About
Christina Rusnak / Composer/Explorer
Christina Rusnak is passionate about composing about the world around her and the human experience.
My Bio
“By nature, I’m an explorer. That informs all of my endeavors. I love creating connections – ideas, people, place, and music. I believe that music can connect people in ways beyond notes on a page.”
Christina Rusnak is a composer, explorer and cultural catalyst who draws inspiration from the world around her. Passionate about composing about place and the human experience, Rusnak seeks to integrate a sense of context into her music from a variety of sources including landscape, culture, history, ecology and art, she strives to communicate something meaningful about the human experience through music. In that vein, she works to write music that is engaging as well as thought provoking.
Ms. Rusnak’s compositional palette includes chamber ensemble, orchestra, wind band, choral and solo pieces as well as jazz, electro-acoustic works and short film. She is eager to explore new challenges. In addition to composing for the Dallas Contemporary Art Museum, in 2009-10 she created a sound art series as composer-in-residence. In 2010-2011 she served as Executive Director for Orchestra 2001. An avid hiker and cultural geographer, she has been commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service, The National Park Service, and Oregon State Parks with over dozen pieces inspired by experiences in their landscapes. In 2018, Ms. Rusnak was commissioned by Kino-Lorber Films to score a silent film for the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers series. She worked with cultural groups and tribal communities along the Columbia River to compose Wy’am, musically depicting the oldest continuously inhabited place on the North American continent. Rusnak’s work has been performed by amazing musicians at many festivals and concerts across the country. Videos on YouTube
A passionate writer and advocate for new music and place, Rusnak’s essays have been published in a variety of sources including New Music Box, Oregon Arts Watch, and the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music. Ms. Rusnak serves on the board of the International Alliance for Women in Music and on the advisory board of Signal Fire Arts. Her recordings are available through Amazon, Ariel and Parma Recordings, and Naxos. Her music is published by Rusnak Music Press. (Full biography below)
Christina S. Rusnak
BIOGRAPHY
Christina Rusnak is a composer, explorer and cultural catalyst who draws inspiration from the world around her. Passionate about composing about place and the human experience, Rusnak seeks to integrate a sense of context into her music from a variety of sources including landscape, culture, history, ecology and art, she strives to communicate something meaningful about the human experience through music. In that vein, she works to write music that is engaging as well as thought provoking.
Ms. Rusnak’s works include chamber, orchestra, wind band, short film, and solo pieces as well as women’s choir, jazz, electro-acoustic works. She is eager to explore new musical challenges. In addition to composing for the Dallas Contemporary Art Museum, in 2009-10 she created a sound art series as composer-in-residence. In 2010-2011 she served as Executive Director for Orchestra 2001. Ms. Rusnak has also received commissions and performances from talented ensembles and performers including The Chris Klaxton Band, Corvus, Citywater and Third Angle New Music Ensembles, Winona State University Wind Band, the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra, pianist Jeffrey Jacob and cellist Ovidiu Marinescu. In 2016, she traveled to Cuba as part of the People–to-People program to record with Vocal Luna in Havana.
An avid hiker and cultural geographer, she has been commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service, The National Park Service, and Oregon State Parks with over dozen pieces inspired by experiences in their landscapes. In 2014, She composed Life of Ashes about the ravages of fire for the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, and in 2018, composed a reinterpretation of The Oregon Trail, for the 50th anniversary of the National Scenic Trails and Wild Rivers Acts. Ms. Rusnak was commissioned by Kino-Lorber Films to score the 1913 film, A House Divided, and she worked with cultural groups and tribal communities along the Columbia River to compose Wy’am, musically depicting the oldest continuously inhabited place on the North American continent. Rusnak’s work has been performed across the country including the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and most recently at the Turn UP Festival in Arizona, the Call of the Wild Arts Festival, and the Festival of New American Music. Most recently, she was selected to direct the renowned Composing in the Wilderness Seminar as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in July 2019. Upcoming projects include a new wind band piece, and a new choral work.
