Soosan Lolavar

Soosan is one of eight composers selected for a place on the 2023 RPS Composers programme. This will culminate in her writing a new piece, commissioned by the RPS, for Cheltenham Music Festival.

On this page, Soosan introduces herself in her own words, and shares links to her music, her website, and her social media platforms. We warmly invite programmers and commissioners to take a closer look at Soosan's work, and please be in touch with us if you would like to connect with her.

About Soosan

'I am a British-Iranian composer and lecturer, and my work explores diaspora, hybridity and the boundaries between Iranian and western musical traditions. I hope that my works exist at some distance from the well-trodden 'East meets West' orthodoxies, seeking instead volatile and often uncomfortable points of contact - encapsulating within the listening experience the complexities and contradictions of hybridity. More recently I have become interested in relaxing the use of technique in my works, arriving at a style which is more forceful and singular in its direction.

The music I love is normally very old or very new, and lately this has had quite a lot to do with the viola da gamba. I received a PhD in 2021 and have studied at University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Carnegie Mellon University and City, University of London.'

Highlights

  • Commission for Riot Ensemble to be premiered at Gaudeamus Festival, 2024
  • Album of music for solo, de-tuned violin performed by Sarah Saviet and released on All That Dust, 2023
  • PhD thesis to be published as a book by Routledge within their series 'Developing Traditions in Qualitative Inquiry', 2023
  • I am the Spring, You are the Earth commissioned by Laura Jurd, performed on UK tour and featured on the album 'Stepping Back, Jumping In'
  • Mah Didam featured on the album 'Song' by The Hermes Experiment

Find out more

If you are interested in finding out more about Soosan, hearing and and keeping up to date with her work, take a look at her website and social media below:

We are particularly grateful to the Susan Bradshaw Composers’ Fund for supporting Soosan’s RPS commission. In addition, the 2023 RPS Composers programme is made possible with support from RPS Members, Delius Trust, The Fidelio Charitable Trust, PRS Foundation's The Open Fund, the Radcliffe Trust, the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund, the Vaughan Williams Foundation and several anonymous donors.