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2024 concerts sunday jan 5-7, 2024 (victoria theatre sf) san francisco tape music festival sunday february 11, 2024 helena sorokina (vienna) + sarah grace graves / oaklndrdctnstorchstra sunday february 18, 2024 hans tammen (nyc) / sfSoundGroup (phill niblock & monica scott) sunday february 25, 2024 gneiss (la/seoul) / bleeding vector (vogler & benedict) sunday march 3, 2024 eric theise + gino robair + tom djll / ann callaway + richard mix sunday march 10, 2024 rachel beetz (la) + anne hege + julie herndon (san luis obispo) / ken ueno sunday march 31, 2024 beth schenck quintet / matthew welch's blarvuster sunday april 7, 2024 raskin + brown + davis + shokrai / smith + montufar / lanzoni sunday april 14, 2024 balsamic / ben goldberg's insect life sunday april 21, 2024 carl stone / jordan glenn, music for other things sunday april 28, 2024 john bischoff / zofo sunday may 12, 2024 a/b duo / gretchen jude + cheryl leonard sunday may 19, 2024 sarah saviet (berlin) / sam weiser + dustin carlson sunday may 26, 2024 pacific pythagorean music festival sunday june 2, 2024 sung kim / oakland reductionist orchestra sunday june 9, 2024 microfestival of surround sound diffusion sunday june 16, 2024 ruben mattia santorsa (italy) / karen yu (hong kong) + ken ueno sunday june 23, 2024 goggle / united brassworker's front sunday june 30, 2024 larry ochs' tales end / ric louchard + tom djll sunday july 7, 2024 sfSound (globokar, braxton, carter, sciarrino, ferneyhough, houben) sunday july 14, 2024 nathan clevenger's astrolabe / david leikam sunday july 21, 2024 dan burke and friends / sticklerphonics sunday august 4, 2024 james fei + laetitia sonami / hadley mccarroll + tom dambly + sfSound sunday august 11, 2024 eda er + sarah grace graves / bennett + looney + montgomery sunday september 1, 2024 nth annual SKRONKATHON!!!! sunday september 8, 2024 simple excesses quartet / the deconstruction of what you know sunday september 22, 2024 elliott carter 3x2: triple/double duo/trios monday september 23, 2024 special event: wendy reid ambient bird / brenda hutchinson dailybell sunday september 29, 2024 tiziana bertoncini + thomas lehn + oakland reduction orch sunday october 13, 2024 joana holanda + fábio presgrave (brazil) / kanoko nishi + ainie nakamura sunday october 20, 2024 silvia matheus + ric louchard / lisa mezzacappa: music 4 more than a few sunday october 27, 2024 meerenai shim + diane grubbe / holly martins sunday november 3, 2024 ric louchard group / bjll dingalls sunday november 10, 2024 stinson trio / mitch stahlmann sunday november 17, 2024 arkin + goldberg / bruckmann + glenn + jessen + mezzacappa + rivero sunday november 24, 2024 danniel ribeiro + eda er / dan plonsey understanding human behavio sunday december 1, 2024 euphotic / thea farhadian + chris brown sunday december 8, 2024 robert blatt + manfred werder + kevin corcoran / giacomo fiore :: view entire concert history here :: |
| JANUARY 5/6/7 2024 |
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THE SAN FRANCISCO TAPE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024 
Victoria Theatre 2961 16th Street San Francisco click here for more info |
| FEBRUARY 11 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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HELĒNA SOROKINA + SARAH GRACE GRAVES THE OAKLAND REDUCTIONIST ORCHESTRA   
Visiting from Austria, mezzo-soprano HELĒNA SOROKINA joins local composer-vocalist SARAH GRACE GRAVES to perform Scelsi's Sauh voice duos alongside solos and duos written for, and in certain instances by, them. Featuring music by GIACINTO SCELSI, HARRISON BIRTWISTLE, JON YU, SARAH GRACE GRAVES, and others. The concert also features the OAKLAND REDUCTIONIST ORCHESTRA, a supergroup of local musicians with a predilection for lowercase/fricative/reductionist acoustic improvisation that often sounds more electronic than acoustic. This ensemble grows out of a rich tradition of "American reductionist" music that emerged (re-emerged?) in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Previous projects like Tom Djll's Grosse Abfahrt and The Jack Wright Large Ensemble Eight By Nine document the Bay Area's contribution to the genre. PERFORMERS Hallie Smith, violin Danishta Rivero, voice Lisa Mezzacappa, bass Joshua Marshall, tenor saxophone Brendan Lai-Tong, trombone Matt Ingalls, clarinets Ron Heglin, tuba Diane Grubbe, flutes Sarah Grace Graves, voice Jacob Felix Heule, percussion Tom Djll, trumpet Kevin Corcoran, percussion Chris Cooper, objects, electronics |
| FEBRUARY 18 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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HANS TAMMEN with GINO ROBAIR SFSOUNDGROUP: PHILL NIBLOCK + MONICA SCOTT   HANS TAMMEN is just another worker in rhythms, frequencies and intensities. He likes to set sounds in motion, and then sit back to watch the movements unfold. Using textures, timbre and dynamics as primary elements, his music is continuously shifting, with different layers floating into the foreground while others disappear. This flows like clockwork, “transforming a sequence of instrumental gestures into a wide territory of semi-hostile discontinuity; percussive, droning, intricately colorful, or simply blowing your socks off” (Touching Extremes). In his Eigengrau series he explores overtones and noises that are emerging from pianos, guitars and other stringed instruments affected by vibrations from transducers. Eigengrau is the color you see when you close your eyes, which is due to the perception of an ever-changing field of tiny black and white dots seen in the phenomenon. For this concert Tammen is joined by bay area stalwart GINO ROBAIR on assorted electronics. The "house band" for the WEST OAKLAND SOUND SERIES, SFSOUNDGROUP is a unique collection of performer-composers that have presented their own compositions, improvisations, new commissions, electronic music, and standard avant-garde repertoire for over two decades. For this concert they remember PHILL NIBLOCK with a performance of Disseminate, commissioned in 1998 by Petr Kotik for The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble. As in most of Niblock’s music, he creates sound differences by combining many simultaneous microtonal pitches/tones (by means of multitrack mixing) to make clouds of sum and difference tones. The score for Disseminate specifies 16 parts which can be pre-recorded or live. For this concert the piece will be performed partially “on tape” with four “live” musicians. sfSound also performs MONICA SCOTT'S Migrations for mixed quintet, where spectrograms of local bird calls are freely interpreted and translated into musical gestures both composed and improvised. While the work is a free-standing 4 movement piece, its genesis is in Scott's multimedia collaboration Lightfast - Intertwine, an exhibition that is showing at the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art February 24-June 2, 2024. SFSOUNDGROUP Sam Weiser, violin Monica Scott, cello Kjell Nordeson, percussion Brendan Lai-Tong, trombone John Ingle, saxophone Matt Ingalls, clarinet Kyle Bruckmann, oboe |
| FEBRUARY 25 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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GNEISS BLEEDING VECTOR   GNEISS (pronounced "nice"), a band from Los Angeles consisting of JEONGHYEON JOO (haegeum) JOSHUA GEROWITZ (guitar, composition), ETHAN MARKS (trumpet, composition), and GEORGIA BELL (bass, composition/design), brings a set of composed and improvised music themed on the formation and transition of rock. This is a preview concert of their upcoming album, Gneiss, developed and recorded throughout 2023. BLEEDING VECTOR (ERIC VOGLER, guitar + LORIN BENEDICT, voice) is a duo of jazz-infused musical improvisers who delight in playing manifestly structured music in a loose and playful way. This will be their first performance since the release (on bandcamp), of their 1-track extended-suite album, "ARST / ARSED". In this show, they will be performing material NOT on the aforementioned album. |
| MARCH 3 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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ERIC THEISE + UNPOPULAR ELECTRONICS (GINO ROBAIR with TOM DJLL) ANN CALLAWAY + RICHARD MIX     ERIC THEISE presents an episode of his Synesthete's Atlas project, where he manipulates projected digital maps in dialogue with local heros of experimental music UNPOPULAR ELECTRONICS (GINO ROBAIR with TOM DJLL). Real time cartographic improvisations using projected, manipulated digital maps, and custom-built electro-acoustic instruments. Evenings of street grids, rivers, islands, and curiosities from the built environment. Saturated colors. Glitches in crowdsourced data. Orphaned information and free-floating symbology. Theise's work can be seen atop San Francisco's Salesforce Tower Top throughout February 2024 in the Midnight Artist series, midnight to 1 every night. ANN CALLAWAY plays her Three Existential Postcards for Piano and Char: Six Poems by Shinjiro Kurahara with RICHARD MIX, bass; plus works for solo voice by JOHN CAGE, MORTON FELDMAN, HENRI POUSSEUR, ELLIOTT CARTER, troubadors, trouveres & minnesingers. |
