Suz works, plays, and performs with and for groups of all sizes, from intimate gatherings to classrooms, concert halls and major whoop-ti-dos. She played by invitation at the White House in Washington, D.C., and appears in concert and on numerous albums with musicians from smooth jazz to Indie pop and other genres. She has also performed with musical comedy improv theatre groups, and mentors emerging composers and performers.
Suz uses her diverse multi-era 2,000-song repertoire and multi-faceted performing experience to find just the right music to suit any occasion and invite people into possibility. She is as comfortable setting a reflective, reverent musical tone at a spiritual retreat, wedding or memorial service as she is leading a rousing spontaneous singalong! She plays numerous instruments, including piano, ukulele, guitar, bass, boomwhackers, mandolin, recorders, Charango, ethnic flutes, psaltery, and a smattering of violin, cello, and harp.
One of Suz’s specialties is creating songs on the spot, working with topic suggestions from the audience, similar to Whose Line is it Anyway? These might happen at venues ranging from improv shows to intimate concerts to simply walking down the street.
Check out a sample video of her on-the-spot songwriting from the Sacred Grounds Cafe Open Poetry Night in San Francisco, Sept. 2016. (Fun fact: she is playing the ukulele Prim in this video, handmade by Corvallis, OR luthier extraordinaire, Pat Megowan!) Watch out; she might make a up a songs about YOU next!
MUSIC PERFORMING SERVICES BY SUZ
Over the years, Suz has played piano as a soloist and accompanist for various configurations of musicians at hundreds of weddings, memorial services, and other kinds of gatherings, from reverent to raucous.
She has extensive experience coordinating and music directing for such events, and is known for creating underscoring and transition music on the fly as needed.
Suz educates clients about the function of music at gatherings and different options for structure, format, and flow of the songs to support the emotional intent of the event. She prepares music charts for performers and singers, rehearses vocalists and instrumentalists, and creates underscoring for transitional moments, slide shows, and spontaneous events, often in the moment.
Most important, Suz ensures that anything that arises will be supported musically, giving the event a feeling of smooth flow, polish, and continuity.
MORE INFO
Download Suz’s free factsheet, “How to choose Music for a Memorial Service” to better understand the function of music at such a gathering, and how music can make the experience more meaningful and a more accurate expression of the personality of the loved one whose loss is being grieved and honored.