Originally from an old St. Louis beer family, Ms. Rusnak began composing at age nine. She earned her Master’s degree in Composition and Arts Leadership at the University of North Texas in 2010, and moved to Portland Oregon in 2012. A passionate writer and advocate for new music and place, Rusnak’s essays have been published in New Music Box, Oregon Arts Watch, and the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music. Christina Rusnak reflects on how composers and performers are “looking at the diverse landscapes in which we live, with their complex human histories and changing values, as the grounds to examine the intersection of place and people—past and present.” (New Music USA 2015-2016 Year in Review). Her intermedia work (film, music, actors) From the Sidewalk, addresses the invisibility of a homeless woman in New York City.
Ms. Rusnak also works with communities and organizations to bring music, and culture into public spaces. In 2016, she presented on Music and Advocacy at the Rural Arts Conference at the University of Iowa. A member of the Landscape Music Composers Network, she serves on the board of the International Alliance for Women in Music and on the advisory board of Signal Fire Arts. Her recordings are available through Amazon, Ariel and Parma Recordings, and Naxos. Her music is published by Rusnak Music Press. To listen go to her YouTube Channel.
Christina Rusnak
Christina S. Rusnak
Curriculum Vitae
2712 NE 13thAve
Portland, OR, 97212 971-275-2534 C
Website: http://www.christinarusnak.com csrusnak27@gmail.com
Profile
- Passionate about composing about place and the human experience, sheintegrates context into her music from landscape, culture, history and art.
- A composer whose work exhibits a diversity of styles and points of view
- Repertoire includes Chamber Ensemble, Orchestra, Wind Band, Choral, Jazz, Electro-acoustic Film and Solo works
- A writer and advocate for New Music, with articles published by New Music Box, Oregon Arts Watch, Landscapemusic.org, IAWM Journal among others
Education
Master’s in Music Composition; University of North Texas,Denton, Texas; 2010
Professors and post-graduate composition studies with: David Bithell, Cindy McTee, Jonathan Newman, William Hoshal & Andrea Reinkemeyer
Graduate Certification, Arts Leadership, University of North Texas
Graduate Certification, Cultural Planning, University of British Columbia
Bachelor’s of Business Administration, Management; University of North Texas
Leadership & Board Service
Board President,International Alliance for Women in Music, 2020-2022
Director, Composing in the Wilderness, Alaska, 2019
Board Treasurer,International Alliance for Women in Music, 2016-2019
Board Member, Signal Fire Arts, 2015-2018
Board Treasurer, Institute of Management Consultants, 2015-2018
Steering Committee Member, Portland Emerging Arts Leaders, Oregon 2012-2015
Interim Executive Director, Orchestra 2001, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2010-2011
Sound Art Curator, Dallas Contemporary Art Museum, 2009-2010
President, University of North Texas, Composers Forum, 2009-2010
Additional Professional Affiliations (abbreviated selection)
American Choral Directors Association
American Composers Forum
American Planning Association, ARTS Division
BMI, Writer and Publisher member, Rusnak Music Press
Cascadia Composers (NACUSA northwest chapter)
Chamber Music America
College Band Directors National Association