| MARCH 10 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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RACHEL BEETZ + ANNE HEGE + JULIE HERNDON KEN UENO + MATT INGALLS 
RACHEL BEETZ performs Pareidolia, for perfectly tuned oscillators with glacial transformations. The piece explores the phenomenon where our brains attempt to make patterns out of random information: auditory pareidolia. As a composer, flutist, and improviser, Beetz explores presence through sound and listening. Her works recreate physical atmospheres based on her deep listening adventures in the wild, exploring hidden worlds of nature and machines. Combining experimental field recordings and electronically modified flutes, her works examine community, environmentalism, and women’s work through sound, textiles, and lighting. Her projects have been featured in concert halls and galleries in Australia, Iceland, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. You can hear her on Orenda, Blue Griffin, iikki, Neuma, and Populist record labels. She is currently a co-director of the Wasteland Music and Populist Records. ANNE HEGE performs a short set of works for her live-looping instrument, The Tape Machine. First constructed in 2009, the Tape Machine is a portable instrument created with three hacked cassette players––one recording tape head and two playback points running a handmade tape loop. In simple terms, it is an analog, live-looping instrument where the listener, by sound alone, can identify the transparent process and technology. There is no hidden processing, just the magic of a single blank tape loop. Born in Oakland, Hege has composed for film, installation art, dance, and concert settings. The New York Times praised her score for Carrie Ahern’s dance installation SeNSATE, as “convincing” and “strangely environmental.” Influenced by Hege’s deep listening practice, her latest compositions range between ritual, music, and theater, with some homemade instruments thrown in for good measure. Hege is currently the artistic director of the Peninsula Women's Chorus. She performs regularly in her electronic duo, New Prosthetics, and the laptop ensemble Sideband. Her latest work, an opera for laptop orchestra and live voices, The Furies: A Laptopera, premiered at Stanford's CCRMA in November 2022. JULIE HERNDON performs Electronic Etudes: a collection of pieces that seamlessly integrate keyboard instruments and live electronics, from acoustic piano to analog and digital synthesis. Herndon is a composer, performer, and sound artist exploring the body’s relationship to sound. Her electroacoustic work has been described as “truly brilliant” (Kulturpunkt), “like a signal from another world” (Tages-Anzeiger), and “blended to inhabit a surprisingly expressive space” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Her compositions and installations have been presented at MATA Festival and National Sawdust in New York, Artistry Space in Singapore, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca in Mexico, Music Biennale Zagreb in Croatia, Sogar Theater in Switzerland, and by Forest Collective in Australia. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Music Technology and Composition at Cal Poly. Beetz, Hege, and Herndon conclude their set with an improvised trio. For over a decade, the duo of KEN UENO (vocals) and MATT INGALLS (clarinet) has presented their unique arsenal of extended techniques for an experience that defies classical expectations of sounds that can be made on voice and clarinet. Composer/vocalist/sound artist Ueno is a recipient of the Rome Prize and the Berlin Prize and currently a Professor at UC Berkeley. He sings overtones, multi-band multiphonics, sub-tones, and throat sings. Oakland-based Ingalls' clarinet technique includes circular-breathing, multiphonics, various breath effects, and a unique hybrid-timbre polyphonic effect. |
| MARCH 31 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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BETH SCHENCK QUINTET MATTHEW WELCH'S BLARVUSTER    The BETH SCHENCK QUINTET features BETH SCHENCK on alto saxophone, KASEY KNUDSEN on tenor saxophone, MATT WROBEL on guitar, LISA MEZZACAPPA on bass, and JORDAN GLENN on drums. Although these Bay Area improvisers have played together in different configurations for a decade, this quintet of musicians brings together their diverse backgrounds and influences to create boundary-pushing improvisation out of new compositional work from Beth. Inspired by the individual voices of each member of this ensemble, Beth set out to write music to specifically feature each one of these exceptional musicians. The result is music that is both challenging and accessible. MATTHEW WELCH'S BLARVUSTER [MATTHEW WELCH (pipes, sax, vox), AARON GERMAIN (bass) and JORDAN GLENN (drums, perc)] is a bagpipe-driven amplified ensemble dedicated to Matthew Welch’s unique compositions and bagpipe virtuosity. Blarvuster’s music merges Scottish pipes, Balinese gamelan, minimalism, improvisation and rock into a textural labyrinth of ecstatic sound. The ensemble was formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 2002 and is now based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Blarvuster has performed at notable venues and festivals including: National Sawdust (NYC), Celtic Connections (Glasgow), The Stone (NYC), Jazzwerkstatt and BeeFlat (Bern, CH), Roulette, Le Poisson Rouge, EMPAC, Western Front (Vancouver), Switchboard Festival (SF 2014), The Kitchen (NYC), Tonic, Issue Project Room, Zebulon, MOMA, Galapagos and CBGB’s, TAC and most recently the Piping Live Festival in Glasgow. The ensemble’s debut eponymous album "Blarvuster" appeared on John Zorn’s Tzadik Records in 2010, with a follow up record, The Finger Lock, released on Kotekan Records in 2018. “The ensemble’s border-busting music is original and catchy” – The New York Times |
| APRIL 7 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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RASKIN + BROWN + DAVIS + SHOKRAI HALLIE SMITH + ADRIAN MONTUFAR SIMON LANZONI    
 
JON RASKIN (saxophones) has been a member of Rova Saxophone Quartet for the last 46 years exploring the relationship of improvisation and composition, developing and honing the language of ensemble music and researching linguistic possibilities of the saxophone. CHRIS BROWN (piano & electronics) makes music with self-designed sonic systems that include acoustic and electroacoustic instruments, interactive software, computer networks, microtonal tunings, and improvisation. BEN DAVIS (cello), trained in classical cello and composition at the Guildhall, London. Later, he developed a taste for free improvisation, performing with Ellery Eskerlin, Evan Parker, Louis Moholo, Vincent Courtois, Wada Leo Smith, among others. SAFA SHOKRAI (bass) has been based in the Bay Area for 30 years. His musical practice focuses on finding new ways to connect art with the varied cultures present in the Bay, always drawing inspiration from traditions to create something fresh and vibrant. HALLIE SMITH (viola) and ADRIAN MONTUFAR (voice and flute) present an amplified acoustic duo. Hallie is a musician and composer currently based in Oakland. Her work is focused towards sound installations and producing ambient electronic music. Adrian is currently a graduate student in the UC Berkeley music composition program. His practice blends instrument design and physical computing with voice and movement improvisation. Together, their duo gathers a lexicon of contrasts: loveliness and revulsion, staccato outbursts and droning time-stretching, airy textures and visceral surges. SIMON LANZONI is a Franco-American artist who combines visual and sonic art to create multi-sensory experiences, which explore central themes of the human condition, such as memory, language, and the fluidity of consciousness. His practice is inspired by the visual perception of art, and the inherent physicality of sound. The fusion of the two mediums creates experiences in which sonic and visual become interchangeable. Sound enters into the third dimension, taking on a visual form, while what is seen becomes a physical, and aural experience. It is this quest for fluidity between the two mediums that is the driving force behind the aesthetics of his installations. |
| APRIL 14 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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BALSAMIC BEN GOLDBERG'S INSECT LIFE    BALSAMIC is a collective of sound and movement improvisers who developed their practice in (mostly) outdoor public spaces since 2020. This edition features: KEVIN CORCORAN - percussion RAE DIAMOND - found object, voice SHOSHANA GREEN - movement MEGAN NICELY - movement SUKI O'KANE - percussion EDWARD SCHOCKER - hichiriki, shō, ocarina PAIGE STARLING SORVILLO - movement Berkeley clarinetist BEN GOLDBERG, trombonist DANNY LUBIN-LADEN, cellist BEN DAVIS and saxophonist RAFFI GARABEDIAN present INSECT LIFE - a group dedicated to olive oil cake and the work of the imagination. |
