Dorian Wood (RISING)

RISING 2024: Dorian Wood event at Forum Upstairs on Tuesday 11 June, 8:00pm has been cancelled.

All ticket purchasers will receive a full refund.

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“We are capable of processing pain, experiencing joy, sharing joy, lifting others and fighting for the world we all deserve.” — Dorian Wood 

A big-voiced artists who challenges traditions. Born in California, Dorian Wood was tutored in music from an early age by their grandfather, the Costa Rican pianist Calasanz Alvarez. After studying at Conservatorio de Castella in Costa Rica, they moved back to LA and went from performing in gay bars to recording a debut that merged folk, soul, experimental and Bulgarian choral music.

 They’ve since performed with Marina Ambramović, played with LA experimental orchestra Killsonic, and recorded minimalist jazz freakouts. Plus, they’ve transformed the songs of Fiona Apple, Sia and Prince, created 12-hour long chamber music experiences, and composed whispering metallic clouds of ambience. 

Last year, when talking to the LA Times, she spoke of how artists are often asked to “tick off boxes and dangle our familial, individual and ancestral traumas in front of the world to see in order to be taken seriously as artists.” 

Hers is a body of work that often grapples with trauma and melancholy but finds room to breathe in spaces in-between.