Intertwine Alliance
Jazz Education Network
Landscape Music Composers’ Network
League of American Orchestras
Compositions
South Pass Orchestra Spring 2021
Water and Stone Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello & Percussion Fall 2020
Fanfare for Justice French Horn Quartet 2020
Fanfare for Justice French Horn Solo 2020
Dune Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello 2020
Hyas Tyee Temwata Adaptable Small Wind Ensemble 2020/2019
The Coast in Winter Adaptable Small Wind Ensemble with Soloist 2020/2018
Fanfare Quintet for Adaptable Brass 2020/2007
Small Organisms Duos & Quartet for Adaptable Winds 2020/2006
Alaudidae Trio for Adaptable Winds and Strings 2020/1998
Liberty’s Light Women’s A‘capella Choir 2019
Passage Wind Band 2019
Dusk Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Marimba (piano 2008) 2019
Hyas Tyee Temwata Wind Band 2019
WYAM, Celilo Falls Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet, Fr. Horn, Bass, & 2018
Percussion Quartet
Oregon Trail (3 mvmts) Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Percussion, 2018
The Coast in Winter Grade 1 Wind Band, Grade 3 Viola Solo 2018
Tundra Tapestry (v.2) Flute, English Horn, Cello 2018
Contemplation Piano 2018
A House Divided Viola, Piano (for Kino Films) 2018
Tundra Tapestry Flute, Bass Clarinet, Violin 2017
Passage Orchestra 2017
Querido Difunto Women’s Choir (Translated into Spanish) 2017
Queridos Amados Women’s Choir (Translated into Spanish) 2017
Glacier Blue Cello Solo 2017
Le Jardin Perdu Piano 2016 (Revised)
Dearly Departed Women’s Choir 2016
The Way Through Violin, Cello, Clarinet, Marimba 2015
The Mountain Within String Orchestra 2015
The Life of Ashes Flute, Viola, Percussion 2014
Canyon Voices Flute, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Perc 2014
Coal Creek 2 violins, Bass Clarinet, Marimba 2013
Teklanika Chamber Orchestra & for Oboe, 2 Violins, Piano 2013
Going Rogue French Horn, Trumpet, Trombone 2013
FREE LAND Percussion, Flute, Violin, Cello, Trumpet 2012
Sequence: 3,4,5 Percussion, Flute, Clarinet, Trombone, VC 2011
Dearly Beloved Women’s Choir 2011
161 Glass Percussion Quartet + Clarinet & Trombone 2010
Rapartee Cello and Double Bass Duo 2010
Cancion del Barco Flute Solo (Grade 4) 2010
HighLine Piano, Percussion and Bass 2009
(Arr. For Jazz Orch. by D. Richards)
Dusk Violin, Clarinet Piano (also Piano Solo) 2008
JARS Large Chamber Ensemble 2008
Unspoken Geography Tape (Voice with Ambient Sounds) 2008
(Fear)
Chill Piano, Clarinet and Bass 2007
(Arr. for Jazz Orch. by D. Richards )
Nunc Dimittis Organ 2007
Fanfare Trumpet-2, Tombone-2, Tuba (Grade 3-4) 2007
Through Fog Piano 2007
The Jar Collection Chamber Ensemble 2007
Fugue for Strings Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass 2007
Kyripo Piano 2006
Small Organisms Piano (also strings)(Grade 1-3) 2006
White Rock Morning Tape (Eco-Sound) 2006
Chat Piano, Trumpet and Violin 2005
(Arr. for Jazz Orch. by D. Richards)
From the Sidewalk Video / Audio Soprano, String Trio and Actors 2005
Allegro Piano Solo (Grade 3-4) 2003
Malediction Trumpet, Soprano, Piano 2000
Cloudburst Marimba, Vibes, Timpani, Cello or Bass 1998
Alaudidae Flute/Clarinet Duo (Grade 3) 1998
Musette Piano solo (Grade 2-3) 1997 (Revised)
Performances
Dusk Quartet Lincoln Hall, Portland Oregon February 2020
Glacier Blue Delaware County Comm. College February 2020
Glacier Blue Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York February 2020