| APRIL 21 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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CARL STONE JORDAN GLENN, MUSIC FOR OTHER THINGS 
 CARL STONE returns to the Bay Area for an intimate performance of solo electronic music. Stone is one of the pioneers of live computer music, and has been hailed by the Village Voice as “the king of sampling” and “one of the best composers living in (the USA) today.” He has used computers in live performance since 1986. Stone was born in Los Angeles and now divides hs time between Los Angeles and Japan. He studied composition at the California Institute of the Arts with Morton Subotnick and James Tenney and has composed electro-acoustic music almost exclusively since 1972. He is on the faculty of the Department of Media Engineering at Chukyo University in Japan. Drummer, percussionist, composer, improviser and constant collaborator JORDAN GLENN presents sketches for a new ensemble of clarinet, cello, guitar and vibraphone. Will these compositional seeds find their way to future contexts like dance or theater? Will Jordan remember how to play the vibraphone? Let's find out. JORDAN GLENN - vibes/perc/composition CORY WRIGHT - clarinets/bari sax BEN DAVIS - cello MATT WROBEL - guitar |
| APRIL 28 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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ZOFO JOHN BISCHOFF 
 The Bay Area's premier piano duet, ZOFO plays excerpts from Echoes of Gamelan. This new program explores the influence of Balinese gamelan music on western composers, as well as how our music perception changes depending on the context. P R O G R A M Pemungkah and Tabuh Telu, from Balinese Ceremonial Music (transcribed by Colin McPhee for two pianos, arranged for one piano by ZOFO) Beta Cygni - George Crumb Prisms for Gene Davis, excerpts 1, 2, 4, & 5 - Brian Baumbusch In the Kraton - Leopold Godowsky Speech Delay - Ni Nyoman Srayamurtikanti (transcribed by Brian Baumbusch) JOHN BISCHOFF (b. 1949, San Francisco) is an early practitioner of live computer music known for his solo constructions in real-time synthesis. A founding member of The League of Automatic Music Composers and The Hub network music bands, he was on faculty for many years in the legendary Music Department at Mills College. He presents three solo compositions for computer and custom analog circuits. Both Visibility Study (2015) and Bitplicity (2020) feature homemade analog circuits in performance with software synthesis elements generated by a laptop. The analog circuits are pulse-wave oscillators sounding in audio and sub-audio realms which are animated by performer actions—-primarily the momentary shorting of conductive points in each circuit. To accomplish this, the circuits are fabricated by the composer with critical trace points brought to the top of the circuit box in the form of brass rails. The rails run parallel to each other where they can be "shorted" (the circuit points closed) with coins wielded by the performer. The two solos share common software structures throughout: -as circuit tones come to life they sound at the loudspeakers and trigger digital synthesis responses via the laptop as well - circuit events are also analyzed for spectral content and elapsed time between events - the pitch and timing of subsequent digital synthesis is driven by this performance-acquired data--no pre-performance data is employed Calliope (2022) is a take-off on Leon Theremin’s realization of Henry Cowell’s concept—an instrument called the Rhythmicon which automatically reiterates its tones at rates corresponding to the ratios of selected pitch combinations. I was inspired by a YouTube clip of Andre Smirov playing one of Theremin’s original instruments. The device is so beautifully elegant, and sonically quirky at the same time, that I wanted to build a digital synthesis version on the same principles but where the electronic instrument has internal drift in all dimensions - the tones migrate out of tune and disassemble in time as each phrase develops. |
| MAY 12 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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A/B DUO GRETCHEN JUDE + CHERYL E. LEONARD   
GRETCHEN JUDE (voice, objects, field recordings) and CHERYL E. LEONARD (natural-object instruments, field recordings) present Peregrinations, a set of improvisations that delve into sonic minutiae. Very quiet sounds are amplified and dialogue with extended vocal and instrumental techniques as the duo evokes imaginary topographies and ecosystems. From djembe to Nintendo Gameboy to contrabass flute to drum set, A/B DUO'S no-limits instrumentation and imaginative concert programming has delighted audiences all over the United States since 2013. Made up of flutist Meerenai Shim and percussionist Christopher G. Jones, A/B Duo has made a mark for its “fresh, vibrant new music” and “commitment to widening the repertoire.” (Fanfare Magazine) For this concert, A/B Duo presents building, a new commission from Berkeley composer Ken Ueno. Building Stories, a graphic novel by Chris Ware, inspired this piece. Ware’s novel extends and reimagines both the novel and the comic book. A non-linear form, rather, a consortium of micro-linear forms in the physical guise of different forms (in various sizes and shapes), it gives physical form to a commentary on memory. Fragmentation enacts a repository of psychological traumas. The theme of "building" is literal as well as allegorical to the mechanism of "building" an identity. In my musical composition the flute is fragmented, literally and physically, so that we might build it (or re-build) anew. |
| MAY 19 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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SARAH SAVIET SAM WEISER + DUSTIN CARLSON   SARAH SAVIET explores shifting limits: between interpreter and author, idea and body, virtuosity and failure, periphery and interior. This performance will include her own music which engages with texts by Bauhaus textile artist Anni Albers, as well as music by British composers Jack Sheen and Lawrence Dunn. Sarah Saviet is an American violinist and compser based in Berlin and dedicated to the performance of contemporary music. She performs as a soloist and chamber musician and is a member of the Saviet/Houston Duo and Ensemble Mosaik. Sarah’s debut solo album SPUN (Coviello Contemporary) was recently nominated for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik for new music. Her recording of Liza Lim’s violin concerto Speak, Be Silent, with the Riot Ensemble on HCR/NMC records was selected as one of New Yorker Magazine’s "Best recordings of 2019." SAM WEISER (violin) and DUSTIN CARLSON (guitar) both exist in the spaces that straddle classical and improvised music. They have been working together for the past six months on Dustin's new suite for solo violin, entitled, "Her Warrior Longs to Rest". The piece is inspired by the Grave of Griffin Warrior (ca. 1450 BC), one of the wealthiest burials found in Greece in the last 70 years. In addition, the performance will also include Dustin's music for solo guitar, as well as duets. Sam Weiser, currently the first violinist of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, is a lifelong chamber musician and advocate of contemporary music. He holds a number of positions around the Bay Area, including assistant concertmaster of the California Symphony, member of One Found Sound, and violinist in sfSound. Formerly, he was a member of the award-winning Del Sol Quartet. Dustin Carlson is currently composer in residence with the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music in Boonville CA. Dustin is originally from New York where he played and recorded with notable jazz musicians such as Anna Webber, Matt Mitchell, Ches Smith, and Kate Gentile. He has recently moved to California after living as a flamenco guitarist in Sevilla, Spain. |
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MAY 26 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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PACIFIC PYTHAGOREAN MUSIC FESTIVAL  In a co-presentation with sfSound's West Oakland Sound Series, the DEL SOL STRING QUARTET hosts the Bay Area's only festival celebrating 'just intonation’ compositions with an all-star lineup showcasing experimental and traditional styles! P R O G R A M GIACOMO FIORE - LARRY POLANSKY'S ii - v - i for electric guitar DEL SOL STRING QUARTET - MAT MUNTZ'S 31. (endless and unreal) and JURI SEO'S Just Intonation Etudes HWAYOUNG SHON - May You Find Rebirth in Paradise for gayageum SAM WEISER - TAYLOR BROOK'S Vocalise for violin with tape CALEB ROSE, MATT INGALLS, and SAM WEISER - ANDREW MCINTOSH'S Three Symmetry Etudes for two clarinets and violin sfSoundOrchestra - MATT INGALLS' 49 Rays sfSoundOrchestra Hadley McCarroll, piano Diane Grubbe, Michelle Lee, Kevin Lo, flute Kyle Bruckmann, oboe Matt Ingalls, Caleb Rose, clarinet John Ingle, Elizabeth Schenck, saxophone Tom Djll, trumpet Ron Heglin, tuba Paul Dresher, invented instruments Giacomo Fiore, guitar Benjamin Kreith, Wendy Reid, Sam Weiser, Hyeyung Sol Yoon, violin Charlton Lee, viola Kathryn Bates, Ben Davis, Monica Scott, Scott Thompson, cello |
