Riparian Acoustics was founded in 2017 by composer and music writer Nick Storring as a curatorial vehicle following the closure of much-loved DIY space Ratio earlier that year.

Ratio‘s programming over the years included the Toronto debuts of artists like Diatribes, Sarah Davachi, Sarah Hennies, Susan Alcorn and appearances from Eric Chenaux, Paal Nilsson-Love, Circuit Des Yeux, Tom Carter, FET.NAT, Marisa Anderson, Arrington De Dionyso and many more.

Riparian Acoustics was born when Storring teamed up with Tad Michalak (Burn Down The Capital) and Goethe-Institut to present Hans-Joachim Roedelius in Toronto in the fall of 2017 (with opening slots from Joseph Shabason, Kat Estacio, and Xambuca). Since then Riparian Acoustics has presented crys cole and James Rushford’s duo Ora Clementi, Sandy Ewen, and co-presented Sarah Hennies’ Contralto with Thin Edge New Music Collective and TIFF, and Beverly Glenn Copeland twice.

In 2018 R~A began a three-year contract as the Canadian Music Centre‘s guest curator for their CMC Presents series. The first season included a program of contemporary works for solo baroque cello by Elinor Frey, a first-time collaboration between composer-percussionists Germaine Liu and Sarah Hennies, celebrated pianist R. Andrew Lee, Orange Milk Records’ CVN and Koeosaeme (visiting from Japan) and others. The 2019-20 season featured a solo program from David Schotzko, and a double bill from chik white and Gayle Young, and a collaboration with the Women From Space Festival featuring Amy Brandon and Susan Alcorn.

Riparian Acoustics also curated Musicworks Magazine’s 2018 Fundraising Event OPEN and connected with Soundstreams for their event Improvised Components in March 2020 (featuring Katelyn Clark, Ben Grossman, Emily Redhead, and Pierre-Yves Martel performing early, contemporary, and improvised music on period instruments, including a commissioned work by Storring himself). He has also curated events for the Music Gallery and New Adventures in Sounds Art.

See what’s coming up on our Events page.