SeaGL speaker Q&A: Susan Harris

Susan Harris gives her talk titled, “The Rhythm of Patterns” on Saturday afternoon.

Q: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background?

A: My name is Susan Harris and I’m a piano teacher and pianist. I began studying the piano in England, at the age of seven, later receiving a BA (Hons) music degree and then a Post Grad in Music Education from Reading University. For many years I taught in schools including orchestra and choir, as well as piano. I also regularly perform. I’m a member of a local chamber music trio, and I accompany other musicians, as well as performing with local orchestras. My website is: harrismusicnotes.com

Q: Without tipping your hand on the actual talk, can you give us an idea of what we might expect?

A: You can expect Balinese Monkey Chants - seriously! I’m going to explain how our WET (Western European Traditional) music approach has to analyse what these performers do and how they do it. We’re going to look at the patterns and the rhythms… and then create and perform our own!

Q: Is this your first visit to SeaGL? If so, what are your expectations? If not, can you give us your impressions of the event?

A: It’s my first visit and I’m excited. I’m going to meet so many people with new and fresh ideas. I’m also quite daunted - they’re all super intelligent too!

Q: Why do you think computer people would want to listen to a talk by a musician?

A: So many of the computer people I know are musicians too, and seem to be intrigued by the maths and patterns in music.