| JUNE 2 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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SUNG KIM OAKLAND REDUCTIONIST ORCHESTRA  Instrument maker SUNG KIM demonstrates a few of his unique instruments and performs improvisations offering a melodic tapestry of healing and triumph. Sung Kim's emergence in avant-garde sound has become inseparable from a defining moment of adversity: a life-altering accident that saw two of his fingers severed and reattached on his dominant left hand. Yet, from this crucible of challenge, Sung's artistic trajectory found new resonance. His workshop, once a space of routine craftsmanship, became a laboratory of innovation born out of necessity. From more rudimentary forms crafted during the initial stages of recovery to intricately designed instruments as his hand regained strength, each piece tells a story of perseverance and transformation. The concert also features the OAKLAND REDUCTIONIST ORCHESTRA, a supergroup of local musicians with a predilection for lowercase/fricative/reductionist acoustic improvisation that often sounds more electronic than acoustic. This ensemble grows out of a rich tradition of "American reductionist" music that emerged (re-emerged?) in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Previous projects like Tom Djll's Grosse Abfahrt and The Jack Wright Large Ensemble Eight By Nine document the Bay Area's contribution to the genre. PERFORMERS Monica Scott, cello Kanoko Nishi-Smith, koto John Ingle, saxophones Matt Ingalls, clarinets Ron Heglin, tuba Tom Djll, trumpet Kevin Corcoran, percussion Chris Cooper, objects, electronics Kevin CK Lo, violin/flute/piano |
| JUNE 9 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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A MICROFESTIVAL OF SURROUND SOUND DIFFUSION 
THE SAN FRANCISCO TAPE MUSIC COLLECTIVE presents a "micro-festival" of fixed media works projected live over a 16-channel Meyer Sound System. Featuring a wide range works by international composers and collective members. If you’ve never been to our SF TAPE MUSIC FESTIVAL or you go every year, this is a perfect amount to tide you over until January 2025!! P R O G R A M HILDEGARD WESTERKAMP - Kits Beach Soundwalk (1989) LUC FERRARI - Tautolgos I (1963) ROCÍO CANO VALIÑO - Okno (2020) LÉA BOUDREAU - Quatre machines pour sauver le monde (2019) THOM BLUM - Combustible (2008-09) CLIFF CARUTHERS - Cupido's' Suitcase (2009) MATT INGALLS - Five Sketches (2024) DOUGLAS MCCAUSLAND - why do you distort your face? (2023) KRISTIN MILTNER - Syrinx (2012) |
| JUNE 16 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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RUBEN MATTIA SANTORSA KAREN YU + KEN UENO 
  RUBEN MATTIA SANTORSA performs a solo electric guitar journey through diverse sonic landscapes. This concert showcases 5 distinct "planets," starting with the delicate sounds of Laurence Crane's Bobby J and moving through Lisa Illean's Tiding in scordatura tuning to Giulia Lorusso's loop-based composition, Unspoken and her fragile À fleur de peau. Additionally, the premiere of a wake up Siri! by Ying Wang, written for Ruben Mattia's American tour. Finally, Ruben Mattia presents his own composition, Drones II. KAREN YU and KEN UENO perform Noise Box Cantos and Shadow Mudras, both developed collaboratively as a reaction to their experience being pitted in improvisative situations against a collective of modular synthesizer players. After a critical mass of a few modular synth players is reached, it is hard to discern the individual contributions of each performer. Outnumbered in such a context, Ueno and Yu, felt alienated and determined that such performance contexts were at odds with the core values of their respective performance practices as a vocalist and percussionist. As resistance to the culture of electronic noise performance in which physical gestures are decoupled from sonic output, Noise Box Cantos and Shadow Mudras, for Ueno and Yu, are performative investigations towards foregrounding subtle physical gestures in the generation of noise. The stylized use of the hands is important in both pieces. In Noise Box Cantos, four noise boxes, instruments with contact mics inputs and small speakers, built by Hong Kong-based sound artist, Kin Lam, are likened to tiles (or Kanji characters) that are “read” by the hands – likened also to the way Chinese characters operate in Ezra Pounds’ Cantos. In Shadow Mudras, the hand gestures of both performers on a snare drum subtly nuance the sonic output of contact mic inputs fed into a transducer placed on the snare drum. To further theatricalize the hand gestures, lights cast shadows of their stylized gestures (mudras) on the snare head, an abstract kind of shadow puppetry or sign language. |
| JUNE 23 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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GOGGLE UNITED BRASSWORKER'S FRONT   GOGGLE is the quartet of saxophonists Chris Jonas, Randy McKean, Dan Plonsey and Cory Wright. Individually they have worked with creative mavericks from Anthony Braxton, Vinny Golia, Yusef Lateef, Roscoe Mitchell, to ROVA, but the group has a brainiac squalling sound all its own, fueled by their original compositions—one part laboratory, the other playground. The nucleus of Goggle was formed in 1987 at Mills College, has recorded as the Great Circle Saxophone Quartet for New World Records, and since 2013, as Goggle, have worked with Taylor Ho Bynum, duo B., Lisa Mezzacappa and the Del Sol String Quartet. Goggle will be joined at this sfSound set of new compositions by special guests percussionist Jordan Glenn and vocalist Mantra Plonsey, whose mesmerizing “Nothing Wrong with Him” was featured on Goggle’s latest release Eeyahdi on Cure-All Records. The UNITED BRASSWORKER'S FRONT seeks to draw on the broad and diverse experiences and interests of it's members, to blur the lines between composition and improvisation, and between tradition and experimentation, all in the hopes of distilling this recipe into a sound that is unique, soulful, and that reexamines what a brass band can be. After many years in hibernation, this will be the first ever performance for the newest incarnation of the UBF, originally founded in the Bay Area in the early 2000's by trumpeter/composer Darren Johnston. Along with Johnston, the other original member this evening will be trumpeter Henry Hung. Past collaborators include Ches Smith, Devin Hoff, Lisa Mezzacappa, Sameer Gupta, Chris Brown, Adam Theis, Ara Anderson, and many others, including the late John Finkbeiner, who's singular sound and approach on electric guitar was a crucial element to the original band's sound. Darren Johnston, Henry Hung - trumpet Danny Lubin-Laden, Alan Williams - trombone Luke Kirley - tuba Jordan Glenn - drums |
| JUNE 30 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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LARRY OCHS: TALES END RIC LOUCHARD + TOM DJLL   TALES END is a new improvised music group fronted by ROVA Saxophone Quartet's LARRY OCHS featuring some of the best improvisers in the Bay Area, with KYLE BRUCKMANN (electronics), DARREN JOHNSTON (trumpet), LISA MEZZACAPPA (bass), and KJELL NORDESON (percussion). RIC LOUCHARD + TOM DJLL present Flight from Identity for piano and attendants. An attempt to expose, analyse, and release the psychosis of a black and white subject with 88 points of inflexion and reported history of abuse from imperialist logics. Lacking a "standard framework for understanding identity changes in a psychotic subject," the practitioners must resort to a workshop approach using appropriate instruments and experimental methodologies. In the course of this examination, it may become apparent that a typical Viennese-bred subject will follow a line of flight to its most restful state in a place far from its historically defined role(s). The subject is thus freed from the personality-fracturing black-tie straitjacket imposed on it by main-line pedagogy and societal expectations. The practitioners have developed a range of discrete transformational structures for undertaking this work, and hope to generate a sonic environment which lends the witness clues to not only the identity of the auditory stimuli bombarding them, but, as well, their own composition and identity as receivers and ultimate creators of musical (and other) meaning(s). "You may never get to touch the master, but you can tickle his creatures." |
