The composer  Suzanne Giraud  studied piano, violin, viola , piano accompaniment, conducting, composing and analysis at  the Strasbourg Conservatory  Afterwards, she entered the Paris Conservatory, where she received diplomas in counterpoint, harmony, analysis, orchestration (in the class of Marius Constant), conducting and composition (in the class of Claude Ballif).

She then studied electronic music in the classes of  Jacques Lejeune and Philippe Mion, studied at computer music at IRCAM, studied for a year with Tristan Murail concerning the ekctronic instruments of the French ensemble l’Itinéraire, and also benefited from the advice of Hugues Dufourt. She met Iannis Xenakis, created a work on UPIC under his direction and, on the  commission of the Pompidou Center, wrote an article on the Tetras Quartett. She was noticed by  Franco Donatoni  during a Masterclass and was named a scholar of the Accademia Chigiana of  Sienne, where she studied with Donatoni.and in conducting with Franco Ferrara.

She then became a composer-in-residence at the  Villa Médicis of Rome for two years.  During her time there, she became a friend of Giacinto Scelsi, with whom she became quite close. After his death; she participated in the activities of the Isabella Scelsi Foundation. She was also a participant in the Summer program at Darmstadt for ten years, where she met  Morton Feldman, Horatiu Radulescu, Brian Ferneyhough.

She has been commissioned by the French State, by Radio France, by the Ensemble Intercontemporain, by Musique Nouvelle en Liberté, as well as by various festivals orchestras and chamber ensembles in France (Musica, Musiques de Marseille), Belgique (Ars Musica, Champ d’Action), Angleterre (Almeida Theatre, festival de Cardiff), Switzerland (Archipel, CIP), The Netherlands  (through an orchestral residency), Germany (the Dresde festival… ) …

More recently, her work has been noticed on the opera stage, by the premiere of

“Le Vase de Parfums” (text and staging by Olivier Py) and “Caravaggio” (text written with

avec Dominique Fernandez, the title role sung by  Philippe Jaroussky). She was distinguished by UNESCO, twice by the  SIMC (Budapest and Manchester), and also received the Georges Bizet Prize of the Académie des Beaux Arts and  the Georges Enesco Prize of the Sacem.

To cite several works, among a catalog of about sixty :

“Envoûtements” for violin

“Afin que sans cesse je songe” for flute

“Bleu et ombre” for double bass

“Duos pour Prades” for clarinet and cello

“D’une hélice” for flute and harpe

“Envoûtements II” for flute and marimba

“Voici la lune” for soprano, flute and piano

“Episode en forme d’oubli” for clarinet, marimba and double bass

“Envoûtements III” for mezzo-soprano, clarinet and percussion

“Le Rivage des transes” for two pianos and two percussion

“Rimbaud” for mezzo, alto flute and piano

“Envoûtements IV” for string quartet

“Assemblages” for string quartet

“Envoûtements V” for guitar and string quartet

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