Jessica Suchy-Pilalis

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Jessica Ray Suchy-Pilalis (born 1954) is an American harpist. She is specialist in the theory and practice of Byzantine chant.

Contents

Life and career

Jessica Suchy-Pilalis was born and grew up in Milwaukee. [1] She became interested in playing the harp when she was in kindergarten. [2] She graduated from Shorewood High School in 1972. Suchy-Pilalis went on to become an honor student at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM). [3] Her mother, Gregoria Karides Suchy, who taught at UWM, was also a composer who has written harp music for her daughter. [4] [5]

She received two grants to study Byzantine music and to perform in Greece between 1984 and 1985. [6] During that year, she became a psalti, or cantor, at the Indianapolis Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. [7] She studied Byzantine music at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological Seminary with Savas I. Savas and in Greece where she studied primarily with Dimitrios Sourlantzis. [8] In 1988, she received a fellowship from the Indiana Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts. [9] She received diplomas with honors in Byzantine Music from two conservatories in Thessaloniki, Greece, and is recognized/certified as an Hieropsalti (Chanter) by both the Greek Orthodox Church and State. [7]

In 1996 she took a teaching position with the Crane School of Music at State University of New York at Potsdam. [10] She also established a concert career, performing both in the US and abroad. She has toured in Greece as a solo harpist under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State, and performed at international music festivals and for Greek National Radio-Television. [4] [10] In 2011, Suchy-Pilalis began a project with the Crane Harp Ensemble to encourage the creation and performance of new harp music for the twenty-first century. [11]

Research

Her research involves modal analysis of Byzantine chant and, using the results of the analyses, she sets English translations of hymns as a Byzantine melodist. [12] In 2006, she was awarded the Medallion of St. Romanos the Melodist by the National Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians. [13] Selected hymns have been recorded by Archangel Voices (Vladimir Morosan, director) [14] and the Boston Byzantine Choir (Charles Marge, director). Presently, she chants at St. Olympia Orthodox Church, Potsdam, New York, and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Suchy-Pilalis' research in harp includes historical harps. She is a specialist on the life and compositions of Madame Delaval [15] and has restored a single-action Érard harp specifically for performances of Madame Delaval's compositions. She has served as vice-president of the Historical Harp Society and as a member of the board, and has been a member of the editorial board of the American Harp Journal .

Works

Selected works include:

Suchy-Pilalis appears on a number of recordings as a harpist. She has also written articles including "The Mysterious Madame Delaval (Part I)", published in the American Harp Journal . [19]

References

  1. ↑ "Earthly Delights at Harp Concert". Lancaster New Era. May 25, 2000. p. 69. Retrieved January 29, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Varey, Cindy (April 13, 1989). "Bringing Music to Their Ears". The Daily Journal. p. 1. Retrieved January 29, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Jessica Suchy in Concert Sunday". Ozaukee County News Graphic. October 29, 1975. p. 11. Retrieved January 29, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Little, Barbara (May 26, 2000). "Family Ties". Intelligencer Journal. p. 51. Retrieved January 29, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Boulton, Guy (October 7, 2018). "Gregoria Karides Suchy, a UW-Milwaukee professor, was among the first women composers to experiment with electronic music". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  6. ↑ Matter, Kathy (February 12, 1988). "Harpist Promotes Approachability". Journal and Courier. p. 13. Retrieved January 29, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "Dr. Jessica Suchy-Pilalis, Research Specialties: Byzantine Chant". Archived from the original on February 26, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  8. ↑ "55-56. Dimitrios Sourlantzis interview, Axion Estin radio show". Ψαλτολόγιον (Psaltologion). August 29, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Wednesday Club Harp Concert to Honor President Norma Swain". The Evening News. September 6, 1996. p. 25. Retrieved January 29, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 "Harp" (PDF). The Crane School of Music. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  11. ↑ Federiconi, Katherine (Winter 2013). "Four Concerts in Three Days: The Crane Harp Ensemble and Fifteen Minutes of Fame" . American Harp Journal– via Gale.
  12. ↑ Bouteneff, Patricia Fann (June 8, 2019). "Music in the Service of Prayer: Interview with Jessica Suchy-Pilalis" (PDF). The Wheel. 9/10: 25–27. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Jessica Suchy-Pilalis". The Wheel Journal. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Jessica Suchy-Pilalis". Musica Russica. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  15. ↑ Bonnie Shaljean; Jessica R. Suchy-Pilalis (2009). "Delaval [de la Valle, Delavel, De Laval, etc.], Madame". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.42767. ISBN   978-1-56159-263-0.(subscription, Wikilibrary access, or UK public library membership required)
  16. ↑ "Byzantine Guide to the Tones: Mneumonic Verses | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese".
  17. ↑ "Sacred Music Library". Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Prayer of Thanksgiving music score" (PDF). www.nynjoca.org.
  19. ↑ "Rochester Review". University of Rochester . Retrieved September 3, 2019.
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