Oregon Trail Suite FeNAM, Sacramento CA, November 2019
Kyripo Women’s Music Festival, Velos, Greece September 2019
Oregon Trail mvmt 2 Citywater, Sacramento CA, May 2019
The Coast in Winter Winona State University, Minnesota April 2019
Oregon Trail, mvmt 1 TURN UP Festival, Tucson, AZ March 2019
Glacier Blue Portland, OR March 2019
A House Divided Kino Lorber Films, November 2018 Release
The Mountain Within Beaverton Symphony Orchestra November 2018
Oregon Trail, mvmt 1 FeNAM, Sacramento CA November 2018
Oregon Trail mvmt 3 Portland OR, October 2018
Oregon Trail, mvmt 1 Michigan Tech Houghton MI, October 2018
Oregon Trail mvmt 3. Atlanta GA, September 2018
Oregon Trail, mvmt 1 Vallejo, CA, Visions of the Wild Festival September 2018
Tundra Tapestry v.2 Portland, Oregon May 2018
Glacier Blue Michigan Tech Houghton, Michigan December 2017
Tundra Tapestry Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival& Denali July 2017
Coal Creek Portland, OR May 2017
Glacier Blue Portland, OR April 2017
The Life of Ashes Intertwine, Portland OR October 2016
White Rock Morning Eugene Oregon January 2016
The Way Through Portland Oregon November 2015
Going Rogue Portland Oregon November 2014
The Life of Ashes Umpqua Valley Arts, Roseburg OR December 2014
Chat Portsmouth NH, Parma Music Festival August 2014
The Life of Ashes Columbia Arts, Hood River, OR August 2014
Adrianna Portland, Oregon November 2013
Teklanika Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival July 2013
Unspoken Geography
(Fear) Voice in the 21stCentury
Flow Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival July 2012
161 Glass – Dallas Contemporary Museum
Mv. 3, Confluence April 2011
Mv. 2, Light Matters October 2010
Mv. 1, The Floor March 2010
White Rock Morning Dallas Contemporary Museum October 2010
Unspoken Geography Dallas Contemporary Museum March 2010
(Fear)
Chat University of North Texas, Denton November 2008
Fugue for Strings University of North Texas, Denton November 2007
Kyripo University of North Texas, Denton November 2007
Nunc Dimittus University of North Texas, Denton November 2007
White Rock Morning University of North Texas, Denton May 2006
Recordings
Dusk, Piano Solo Jazz and Meditations Ariel Records, B08JWTQSXT 2020
Jeffrey Jacobs # 16
Glacier Blue Moto Celeste, Navona Records NV 6266 2020
Parma Recordings, Ovidiu Marinescu, Cello
A House Divided Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers 2018
Kino Lorber Films UPC 7 38329 23411 9 Blue Ray
Le Jardin Perdue Contemporary Eclectic Music for Piano 2018
Ariel Records, B07C53MX3H Jeffrey Jacobs # 14
Dearly Departed Intersections, Ansonica Records AR0002 2016
Dearly Beloved Parma Recordings Sung by Vocal Luna
@ Abdala Studios
CHAT Parma Music Festival Live / Parma Recordings 2015
Chat Chill, HighLine Big Round Records, BR8937/ Parma Recordings 2014
Performed by LA Jazz @ Studio City Sound
Kyripo Slices, Navona Records NV5874 / Parma Recordings 2012
Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra
Cloudburst Masterworks # 10ERM Records 2007
Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra
Commissions and Festivals
2020 Fanfare for Justice for Low Horn Solo and for Horn Quartet by Mark Olsen
2019 Festival of New American Music, Oregon Trail
2019 Composing in the Wilderness – Directed the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival composition adventure in Denali Nat’l Park with nine composers
