Fuji,
Michael Murphy, Michelle Colton, Nikki Joshi, Rick Sacks, Ryan Scott & Zuri Wells.

Orbit
Performers:
Soprano Sax / Jarred Waters & Matt Fox
Alto Sax / Nathan Salazar & Tanner Bayles
Tenor Sax / Patrick Feher & Chris Sacco
Baritone Sax / Kirsten Zelenak & Bonson Lee
Director / Christopher Creviston
Director of Video / Daniel Dickson
Post-Production / Dan Shannon-Spence

In Praise of Shadows
Courtesy of ISCM World New Music Days 2017. Performed by Vancouver Electronic Ensemble.
Editor / monteur - Mike Southworth, Collide Entertainment Producer / productrice - Joanna Dundas
Camera Operators / cadreurs – Doug Fury, Mike Southworth Sound Engineer / ingénieur du son – Andy Smith

Education

Kotoka Suzuki received her B.M. in composition from Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and a D.M.A. in composition at Stanford University, where she studied with Jonathan Harvey. Additional professional training include IRCAM Composition Summer Workshop, June in Buffalo, Domaine Forget with York Höller, and Voix Nouvelles Academy at Fondation Royaumont with Brian Ferneyhough and Franco Donatoni.

Affiliations

Canadian Music Centre
ASCAP

Teaching Interests

Music Composition. Audio Technology, Experimental Music, Sound & visual, Electroacoustic Music

Research Interests

Sound & Spatialization, Music & Technology, Electroacoustic Music, Music & Theatre, Sound Art

Awards and Grants

DAAD Berlin Artists in Residence (Germany), The Bourges First Prize in Multimedia (France), First Prize in the International Electro-Acoustic Musica Nova Competition (Czech Republic), New Music USA Grant, George A and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation Fellowship among other awards. Residencies include MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Djerassi, Ucross and the Center for Arts and Media (ZKM).

Exhibitions

Kotoka Suzuki. Automata | Mechanical Garden. Group exhibition. February 9 – August 4, 2013.
Center for Art and Media ZKM (Karlsruhe, Germany), https://zkm.de/en/publication/move-onasia

Performances

	Orison Commissioned by 21C Music Festival, Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto July 7, 2022. Heroines of Sound Festival (Berlin, Germany) Ensemble LUX:NM https://www.heroines-of-sound.com
	Furusato: Home of the Heart Commissioned by CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra October 1&2, 2021. Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus (Cleveland, OH / US) Yoogin Jang, violin / Masumi Per Rostad, viola / Mimi Hwang, violoncello https://www.citymusiccleveland.org/current-season https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSsQ_BMfMxM Image credit: screen image from the video above that was produced by CityMusic Cleveland
	Crossbeams March 30, 2021 Unerhörte Musik BKA Theatre, Berlin, Germany Commissioned by Trio Radial for Clarinet, Horn & Violoncello Trio Radial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaW-CWQFK_w
	Minyo July 9, 2019 Rush Hour Concerts St. James Cathedral, Chicago, IL Spektral Quartet Spektral Quartet http://spektralquartet.com/concerts/2019/11/14/fields-of-vision-ran-suzuki-and-thorvaldsdottir
	In Praise of Shadows Commissioned by the Contemporary Music Festival, Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ / US) November 3, 2017 ISCM World Music Days Festival (Vancouver) Vancouver Electronic Ensemble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtZrnYlG2K4 Image credit: took a screen image from the video above that was produced by ISCM World Music Days