| JULY 7 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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sfSoundGroup  sfSound performs a program covering half a century of composed, semi-composed, and improvised music by Anthony Braxton, Elliott Carter, Brian Ferneyhough, Vinko Globokar, Eva-Maria Houben, and Salvatore Sciarrino. From craggy complexity to sexy extended instrumental techniques including graphic notation and free jazz, the whole gamut of sfSound’s musical skill and interest is presented here in a single concert! M U S I C I A N S Kjell Nordeson, percussion Lisa Mezzacappa, bass Darren Johnston, trumpet John Ingle, saxophone Matt Ingalls, clarinet Diane Grubbe, flute Kyle Bruckmann, oboe P R O G R A M ANTHONY BRAXTON - Composition No. 142 (+110A, +SBN-A-1 66K) (1988/1984/1971, 10m) - Composition No. 23E (489M 70 - 2 - - (TH - B) M) (1974, 10m) ELLIOTT CARTER - Esprit rude/esprit doux II (1994, 4m) BRIAN FERNEYHOUGH - In Nomine a 3 (2001, 2m) VINKO GLOBOKAR - Correspondences (1971, 16m) EVA-MARIA HOUBEN - by a departing light X 4 (2023, 15m) SALVATORE SCIARRINO - Muro d'orizzonte (1997, 11m) |
| JULY 14 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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NATHAN CLEVENGER'S ASTROLABE DAVID LEIKAM   NATHAN CLEVENGER is an Oakland-born composer and multi-instrumentalist, working on the margins of modern composition, jazz, and improvisation. His 10-piece ensemble is an expanded version of Clevenger's long-running Group, created in 2024 to perform an extended suite, Astrolabe. For this West Oakland Sound Series performance, the ensemble will perform pieces from the suite, including a premiere, and feature Kasey Knudsen (alto & tenor sax), Beth Schenck (alto & soprano sax), Cory Wright (Bb & bass clarinet, alto flute), Rob Ewing (trombone), Marissa Deitz (cello), Safa Shokrai (bass), Jon Arkin (drums, percussion), Tim DeCillis (vibes, percussion), Jason Levis (marimba, percussion), and Nathan Clevenger (piano, harmonium). DAVID LEIKAM, SFBA-based composer-performer and bandleader presents An Evening Alone, with 4 Instruments and 1 Human on acoustic piano, Moog synthesiser, 6 string electric bass guitar, and 6 string electric cello. Being born with cerebral palsy has affected his body and speech, giving him a distinct view into his creative arts/music process and being largely a self-taught multi-instrumentalist. Studied music composition/improv at CalArts primarily with Wadada Leo Smith (BFA 2001, MFA 2006). |
| JULY 21 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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DANIEL JAMES BURKE (with ALEXANDRA BUSCHMAN-ROMÁN + KYLE BRUCKMANN + KANOKO NISHI-SMITH) STICKLERPHONICS (RAFFI GARABEDIAN + DANNY LUBIN-LADEN + SCOTT AMENDOLA)     
DANIEL JAMES BURKE an improviser/composer/performer from Chicago using strings, piano, extended techniques, field recordings, synthesizer, & electronics performs with local musicians ALEXANDRA BUSCHMAN-ROMÁN (voice/electronics), KYLE BRUCKMANN (oboe/electronics) and KANOKO NISHI-SMITH (koto) -- a first time configuration for this quartet presenting improvisation with minimal preconceptions. Burke has been making music since 1983 as Illusion of Safety & has recorded and performed with Jim O'Rourke, Thomas Dimuzio, Jon Mueller, Olivia Block, Kevin Drumm, CHEER-ACCIDENT, & others. Recently he has started performing original music in singer-songwriter mode, and has initiated free improvisation sessions with Chicago-based improvisors Erik Sowa (drums) and Jeb Bishop (trombone & electronics). Seeing musical tools & traditions as borders to cross and boundaries to play with, his interest in making challenging, exploratory music is now augmented by a desire to also create music as beautiful and enigmatic as possible. Through interaction, environment, intention, & spontaneity, his intention is to connect space, performers & audience, believing sound can be a catalyst in reaching states beyond normal consciousness. SCOTT AMENDOLA, the drummer, composer and bandleader who’s been a creative force on the Bay Area jazz scene (and far beyond) for the past three decades, knows all about the power of subtraction. His new stripped-down trio STICKLERPHONICS brings together long-time collaborators RAFFI GARABEDIAN on tenor saxophone and trombonist DANNY LUBIN-LADEN, NewYork-seasoned improvisers who’ve worked together since their formative years in the vaunted Berkeley High Jazz Band, circa 2003. The trio has plunged into the unmediated terrain that opens up in the absence of the usual guidelines, “a situation where there’s no bass and no chords,” Amendola said. “The sound is ever evolving. We’re really settling in, but there’s also the feeling like there are places to go. We’ve been adding my electronics and Danny bringing in a little looper. We’re just getting started.” With all three players contributing original compositions, SticklerPhonics is a volatile combo that can draw on a vast continuum of jazz practices, from traditional jazz polyphony and ambient soundscapes to funk and free jazz. Amendola, who first gained national attention in the Grammy-nominated three-guitar and drums band T.J.Kirk, has a deep well of experience in unusual instrumental settings.His long-running duo with Hammond B-3organist Wil Blades got its start when they developed an impressively detailed version of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s late masterpiece Far East Suite. There aren’t many models to follow for SticklerPhonics, though Barondown with tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin and trombonist Steve Swell is a major source of inspiration. “Scott hipped me to that group,” said Garabedian. “It’s fun to be in this almost uncomfortable situation. You need melody, rhythm,and harmony, and the challenge is how can you successfully get all that with what you’re working with.” |
| AUGUST 4 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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JAMES FEI + LAETITIA SONAMI HADLEY MCCARROLL + TOM DAMBLY + SFSOUND   JAMES FEI and LAETITIA SONAMI started their improvisational collaboration in 2013. While the materials and techniques used by the two musicians differ significantly, both employ tactile interface coupled with electronic systems that exhibit complex behaviors. Sonami performs with her most recent instrument, the Spring Spyre. Constructed around a web of springs whose signals are analyzed through neural networks which in turn control the audio synthesis in real time, the Spring Spyre can exhibit a wide range of sonic behaviors depending on its training terrains. Fei's setup consists of analog circuits driven by multiple feedback loops, often on the brink of instability. Signals are recursively routed through microphones, spring reverb, and converted between audio and control voltages. Circuit elements are also modified by touch, integrating the non-linearities and the immediacy of the body with the electronic processes. HADLEY MCCARROLL performs Nordic piano works: KAIJO SAARIAHO'S Prelude (2007) and ANNA THORVALDSDÓTTIR'S Scape (2011). TOM DAMBLY presents his La trompette concrète (2015/24) for trumpet and electronics, then joins sfSoundGroup members LISA MEZZACAPPA (bass), JOHN INGLE (saxophone), and MATT INGALLS (clarinet) in performances of improvisational compositions CORNELIUS CARDEW'S Autumn 60 (1960) and GEORGE E LEWIS'S Players (1977, Rev 1993). |
| AUGUST 11 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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EDA ER + SARAH GRACE GRAVES AARON BENNETT + SCOTT R. LOONEY + MATT MONTGOMERY     SARAH GRACE GRAVES and EDA ER perform an audio-visual set of voice and electronics that investigates storytelling as technology and voice that extends beyond the body. This adventurous trio of AARON BENNETT (saxes), SCOTT R. LOONEY (piano, prepared piano, electronics), and MATT MONTGOMERY (bass) reassembles for another round of wide ranging sonic exploration covering classic territory from similar trios of Paul Bley as well as more esoteric corners of free jazz, skronk, and standards. The lack of percussion allows more of a chamber music aesthetic to hold sway here, where each player has equal weight to contribute to the aural landscape. |
| SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2024 Noon-9p ($donation) |
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The Nth Annual BAYIMPROVISER TRANSBAY SKRONKATHON 