2019 TURN UP Festival, Oregon TrailMe-a-pa-teperformed University of Arizona, Tucson
2018 Festival of New American Music, Oregon Trailperformed by Citywater New Music Ens.
2018 Visions of the Wild Festival, Oregon Trail performed as part of the Landscape Music Rivers and Trails Concert Series
2018 Oregon Bach Festival, Composer Symposium performance of “Free Land”
2017 A House Divided by Kino Lorber Films, film by Alice Guy Blache
2017 Composing in the Wilderness: Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Tundra Tapestry
2017 Glacier Blue for solo cello by Third Angle New Music Ensemble
2016 Dearly Departed by Parma Recordings and Vocal Luna
2014 The Way Through for North Cascades National Park
2013 Canyon Voices by Oregon State Parks:Composer in Residence for Cottonwood Canyon State Park
2013 12th AnnualCSUF New Music Festival: Voice in the 21st Century (The Unspoken Geography)
2012-13 Composing in the Wilderness: Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Denali & Yukon Charley
Composed Flow& Teklanika respectively, performed by Corvus
2012 Free Land by Homestead National Monument
2010 Rapartee by Bottom Line Duo
2009-10 161 Glass by Dallas Contemporary Museum for the new Art Space
Residencies, Guest Lectures, and Speaking Presentations
(Online rehearsals excluded)
2022 Residency, Visby International Centre for Composers – deferred from May 2020
2021 Residency, Pine Meadow Ranch Arts– deferred from September 2020
2020 Guest Lecturer, Oregon State University, Corvalis, Oregon. November
2020 Panelist: New Music Gathering: Landscape Music, June
2020 Guest Composer, Leading Tones Music, May
2019 Guest Composer, Wells School of Music, West Chester University, Pennsylvania, November
2019 Speaker/Presenter: “Getting out of the Studio”,Cascadia Composers (NACUSA), February
2018 Speaker/Presenter: “Composing the Oregon Trail”,End of the Oregon Trail Museum. September
2018 Speaker/Presenter: “Composing in the Wilderness”Cascadia Composers (NACUSA), June
2016 Speaker/Presenter: “Music as Advocacy for our Rural Places”, RUPRI and Art of the Rural:
University of IOWA –October 2016
2016 Speaker/Presenter: “Music, Advocacy and participation in our region’s Natural Public Spaces” INTERTWINE ALLIANCE: ANNUAL SUMMIT
2015 Guest Lecturer: Marylhurst University, “Composing Landscape Music” April
2014 Residency, North Cascades National Park, Washington: composed The Way Through
Presentation: “Composing Landscape and Culture”
2014 Performance with Presentation: “Connecting to the Wilderness through Music“
Columbia Center for the ARTS,
2012 Residency: Homestead National Monument: composed FREE LAND
Presentation: “Composing Landscape and Culture”
Panelist
Oregon Cultural Trust grants panelist 2017
Oregon Arts Commission Arts grants panelist 2015 and 2016
Published Essays, Articles and Interviews
From the President, Fall 2020, IAWM Journal, Volume 26, No. 2
From the President. Spring 2020, IAWM Journal, Volume 26, No. 1
Landscape Music, Rivers and Trails, November 2018, IAWM Journal, Volume 24, No. 2
Widening Inclusion & Visibility, July 5, 2018, New Music Box
https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/widening-inclusion-visibility/
Widening Inclusion & Visibility Of Women In Music, May 2018, Jazz.net
http://jazzednet.org/resources/widening_inclusion/
Composing in the Wilderness, August 2017, Oregon Arts Watch
http://www.orartswatch.org/composing-in-the-wilderness-1-tundra-tapestry/
Commissioning Landscape Music, June 2017, Landscape Music.org
http://landscapemusic.org/essays/commissioning-landscape-music/
Solo Hikes: March 2017, Third Angle Buzz
http://thirdangle.org/buzz/buzz/solo-hikes-and-glacier-blue/535/
A Report from Cuba, November 2016, IAWM Journal, Volume 22, No. 2
Landscape Music, September 2, 2016, Oregon Arts Watch
http://www.orartswatch.org/landscape-music/
Music, Travel and the New Music Gathering, May 2016, IAWM Journal, Volume 22, No. 1
New Music and Place: Creating Community, April 25, 2016, New Music Box,
http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/new-music-and-place-creating-community/
