Composer Karel Suchy integrates musical composition and performance with his photography, video and engineering design. He collaborates with other artists and their work, including poetry and prose – both spoken and sung, visual art, music improvisation, dance and drama.
Karel was born in Czechoslovakia, where he studied piano, organ and composition, and earned his M.S. in Engineering. He led and composed for avant-garde ensembles, including Tlön, performed in major venues, for radio, television and studio recordings. He won awards for composition, including the Prague Jazz Festival. Jazz was considered subversive by the communist authorities. The group was often scrutinized, leading to his escape from communism.
Suchy performed electronic and computer-aided classical music at ISU and U of I ̶ Champaign, directed a Wisconsin performance of the Czech Christmas Mass, and was commissioned by the Choral Arts Society of SE Wisconsin to write “Sound Poem, inspired by Nosferatu” and other works. His “Blues Liturgy” and “Rock Liturgy” were introduced while he was Director of Music in Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Racine. His video score was selected by Zeitgeist for performance in Studio Z in St. Paul, MN. He has been Director of Music at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Racine and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Kenosha, WI. He is currently organist/pianist at Second Presbyterian Church, Racine and Trinity Lutheran Church, South Milwaukee. He is composer-in-residence and video editor for the Choral Arts Society of Southeastern Wisconsin. He founded, and directs Voices and Verses, and has composed for and facilitated collaborative, multi-media performances.