Randy Raine-Reusch

A composer/concert-artist specializing in New and Experimental Music for world instruments, and an innovator interested in extending the boundaries of music, Randy Raine-Reusch has created distinct new performance styles on a number of world instruments from his collection of 700.

Included in this podcast (just under 2 hours) are two of Randy's compositions with RC World, "Yesterday Tomorrow" to open, with Randy on the zheng and his daughter singing, D'Arcy ZiZi Han, and "Freedom." You can find many videos and his blog on Randy's website, including him playing unusual world instruments, and "Dragon Dog 2021" with his wife, Mei Han, both playing the zheng. Also, please enjoy the outstanding performance with Randy and his wife and daughter. Here's one from the early 1980s, vintage video of Randy making music with 100-year-old glasses.

Raine-Reusch has spent over thirty years exploring the relationship of music to psychology, philosophy, and spiritual or religious practices. He studied at the Creative Music Studio in the 70's with artists such as Fred Rzewski, Jack Dejohnette and Karl Berger, before going overseas to study with master musicians in Australia, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and the Philippines, as well as with "National Treasures" in Korea and Japan. As a result his music now contains clear influences from a variety of indigenous cultures and is heavily influenced by Taoism and Zen.

In his performances, Raine-Reusch strives for a balance of virtuosity, innovation, and a contemplative depth of spirit, while retaining the essence of his instruments. His unique voice has led him to perform and/or record with the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Aerosmith, Yes, The Cranberries; Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, Jon Gibson; Barry Guy, Robert Dick, Frank Gratkowski, Mats Gustafsson; Sainkho Namtchylak, Jin Hi Kim, and Issui Minegishi, the Japanese Iemoto, or Hereditary Grand Master, of Seikyodo Ichigenkin. As a solo artist, with his world beat ensemble ASZA, or with Chinese zheng virtuoso Mei Han, Raine-Reusch has performed at two WOMAD festivals, three World Expos, and on tours to Australia, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, South Africa, China, India, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. Raine-Reusch’s performances have been broadcast nationally in China, Australia, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Canada and the United States, and he has appeared in five documentary films on music.

As a composer, Raine-Reusch has a distinctive voice, whether creating simple folk melodies or extremely experimental works that challenge both the audience and performers. He has premiered works ranging from large-scale site-specific extravaganzas, electro-acoustics, or realtime interactive computer works, to intimate chamber pieces for film, dance, and theatre in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Spain, including three World Expos and numerous computer music conferences.

A multi-faceted artist, Raine-Reusch was a consultant/founder of the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Malaysia; the consultant for Cirque du Soleil's Quidam; and the artist director of a number of other festivals and large-scale events. He has been producer on numerous CDs and CD ROMs on Canadian and international labels. He has been a guest lecturer in the fields of composition, performance, ethnomusicology, and psychology at prominent universities and conferences worldwide He is a contributing editor for Musicworks Magazine and recently published Play the World: 101 World Instrument Primer with Mel Bay Publications.

An internationally recognized musical organologist, Raine-Reusch has been a consultant for the Stearn’s Collection at the University of Michigan, a consultant for The Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, and the Director of Acquisitions for the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. Raine-Reusch is a member of the Canadian League of Composers and an Affiliate of the Canadian Music Centre. Raine-Reusch was the Artistic Director of the Rainforest World Music Festival and the Miri Jazz Festival, both in Sarawak, Malaysia.