ryan todd garza

contact

performance

toward the south plains
2019 - present

work for ensemble, immersive sound & generative visuals. With Harlan Hodges

installation

gestures
2019 | photography

repetition
2019 | photography

photos graphein
2011 | light, objects and sound design
collaboration

music

ekam ryan todd garza
2019 | pending release

wk02 ens ensemble
2019 | digital

wk01 ens ensemble
2019 | digital

pieces ryan todd garza
2016 | digital

video

lunar cycle 20160208 15:00:00 utc
2019 | animation

smyer, tx 2016 + ephemera
2019 | generative sketch

headed out
2016 | live studio recording

audiovisual media

portraits

yoga

links

IMDb credits

AllMusic credits

phone

+1(720)519-8231

ryantoddgarza@gmail.com

about

location

los angeles | california

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Drummer ... some days a musician ... visual artist in an elementary sort of way ... mostly infatuated with patterns. At the center of his work is simplicity. Finding the smallest kernel of meaningful information then stretching, compressing, permutating, regrouping, etc. The tools are just a means to explore the variety of patterns whether they be rhythmic, melodic, ocular, electrical or algorithmic.

legal

toward the south plains
2019 - present

the mojave desert

october 12 2019
st andrew's episcopal church
amarillo, tx

[in progress] a collaboration with harlan hodges
(this is a subjective expression of my direct involvement with the work. my perspective is NOT to be confused with the intentions of the project. please visit towardthesouthplains.com to learn how you can experience the work for yourself)

on february 8, 2016 composer harlan hodges who has been like a brother to me was, let's see what the right word is...inspired; invoked; reduced...to write what would become the beginnings of Toward The South Plains after a phone call in which i would reveal that i was making my way back towards the south plains from los angeles after my father had been killed in an act of gun violence the previous afternoon.

over the years the work has widened from focus on this singular circumstance to the all too common occurences of malice of the sort happening every day in our communities.

centered around the cyclical nature of existence, cycles of the moon and of water, stages of grief, the transmigration of the soul, and the constant presence of change in our lives, the work is highly conceptual and multidimensional in scope. In its entirety it contains not only 30 pieces of written music for piano, organ, orchestra, and choir, but field recordings and photographs from across the southwestern united states, sound design, video, and animation. plans for geomapped interactivity are being discussed as well.

composition | the introspectivity of my involvement as a lyricist proved to be personally healing. my self a product of the west texas landscape, i had spent many years trying to just get out. my conclusion has been that without the recognition that the body very much belongs to and is a product of a landscape, the spirit of the land will pull and plague the individual until one discerns in a very visceral way that no matter where one resides, the body we refer to as ourselves is but an aggregate of our past. text has been set throughout the work in both english and latin in order to contrast the subjective and objective scope of this phenomena.


              Could it be sacred ground 
              That we wander
              Estranged this soul be bound
              Led asunder

              A spirit ‘neath is found
              Ancient wonder
              Possess this sacred ground
              We discover

              Behold this sacred ground
              Tears fall over
              Beneath the stones be found
              Holy water

              Consume us sacred ground
              Lest we wander
              Eternally resound
              Bear within us home

animation | the cyclical nature of the moon is central to the theme of this work. over 700 images of the moon were obtained from nasa's scientific visualization studio, animated and driven by max. one lunar cycle is to be projected over the span of the piece but since the timing requirements vary drastically per perfomance, multiple methods of advancement have been programmed at the input level.

photography | over several trips through the southwestern United States, a series of photographs is being curated alongside audio field recordings and gps data. these photographs correlate directly to one of nine major musical movements that outline the literal journey across the landscape. i've employed a 6x6 medium format hasselblad 503cx film camera for the task.

field recordings & sound design | coming soon

gestures
2019 | photography

dusk at spade ranch | image no. 18015_011 | 18 in x 12 in

may 01 2019 - july 26 2019
first friday art trail
lubbock, tx

struggling to find a subject in a place with such flat terrain and hard edges as west texas, she offered her beauty not in form but in palette and grade. gestures is a series of photographic abstractions depicting the gradients revealed by the landscape of west texas.