Composing Advocacy: Social Voices,April 19, 2016, New Music Box,
http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/composing-advocacy-social-voices/
Money, Support and the Voice of New Music,April 13, 2016, New Music Box,
http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/money-support-and-the-voice-of-new-music/
New Music as Advocacy for Place, April 4, 2016, New Music Box,
http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/new-music-as-advocacy-for-place/
Cascadia’s Women Composers, Crazy Jane, November 2015, IAWM Journal, Volume 21, #2
Composing Landscape Music,July 2015, Landscape Music.org
http://landscapemusic.org/essays/composing-landscape-music/
Landscape Music as Advocacy, June 2015, Landscape Music.org
http://landscapemusic.org/essays/landscape-music-as-advocacy/
161 Glass: Site Specific Music in an Artistic Context, Masters’ Thesis; Three movement percussion quartet and the study of site specific music in an urban environment. Commissioned for the new Dallas Contemporary art space in 2010
Reconstructing Presence: Human Geography of Brent Phelps’ “On the Trail of Lewis and Clark”, Wandering Scholars, January 2009
50 @ 50: 50 Hikes @ 50 Places of Culture, Essays exploring the integration of physical geography and human and artistic culture; August 2010 – 2017
Radio & Online Broadcasts
WRUV 90.1 FM, Burlington Vermont; Glacier Blue II, SKY.March 10, 2020, 9:10am
WCNY 91.3 FM, Syracuse, New York: Diane Jones, “Feminine Fusion”: S4-23: Elemental Music, Part 2; Glacier Blue. February 8, 2020
Gathering Her Notes: Streaming via http://www.eburgradio.org/, Ellensburg, Washington; Glacier Blue. February 6, 2020 https://www.facebook.com/GatheringHerNotes/posts/3198581223523859
WFCF 88.5 FM, St. Augustine, Florida; “Music of Our Mothers” with Ellen Grolman # 177; Kyripo. June 7, 2017
WPRB 103.3 FM, Princeton, New Jersey; “Classical Discoveries” with Marvin Rosen; Kyripo. September 12, 2012, 6:35 am
Awards, Fellowships, Grants
OREGON Arts Commission, 2020 grant to travel to Visby for VICC residency
Oregon Historic Trails Grant, 2018 grant for performance of Oregon Trail
OREGON Arts Commission, 2016 grant to record in Cuba with Vocal Luna
Priddy Fellowship for Arts Leadership, University of North Texas, 2008-2009
Artistic Collaborations & Partnerships
Land Art Installation – Merridawn Duckler and Blackfish Gallery August 2021
Score Cover – Adam Simmons, Fanfare for Justice,2020
Score Cover – Theresa Saia, Dusk for Quartet,2020
Score Cover – Christine Rains, The Brook,2020
Score Cover – Susanne Clark, Repartee,2019
Score Cover – Percy Manser, courtesy of Randy Dagel, Wy’am 2018
Score Cover – Alice Guy Blaché, courtesty of Kino Lorber Films, 2018
Score Image – John Ashley, photographer, for Glacier Blue Movement II, SKY 2016
Score Cover – Nancy Hausle-Johnsonm Tundra Tapestry II, 2017
Score Cover – Charlotte Bird, Tundra Tapestry, 2017
Score Cover – Lucianna Rollins Pina, Dearly Beloved & Queridos Amados, 2017
Score Cover – Marybee Kaufmann, Teklanika for both Chamber Ensemble and Orchestra 2016
Score Cover – Courtesty of the National Park Service, The Way Through, 2015
Other Experience
Switchback Group, LLC (formerly Christina Rusnak Consulting) September 2011-Present
Arts and Culture consulting:working with communities and organizations to integrate music, and culture into public and environmental spaces. Activities include, Music Curating, Strategic and Tactical Planning, Creative Placemaking, and Organizational Development for music, arts and culture organizations.
References
Stephen Lias, Professor, Composition, slias@sfasu.eduPhone: 936-468-4056
William Hoshal, Composer, Orchestrator, williamh@williamhoshal.comPhone 702-204-7558
Andrea Reinkemeyer, Professor of Music, Linfield College, areinkem@linfield.edu(503) 883-2571
What I love to do
When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth.
1789
Working
Hours
8965
Hiking Miles
Be fluid. Treat each project differently. Be water, man. The best style is no style. Because styles can be figured out.
Contact Info
Get a hold of me or ask me a question.