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Guests Artists

Charles Corey guitar and voice

Charles Corey is an American composer holding a Ph.D. in Music Composition and Theory from the University of Pittsburgh. His approach to composition exploits and subverts the relationships that exist between different tuning systems. Corey's scores, known for their unexpected, evocative harmonies and their strong dramatic arcs, have been recognized by the Young Virtuosos Foundation, the Foundation for Modern Music, and the Sociedade Pró-Sinfônica de Limeira. Corey is Director and Curator of the Harry Partch Instrumentarium, and Director of the Harry Partch Ensemble.  In this role, he presented the world premieres of Partch’s 1955 works The Potion Scene and The Bewitched – A Ballet Satire, gave the first performance of the original 1943 U.S. Highball for one performer, premiered more than one dozen works by contemporary composers, and resumed international touring with Partch’s instruments.  His writings on Partch’s work have been published by Verlag Königshausen & Neumann, and a study of errors in Partch’s scores will be published next year by the University of Rochester Press. charlescorey.com

Bonnie Whiting percussion and voice

Bonnie Whiting performs and composes experimental music, seeking projects that involve the speaking percussionist, improvisation, and non-traditional notation. Recent work includes performances at the John Cage Centennial Festival in Washington DC, an evening-length song cycle for speaking percussionist composed by Eliza Brown and 10 musicians incarcerated at the Indiana Women’s Prison, and concerti with the National Orchestra of Turkmenistan. Her debut album, featuring a solo-simultaneous realization of John Cage's "45' for a speaker" and "27'10.554" for a percussionist" was released on Mode Records label in 2017, and her second album Perishable Structures launched on the New Focus Recordings label in 2020. Whiting has performed with some of the United States’ leading new music groups, including Ensemble Dal Niente, International Contemporary Ensemble, Seattle Modern Orchestra, and red fish blue fish percussion group. She is Chair of Percussion Studies at the University of Washington, in Seattle. bonniewhitingpercussion.com

SONIC/Symbiotic

Anju Singh percussion

Anju Singh explores the depth of texture through her practice as an experimental musician and a sound artist. Her work is often focused on determining the edges of musical sound and pure texture, and where they meet. anjusingh.com/

Adrian Avendaño percussion

Adrian Avendaño is an emerging improvising percussionist, sound artist, recordist, based in Surrey-Vancouver, Canada [unceded lands of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), and Semiahma (Semiahmoo), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples]. His work explores the relationship of place and sound through collaborative engagements using a variety of implements (field recordings, found objects, hardware/software and open-source technologies). As a percussionist, he works in a variety of eclectic styles such as contemporary gamelan, traditional korean drumming, and improvised music.  His recent interest has been exploring the use of transducers on objects to explore sonic timbre, colour, and shape. He is passionate about working with graphic scores and notations in solo and group contexts.  He is an active performer in Vancouver’s creative music scene and has presented and performed internationally in Peru and Chile’s sound art and experimental music communities. avendanosounds

Ben Brown percussion

I am a mover and shaker. As a drummer, I have received a Juno Award with my group, Pugs and Crows. I am the founder of Music And Movement Mondays (MAMM) and the Conundrum Performance Series. Currently, I’m exploring principles of sound felt in the body and researching a series of designed percussion instruments crafted by Roxanne Nesbitt. With these, I am trying to push the boundaries of drumming by using movement to communicate the energy of sound—helping an audience hear differently by creating and breaking expectations for a sound through gesture. benbrownsounds.com

Roxanne Nesbitt Ceramic Instruments design and creation

Roxanne Nesbitt is an multidisciplinary artist, exploring the space between sound and design. Her research explores radical instrument design, the hinge between composition and improvisation, sculptural ceramics and participatory sound installation. Roxanne celebrates process, making work that is intimate, inquisitive, and exploratory. roxannenesbitt.com

NOW Society Ensemble

Jorrit Dijktsra saxophone

Jorrit Dijkstra is a Dutch/American saxophone player and composer who spent his formative years in the lively Amsterdam jazz and improvisation scene. After moving to Boston in 2002 he immersed himself in the Boston improv scene in groups with Pandelis Karayorgis, Jeb Bishop, Nate McBride and Luther Gray. He has led ad-hoc projects with improvisers from Vancouver, Chicago, Berlin, Oakland, Mexico City and Lisbon, and is the co-founder of the independent label Driff Records. He teaches at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. jorritdijkstra.com

Joshua Zubot violin

Joshua Zubot is a masterful violinist and composer who performs with conviction, emotion and power. He has toured internationally in ensembles such as Subtle Lip Can, In The Sea, Marie-Jo Therio and Quartestki. Zubot has turned many heads playing genres from bluegrass to musique actuelle and everything in between. He has shared stages with folk/pop musicians like Martha Wainwright, Patrick Watson, Li’l Andy, Thus Owls plus experimental musicians such as Jean Derome, Matana Roberts, cellist Tristan Honsinger, Sun Ra’s Orchestra’s Marshall Allen and New York double bassist William Parker. Joshua_Zubot

Sina Ettehad kamanche

Sina Ettehad has performed in Iran, Canada and the United States. He was a core member of the Kereshmeh Ensemble and is currently a member of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, Zaryab Ensemble, Raha Ensemble and Wind Band. Sina has also composed and performed for numerous film and theatre productions. listen

Lisa Cay Miller piano

Presently living on the unceded Territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam peoples, Lisa Cay Miller (she/her) is an improvising pianist and composer who loves to create in the moment. Dr. Lisa Cay is the Artistic Director of the NOW Society, and is so honoured to have been part of the NOW workshops for a number of years. lisacaymiller.ca

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