Suzanne Ciani on Humanizing Technology
About Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani was an early pioneer of electronic music in the United States. She studied composition at the University of California at Berkeley and computer music at Stanford with John Chowning and Max Matthews. She began working with synthesizer designer Don Buchla in the early 1970s, and her knowledge and passion for the Buchla synthesizer led to a very successful career as a synthesist and commercial sound designer. Throughout the 1970s, her work led to the creation of iconic sounds for commercials and video games.
In 1981, Ciani became the first woman to score a major full-length Hollywood release, Lilly Tomlin’s the Incredible Shrinking Woman. In 1982 she began a career as a solo artist producing instrumental music that combined electronic and acoustic instruments, picking up five Grammy nominations and numerous industry awards. Her career has come full circle with a return to her electronic roots, performing solo modular synthesizer concerts in the past two years. She was a featured artist at Moogfest 2016, and a documentary film of her career is currently in production.