Ralph Sullender

Last Name: 
Sullender
First Name: 
Ralph

Woody Sullender is a composer and performer currently based in Brooklyn, NY. His work primarily focuses on the socio-political aspects of organized sound. This has most frequently manifested in improvised music performances on electro-acoustic banjo under the moniker "Uncle Woody Sullender". While alluding to the "traditional" musics of his home states of Virginia and North Carolina, he explores a diverse plane of plucked string music from around the world as well as incorporating punk, noise, free jazz, etc.. Previously, he has worked with pioneering electronic composers such as Pauline Oliveros and Maryanne Amacher (incorporating his banjo recordings into Amacher's "TEO! A sonic sculpture" which won the Golden Nica prize at the 2005 Ars Electronica festival). Current collaborations include duo projects with harmonica player Seamus Cater (Amsterdam), cellist Kevin Davis (Istanbul/Chicago), and violinist Katt Hernandez (Philadelphia). Among other activites, he teaches graduate courses in the Media Studies department at the New School and is occasionally heard DJing on WFMU.