After a while, the music worked its magic on the audience’s various mindstates (the announcer had acknowledged that “ushers are here to make sure you have the best trip possible”). A series of tones in 6/8 time evoked seagulls flying over the ocean; a syncopated, fuzzy bass provided the foundation for what sounded like disembodied human voices humorously trying to hold a conversation.

People file into Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to watch Suzanne Ciani perform Particles & Waves on Feb. 24, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

Finally, Ciani whittled her music down to pure percussive elements. Mixed with white noise, these transformed into near-gunshot sounds. As they fired out of successive speakers on either side of the nave, it felt for several minutes like being in the middle of a battlefield.

What came next? Peace, of course. Waves, waves and more waves, taking on new life with each audio ripple across the tall walls.

Fans make photos of Suzanne Ciani’s Buchla 200e at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco on Feb. 24, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

The cathedral is a haven for the spiritual. The synthesizer is a box for the mechanical. But with someone like Ciani in charge, mixing the two proved powerful, nearly human, as if the French Gothic building itself were speaking.

It even proved romantic. By the concert’s end, in the back, I counted five couples sitting with their arm around each other, head rested on the other’s shoulders, gazing into the sound and dreaming about forever.

Suzanne Ciani performed as part of the Noise Pop Festival, which continues through March 3; details here. Ambient synth composer Steve Roach revisits his 1984 album ‘Structures From Silence’ at Grace Cathedral on April 6; details here.

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Suzanne Ciani Turns Grace Cathedral Into an Otherworldly House of Worship