The SKRONKATHON is an all-day marathon of experimental and weird music featuring some of the Bay Area's best creative musicians. Launched back in 2001 at the Tuva Space storefront venue near the Ashby BART station, the SKRONKATHON was created to showcase a diverse community of musicians united by a keen sense of inhabiting a fragile realm far outside mainstream music tastes. A co-presentation with bayimproviser.com (the most reliable place to find out about concerts of this music!) the WEST OAKLAND SOUND SERIES is pleased to once again host this unique annual event. With 19 acts utilizing the Dresher Ensemble Studio and a second, warehouse/loft stage in the same building, this event is a great way to sample what the scene has to offer! Come to hear just a few sets, or the entire 9 hours. A suggested donation of $10-$25 (cash or venmo at the door; or online via the series' eventbrite page) goes towards assistance with WEST OAKLAND SOUND SERIES costs (venue rental, Bösendorfer piano tuning and insurance). SCHEDULE NOON :: Stage 2251 Djll-Heglin Brass Duo Tom Djll (trumpet), Ron Heglin (trombone, tuba) Langensiepen Trio Scott Thompson (cello), Caleb Rose (saxophone), Max (hybrid bass) SKRONKESTRA a "blow-in" improvisation with skronkathon performers and special guests 1:15 :: Dresher Studio Gachapon Cindy Webster (voice, amplified bowed saw, hurdy-gurdy), Tom Bickly (EWI and electronics), Dean Santomieri (guitar, taishogoto), Christina Braun (dance) Musta David Leikam (6-string fretless electric bass, ankle bells), Rent Romus (saxophones, ankle bells, percussion), Lorenzo Arreguin (guitar) 2:20 :: Stage 2251 Eudimorphodon Dan Plonsey (saxophones++), Matthew Welch (bagpipes++) oakland reductionist orchestra Sarah Grace Graves (voice), Diane Grubbe (flutes), Kevin Lo (flute/violin), Kyle Bruckmann (oboe), Matt Ingalls (clarinets), Joshua Marshall (tenor saxophone), Tom Dill (trumpet), Ron Heglin (tuba), Jacob Felix Heule (percussion), Cheryl E. Leonard (natural-object instruments), Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), Monica Scott (cello) Adams-Boisen-Djll Trio Steve Adams (saxophones), Myles Boisen (guitar), Tom Djll (trumpet, electronics) 3:30 :: Dresher Studio San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra Diana Gomez (flute), James W. Cook (clarinet), Megan Cullen (french Horn), Gregory Gomez (trombone), Vance Maverick (piano), Kat Walsh (violin), Harry Bernstein (viola), Michael Orlinsky (Voice), Michael Cooke (conductor) 4:10 :: Stage 2251 E.A-Nakadegawa-Lee-Lefebvre Trio Matias E.A (guitar), Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee (clarinet), Sam Lefebvre (percussion) Key West Brian Pedersen (saxophones), Randylee Sutherland (alto saxophone), Jay Korber (tenor saxophone) 5:00 :: Dresher Studio Euphotic Cheryl E. Leonard (natural-object instruments), Bryan Day (objects, electronics), Tom Djll (trumpet, electronics) Ghost in the House Kyle Bruckmann (english horn, oboe, electronics), Kersti Abrams (alto saxophone, mirimba), Cindy Webster (singing saw, hurdy gurdy), Polly Springhorn (bass flute), David Michalak (skatch n' steel, harp, "mountain of junk"), Darren Johnston (trumpet), Scott Looney (piano, electronics) 6:00 :: Stage 2251 Ewing-Mezzacappa-Arkin Trio Rob Ewing (trombone), Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), Jon Arkin (drums) Tri-cornered Tent Show Phillip Everett (electronics, clarinet), Ray Schaeffer (electric frettless bass), Anthony Flores (percussion) 7:00 :: Dresher Studio Ambient Bird Quintet Lulu (bird), Wendy Reid (violin), Aurora Josephson (voice), David Samas (percussion), Cheryl Leonard (natural-object instruments), Bryan Day (objects, electronics) Pet the Tiger David Samas (percussion), Cheryl Leonard (natural-object instruments), Stephen Parris (guitar), Bryan Day (objects, electronics) 8:15 :: Dresher Studio Louchard-Brown-Davis-Ingalls Double Duo Ric Louchard (piano), Chris Brown (piano), Ben Davis (cello), Matt Ingalls (clarinets) ON&ON&ON& Kyle Bruckmann (oboe, electronics), Brett Carson (keyboards), Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), Jordan Glenn (drums) |
| SEPTEMBER 8 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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MOTOKO HONDA'S SIMPLE EXCESSES QUARTET THE DECONSTRUCTION OF WHAT YOU KNOW  Featuring the Northern California's most versatile and innovative players [MOTOKO HONDA (composition/piano), CORY WRIGHT (woodwinds), MATT SMALL (bass), and JORDAN GLENN (drums)], SIMPLE EXCESSES QUARTET performs an exciting repertoire of compositions which unifies jazz, classical chamber music, improvisation and experimental soundscapes. Intricate, dynamic and often surprising, the quartet's music is a flight in the clouds. "The music of pianist and composer Motoko Honda is to mainstream jazz what Brahm's music was to the neatly packaged forms of the Classical period….Honda's process has a transformative effect on listeners privy to a complex system of inter-communication and cooperative building strategies.” -- Phillip Greenlief, Art Forum THE DECONSTRUCTION OF WHAT YOU KNOW [JOSH ALLEN (tenor sax), TIM DUFF (bass), DAVE CASINI (drums), DANIEL PEARCE (drums)] is a quartet revolving around a double drum lineup. The overtones of the cymbals allow the group to utilize multiple independent pulse propulsion and a dynamic multiphonic thematic expression to organize and arrange frighteningly quick counter point. Sax, drums, and bass. So it's free jazz? It's not jazz. It's not a drum circle model. This is modern composition. It's lower case note to note listening on steroids. Experience the cacophony. It makes sense if you don't fight it. |
| SEPTEMBER 22 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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ELLIOTT CARTER 3x2: TRIPLE/DOUBLE DUO/TRIOS  Join sfSoundGroup for an evening celebrating the music of ELLIOTT CARTER, featuring sextets, trios, and duos that span 70 years of his career. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the creativity and innovation of one of the 20th century’s most remarkable composers. M U S I C I A N S Sam Weiser, violin Monica Scott, cello Kjell Nordeson, percussion Hadley McCarroll, piano Brendan Lai-Tong, trombone John Ingle, alto saxophone, conductor Matt Ingalls, clarinets Diane Grubbe, flutes Tom Dambly, trumpet P R O G R A M Double Trio for trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, violin and cello (2011, 8m) Triple Duo for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin and cello (1983, 20m) Con leggerezza pensosa for clarinet, violin, and cello (1990, 5m) Esprit rude/esprit doux II for flute, clarinet, and marimba (1994, 4m) Pastoral for alto saxophone and piano (1940, 10m) Sonata for cello and piano (1948, 20m) |
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SEPTEMBER 23 2024 6PM to 7:03PM (sunset) A FREE EVENT at Live Oak Park (1301 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley) |
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WENDY REID'S AMBIENT BIRD with sfSound & The Bird Ensemble BRENDA HUTCHINSON'S DAILYBELL  WENDY REID'S AMBIENT BIRD - Live Oak 2024 is a 44-minute interspecies sonic landscape/ambient environment which reflects a philosophy of connecting with all living creatures and the environment. The ensemble is made up of experimental musicians who blend various approaches - traditional, improvisational, acoustic electronic, and ambient - alongside the natural environment, creating a collaborative and inclusive space where all are welcome to listen, engage and contribute to the evolving soundscape. The structure of this work can be described as a musical process which attempts to reflect nature’s manner of operations: sonic fragments of an African grey parrot (Lulu) become the musical material of a spatially notated score to be interpreted and performed by the musicians within the ambient environment. Contextual in nature, the work allows performers to act according to unpredictable conditions and variables which arise within the musical continuity.In performance, an attempt is made at a spontaneous unforced growing of sound and silence in which emphasis is placed on formation rather than pre-established form, as in the building and shaping of cell-like units in living processes. This site-specific piece, as with its first incantation entitled Ambient Bird 433, pays homage to John Cage’s composition 4’33” (1952). At sunset, BRENDA HUTCHINSON will lead lead everyone in bell ringing, celebrating the equinox. Dailybell, created by composer and sound artist Brenda Hutchinson in 2008, is an ongoing aspirational project based on the premise that something as inarguable as the movement of the Earth can be used as a point of unity and awareness among large groups of people who might otherwise find it impossible to agree. For this work, you will be one of the musicians as well! The precise location of the performance will be just north of the recreation/theatre building, near the creek under the trees. There is no formal seating: stand and watch or wander, sit on the grass, ground, steps, distant picnic tables or bring your own chair/blanket. Special Thanks to Shallon Allen (City of Berkeley), Silvia Matheus (videographer), Phil Perkins (location audio engineer), Edward Morse (technical assistance), and the musicians. M U S I C I A N S Lulu, african grey parrot Wendy Reid, violin Krys Bobrowski, glisglas Brenda Hutchinson, long tube Aurora Josephson, voice Ron Heglin, tuba David Samas, percussion Kanoko Nishi-Smith, koto Ben Davis, cello Tom Dambly, trumpet Matt Ingalls, clarinets Diane Grubbe, flute Brendan Lai-Tong, trombone John Ingle, saxophone |