a subtler study in découpé, the abstraction of the sequential moments from a larger experience, extracts sections of landscapes from their context and resequences them as if one were to look at one patch of sky, then another, then another, etc. since the extractions still bear all of the content, what degree of content versus context is necessary to retain meaning across alterations?

dusk at spade ranch | image no. DaSR.concept-001v3 | 12 in x 14.4 in

dusk at spade ranch | image no. DaSR.concept-001v5 | 12 in x 14.4 in

dust storm | image no. 19004_037 | 24 in x 18 in

repetition
2019 | photography

photos graphein
2011 | light, objects and sound design

under construction

audiovisual media
selected works

for all
academy sports

for all academy sports

if
house of cooper

if house of cooper

carbon tv

the driver
hulu

the driver hulu

uncharted
mercedes benz

uncharted mercedes benz

Honored To Have
Created Content For

In Partner With

portraits
photography

yoga
ashtanga vinyasa

schedule

Mysore Class

No Scheduled Classes

there is no practice on the days of the new or full moon
students are welcome to begin anytime after 6 am as long as their practice is completed by 8 am
class rates at lubbockhwy108.com

Led Primary Series

No Scheduled Classes

Led classes are open to anyone regardless of familiarity with the Ashtanga yoga discipline
class runs the entirety of scheduled time
class rates at lubbockhwy108.com

Moon Days 2019

In keeping with tradition, we do not hold Mysore classes during new and full moons.

Jan 05 new

Jan 21 full

Feb 04 new

Feb 19 full

Mar 06 new

Mar 20 full

Apr 05 new

Apr 19 full

May 04 new

May 18 full

Jun 03 new

Jun 17 full

Jul 02 new

Jul 16 full

Jul 31 new

Aug 15 full

Aug 30 new

Sep 13 full

Sep 28 new

Oct 13 full

Oct 27 new

Nov 12 full

Nov 26 new

Dec 11 full

Dec 25 new

Learn

Ashtanga Yoga is an ancient system of yoga that was taught by Vamana Rishi in the Yoga Korunta. This text was imparted to Sri T. Krishnamacharya in the early 1900’s by his Guru Rama Mohan Brahmachari, and was later passed down to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009), the founder of the Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India. Ashtanga is a daily method of yoga involving synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of postures. This process produces intense internal heat and a purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The results are improved circulation, a light and strong body and a calm mind. Ashtanga is traditionally taught in the “Mysore” style: a supervised self-practice. The same series of asanas (poses) are practiced each day. New poses are introduced by the teacher once the student memorizes and becomes proficient in the previous asanas in the sequence. People of all ages and health can practice Ashtanga. A student works with the teacher to advance at their own rate.

Surya Namaskara A

Surya Namaskara B

Standing Sequence

Finishing Sequence

Yoga Chikitasa - Primary Series

Nadi Shodhana - Intermediate Series

About

Ryan began his exploration of eastern contemplative practices in 2009. The importance of proper spinal alignment and mudra in the seated meditation posture of the Soto Zen tradition became a gateway to broader interest in the effects of the physical body on the meditative state. In 2013 he continued zazen practice at the Austin Zen Center (Austin, TX) while simultaneously cultivating a daily practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Recognizing it as a comprehensive system for the pursuance of integration of being, he transitioned to the sole practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa under the guidance of Noah Williams of Ashtanga Yoga Nilayam (Los Angeles, CA) from 2015 to 2016 and later received the methods of Richard Freeman, Mary Taylor and Ty Landrum as taught by The Yoga Workshop (Boulder, CO) from 2017 to present.

In 2018, Ryan was given the blessings of his teachers to teach Mysore-style (supervised self-practice) Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in the tradition of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Ryan currently resides in Lubbock, TX, teaching a morning Mysore-style program hosted by HWY108 Yoga Shala.

connect

instagram @ryantoddgarza.yoga

ryan todd garza