Events
Reflections: Suzanne Ciani & Qur'an Shaheed in Portland
- 8:00pm–11:00pm Saturday, May 13, 2023
ALL AGES | TICKETS $22-55 | Doors 7:00PM | First Congregational Church of Portland | More info here
Legendary synth composer and recording artist Suzanne Ciani leads us on a quadraphonic sound journey, exploring the limits of spatial audio and live Buchla performance at the historic First Congregational Church of Portland. Opener Qur’an Shaheed graces us with an extended ambient set, all accompanied by a stunning light experience.
Suzanne Ciani
A five-time Grammy award-nominated composer, electronic music pioneer, and neo-classical recording artist, Suzanne has released over 20 solo albums including Seven Waves and The Velocity of Love, along with a landmark quad LP LIVE Quadraphonic, which restarted her Buchla modular performances. Her work has been featured in films, games, and countless commercials as well. She was inducted into the first class of Keyboard Magazine's Hall of Fame alongside other synth luminaries, including Bob Moog, Don Buchla, and Dave Smith and received the Moog Innovation Award. Suzanne provided the voice and sounds for Bally's groundbreaking ""Xenon"" pinball machine, created Coca-Cola’s pop-and-pour sound, designed logos for Fortune 500 companies, and carved out a niche as one of the most creatively successful female composers in the world. A Life in Waves, a documentary about Ciani’s life and work, debuted at SXSW in 2017. Ciani is a graduate of Wellesley College and holds a Masters in Music Composition from the University of California, Berkeley.
Qur'an Shaheed
Qur'an Shaheed (b. 1992, Pasadena, CA) is a pianist, poet, singer and songwriter based in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA. She has been playing piano since the age of four, trained extensively in classical music through the expertise of her mother Sharon Shaheed and grandmother Monique Simpson. Since 2012 she has been developing her practice as a songwriter alongside her solo piano and ensemble work. She released the album Process, with producer Jesse Justice and Preference Records, in 2020 and regularly performs in and around Los Angeles. Her sound is innovative, highly personal and experimental, incorporating elements of improvisation as well as neo-classical and neo-soul techniques. Shaheed often collaborates with others and has worked with Koreatown Oddity, filmmaker Vashni Korin, the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (of which her father Nolan Shaheed is also a member), and she is the keyboardist for Jimetta Rose’s gospel choir The Voices of Creation.