| SEPTEMBER 29 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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TIZIANA BERTONCINI + THOMAS LEHN THE OAKLAND REDUCTIONIST ORCHESTRA   TIZIANA BERTONCINI and THOMAS LEHN have been collaborating since 2002, in duo, in other ensemble, eg. the ensemble]h[iatus and in various multimedia projects. The special feature of the duo is the alchemy created by the meeting of the classical and the electronic instrument. The different nature of sound, the characteristics and histories of violin and analogue synthesizer could recall a friction. Actually, what happens is a sort of mirror game, in which the roles of the instruments are continuously exchanged. BERTONCINI and LEHN move in an abstract territory, their approach to sound is contemporary. Nevertheless their consideration to music is quite classical insofar as based principally on tension/release, rupture, intensity and expressivity in all its facets. Their first duo CD release was highly praised in numerous reviews. The concert concludes with the duo joining THE OAKLAND REDUCTIONIST ORCHESTRA in an improvised set. A supergroup of local musicians with a predilection for lowercase/fricative/reductionist acoustic improvisation that often sounds more electronic than acoustic, this ensemble grows out of a rich tradition of "American reductionist" music that flourished in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Previous projects like Tom Djll's Grosse Abfahrt and The Jack Wright Large Ensemble Eight By Nine document the Bay Area's contribution to the genre. PERFORMERS Danishta Rivero, voice Cody Putman, bassoon Kanoko Nishi-Smith, koto Lisa Mezzacappa, bass Joshua Marshall, tenor saxophone Kevin CK Lo, violin/flute/piano Cheryl E. Leonard, natural-object instruments John Ingle, saxophones Matt Ingalls, clarinets Ron Heglin, tuba Diane Grubbe, flutes Sarah Grace Graves, voice Jacob Felix Heule, percussion Tom Djll, trumpet Kevin Corcoran, percussion Chris Cooper, objects, electronics Supported by Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport (BMKÖS) 
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| OCTOBER 13 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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JOANA HOLANDA + FÁBIO PRESGRAVE KANOKO NISHI-SMITH + AINE NAKAMURA   
Recognized as one the foremost Brazilian musicians of their generation, FÁBIO PRESGRAVE (cello) and JOANA HOLANDA have been performing versatile and captivating programs with a wide range of aesthetic affiliations. Both musicians are faculty members at Federal University of Natal (UFRN) in Brazil. The duo performs Brazillian-born, Oakland composer BRUNO RUVIARIO'S Beatriz Suite (2024), a 13-movement work written for the duo. Using one the country's most beloved songs, Beatriz written by Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque in 1983 for the ballet O Grande Circo Místico (The Great Mystical Circus) as source material, the work rips apart the original song, expanding its imagery and emotional landscapes, cleanly quoting the song as well as transforming it beyond recognition. In addition, themes from other composers find their way into the work. The duo will also present PAULO CÉSAR VITOR'S short arrangement of Beatriz. The concert concludes with Portuguese-born composer JOÃO PEDRO OLIVEIRA'S Enigma (2018), a work confronting crossroads, indecisions and moments of stagnation. To surpass these moments where the creative process seems to "freeze," Olivera adds new material based on intuition and chance without logical or rational explanation. It is this mystery, which is part of composing, that often revives creative life and makes new ideas flourish. The concert begins with a debut duo performance by AINE NAKAMURA and KANOKO NISHI-SMITH. The two artists recently met in the Bay Area, and quickly found a shared mission in channeling, processing and ultimately accepting the complexity and contradictions observed in human nature: the urge to expose and to disguise, to construct and deconstruct, to abandon and to protect…seeking and reaching, through sounding and moving, beyond language and meanings, and the physical boundaries of objects and skin, breaking, and then mending them. |
| OCTOBER 20 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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SILVIA MATHEUS with RIC LOUCHARD LISA MEZZACAPPA: MUSIC FOR MORE THAN A FEW OF US featuring members of sfSound, the oakland reductionist orchestra, and guests   SILVIA MATHEUS (computer and electronic music composer, sound artist, and improviser) teams up with RIC LOUCHARD (pianist, composer, and improviser) to create The VisitoR, a performance where electronics and acoustics meet and interact. Matheus has designed hybrid environments with multiple speakers, allowing musicians to move in and out at their own pace and engage as they wish. This setup encourages spontaneous interactions that evolve based on each participant's desire to immerse themselves. The VisitoR goes beyond a simple two-person conversation, embracing a lively interplay of actions that flow freely. The soundscape blends algorithmically generated sounds with fixed compositions, all layered with live-processed acoustic elements, creating a rich and dynamic auditory experience. This piece will be presented in a multiple-speaker configuration. LISA MEZZACAPPA: MUSIC FOR MORE THAN A FEW OF US Bassist and composer LISA MEZZACAPPA presents a set of new and newly-arranged works for improvising large ensemble, featuring members of sfSound, the oakland reductionist orchestra, and special guests. Exploring noisy abstraction, gnarly grooves and austere lyricism, her compositions incorporate graphic notation, game strategies, and conducted improvisation to engage a spirit of play and exploration. Sarah Grace Graves, voice Hallie Smith, violin Diane Grubbe, flutes Matt Ingalls, clarinets Joshua Marshall, tenor saxophone Ron Heglin, trombone Rob Ewing, trombone Monica Scott, cello Kathryn Schulmeister, double bass Lisa Mezzacappa, double bass Brett Carson, piano Chris Cooper, electronics Kjell Nordeson, drums |
| OCTOBER 27 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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MEERENAI SHIM + DIANE GRUBBE THE HOLLY MARTINS (KASEY KNUDSEN + LORIN BENEDICT + ERIC VOGLER)   Bay Area flutists DIANE GRUBBE and MEERENAI SHIM perform solo and duo works by Robert Dick, Mario Davidovsky, Dai Fujikura, Alyssa Aska, and The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker. THE HOLLY MARTINS is KASEY KNUDSEN (alto saxophone), LORIN BENEDICT (voice), and ERIC VOGLER (guitar). They have been playing in this configuration for over 15 years, during which time the group has explored a broad range of composed music (written by them and by others), improvised game pieces, and collective free improvisation. The nucleus of their approach is rooted in the jazz idiom, writ large, but the conspicuous absence of a "rhythm section" pushes the team in directions bordering on the altogether unfamiliar. |
| NOVEMBER 3 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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RIC LOUCHARD (with LISA MEZZACAPPA + JORDAN GLENN + JOSHUA MARSHALL) BJLL DINGALLS (TOM DJLL + BILL HSU + MATT INGALLS) 
RIC LOUCHARD is a Bay Area composer, pianist, improviser, writer and story teller. His stories strive to find the universal in the very personal. His music is emotive and, well, romantic, or at least on the Dionysian side of the fence. It tends towards chromaticism, atonality or quirky tonality. Motivic with sometimes complex rhythms. His musical roots are European classical tradition, improvisation, and all the music we’ve all been hearing the last 70 years. Ric is delighted – really delighted - to be playing with LISA MEZZACAPPA, bass, JORDAN GLENN, drums, and JOSHUA MARSHALL, saxophones. Ric played these pieces with this same quartet 5 years ago and has always wanted to revisit the music, make some revisions, and play and record them again with these fantastic musicians. He is thrilled it is happening. In the blur between acoustic and amplified, synthetic and analog, "algo-rhythm" and improvisation, clarity is forged anew only if you look ahead. Swinging serious sonic sledgehammers for a threefold lifetime now, BJLL DINGALLS [TOM DJLL (trumpet & electronics) + BILL HSU (electronics) + MATT INGALLS (clarinet & electronics)] lay the railroad into terra incognita. |
| NOVEMBER 10 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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THE STINSON TRIO MITCH STAHLMANN 
 THE STINSON TRIO is the restless electric improvising union of drummer TIM BULKLEY, guitarist DAVID DVORIN, and reeds player RANDY MCKEAN. Using drum and cymbal, amps and effects, high and low saxes/clarinets, they fashion instant jigsaw superstructures from composite layers of sound and rhythm. The Stinson project came about after trombonist and fellow Flounder band member Cliff Childers’ unexpected death in 2023, which had a profound impact on the remaining members Bulkley, Dvorin, and McKean. Cancelling all upcoming engagements, they entered a period of soul-searching and reflection, ultimately spending a long weekend playing and recording in a cabin located in Marin County’s seaside community of Stinson Beach. The result is their collection Stinson, a creative meditation on folding grief into the joy of communion and connection. They create a world of eclectic improvisation, spontaneous composition, and thoughtful rumination, one in which clinks and clanks become swirls and sustenance, thud and bluster become howl and lament. Through the act of making music, the three reaffirm their collective bond, which shines and fuels their debut release. Stinson will be released by Cure-All Records in November 2024. MITCH STAHLMANN does play around. His often frenetic music embraces chaos, pulling radical joy out of the magician's hat. In his solo practice, Mitch primarily works with complex MIDI systems controlled by his adaptation of Michel Waisvisz's crackle box circuit design. Additionally, the flute is used as a vehicle for melodic and spiritual incantation through this fabric of noise. For this set at the West Oakland Sound Series, Mitch will be pulling both material from his debut solo album, Into the Wish, as well as new musical material. As a collaborator, Mitch's sound can also be heard in projects such as RISA and Signal Quest. |
| NOVEMBER 17 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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JON ARKIN + BEN GOLDBERG BRUCKMANN + GLENN + JESSEN + MEZZACAPPA + RIVERO 
As a duo, JON ARKIN (drums, live processing) and BEN GOLDBERG (clarinet) bring together an unprecedented diversity of organic and synthetic elements, forming a truly unique musical amalgam. Arkin’s self-designed hybrid electro-acoustic setup acts as both a support and foil to Goldberg’s singular improvisational voice, within the contexts of traditional composition, spontaneous composition, and algorithmic indeterminacy. The evening also includes an improvisation by the super-group KYLE BRUCKMANN (oboe/electronics) + JORDAN GLENN (percussion) + DANA JESSEN (bassoon) + LISA MEZZACAPPA (bass) + DANISHTA RIVERO (voice/electronics). In this yet-to-be-cleverly-named electroacoustic quintet, the double reed faction of Splinter Reeds fills in a juicy slice of their Venn diagram overlap with Oakland's tireless Creative Music scene. Thorny compositions by Jessen and Bruckmann frame and catalyze jittery collective improvisations. Mazes will be precariously navigated and harmonic partials will be shamelessly excited. |
| NOVEMBER 24 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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EDA ER + DANNIEL RIBEIRO DAN PLONSEY: Understanding Human Behavio, Part 2: The Doll House  
EDA ER and DANNIEL RIBEIRO debut their dynamic duo, blending vocals, electronics, electric guitar, and video. Their work incorporates transducers and extended techniques within a structured improvisation setting, highlighting their shared exploration of sound, collaboration, and multimedia expression. EDA ER is a composer, multimedia artist, and vocalist based in the Bay Area. Her work integrates electronic music, classical composition, installation art, and theater, often using storytelling to explore themes of belonging, memory, and generational trauma. Eda's practice bridges new media, improvisation, and sensors, with a focus on the interaction between sound, visuals, and space. She frequently collaborates with renowned ensembles and artists and is known for her interdisciplinary approach, combining performance art with cutting-edge technology to create immersive experiences. DANNIEL RIBEIRO is a Brazilian composer based in the Bay Area. His work explores instrumental music through project-specific techniques, preparations, sculptural objects, amplification, and transduced electronics. Focusing primarily on the guitar, he expands its expressive range and investigates the instrument’s evolving stylistic devices. His performances span spontaneous composition, recorded and transformed performances, collaborative projects, and the exploration of augmented instrument capabilities. Danniel has studied composition in Brazil, Canada, France, and the USA, and has participated in various international festivals as a resident composer. DAN PLONSEY: Understanding Human Behavio, Part 2: The Doll House Mantra Plonsey: words, songs, voice Dan Plonsey: composer, saxophones, clarinets, etc. Cory Wright: saxophones, clarinets, flutes Matthew Welch: bagpipes, suling, accordion, etc. Masha Albrecht: violin Sarah Willner: viola Mary Artmann: cello Jordan Glenn: drums, percussion Ward Spangler: drums, percussion Kattt Sammon: tableaux, voice Post-pandemic, I have begun to present performances which integrate many of the compositional principles and practices I’ve played round with for over 46 years. The music is: emotional/colorful, soulful/animal, egalitarian, practical, mysterious, and is written specifically for friends – I've worked with most of these performers for decades. Of musical practices, these works employ polyphony, short simple compositions, repetition, use of multiple idioms, and improvisation with various constraints, including the reckless, unconstrained sort. A critical component in these performances is my wife Mantra, who supplies most of the words and vocals. And for this particular venue, I’ve enlisted Kattt to assemble a series of tableaux, which will be projected onto the giant plain back wall. The title “Understanding Human Behavio” belongs to my solo oboe/keyboard/voice CD (1998); I'm returning to it at this time because there's now even more to understand. -- DP |
| DECEMBER 1 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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THEA FARHADIAN + CHRIS BROWN EUPHOTIC [ CHERYL E. LEONARD + BRYAN DAY + TOM DJLL ]   
CHRIS BROWN (piano/electronics) and THEA FARHADIAN (violin/electronics) come together for their first time improvised duo performance. EUPHOTIC brings together three seasoned sonic experimenters, each with a unique approach – put in simple terms – natural, physical, and imaginary. Natural - bones, driftwood, stones, sand, wind and water; physical - gravity, friction, resonance, kinetic forces; imaginary - technological circuitry making hitherto imaginary sounds real via plotted electricity. CHERYL E. LEONARD is an auditory explorer in a quite literal sense — she’s brought back aural artifacts from Antarctica, Svalbard, and Australia, among other places. She collects field recordings from these far-flung locales as well as sticks, stones, bones, shells, leaves, and sand. Using these materials as musical instruments she re-casts her experiences for new audiences. BRYAN DAY builds instruments that exploit physical forces like gravity, friction, resonance and kineticism. These constructions often take fantastical forms and emit sounds that confound expectations based on their visual configurations, eliciting delight. Bryan assembles collections of these sonic sculptures according to the needs of the performance at hand. TOM DJLL never lost his interest in electronically generated sounds since working with Buchla, Moog and Serge electronic instruments at Mills College. Using modular synthesizers patched into complex systems, he creates swarms of multicellular critters that fill the air and surround the listener, motivating psychic transportations. |
| DECEMBER 8 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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ROBERT BLATT + KEVIN CORCORAN + MANFRED WERDER GIACOMO FIORE   GIACOMO FIORE presents Lost Horse Wash Drone - a series of works composed after one week in residence at the Lou Harrison House in Joshua Tree California, contemplating matters of tuning, improvisation, and our environment. The music is built on small just intonation modes, played on fretless electric and refretted resophonic guitar with live electronic manipulation, and accompanied field recordings from day-long hikes into the desert, in an attempt to bring environmental and improvised sound together. photo by Dominic Guzzo In a performance including 35 mm slides, analog tape, field recording, found documents, text, typewriter, and voice, ROBERT BLATT, KEVIN CORCORAN, and MANFRED WERDER collectively realize an assemblage of their work engaging the concept of history through its intersections with art, land, and politics. ROBERT BLATT is a composer, artist, performer, and writer. His practice explores expanded situations that reevaluate sound and listening through environment, community, and language. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. KEVIN CORCORAN works with sound in contexts of music, art, communication, and place, with recent projects focused on field recordings expanded across media. He lives in San Francisco while often in transit tracing places of interest and inquiry. MANFRED WERDER is wandering through the abundance in which he traces all possible enunciation regarding the world. His recent works [ the inscription of the sun ] and [ the music of history ] continue the practice of reflection and inscription of both found materials through the sun and typewriter and the public space through dérive. Lives in situ. image: Angelus Novus (1920) by Paul Klee. Manfred Werder’s presence has been made possible in part by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia. 
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