WWU Sound Culture Festival

• Odd Partials, clarinet & modular synth
• Kevin Woods, trumpet improv
• Cat Toren, piano improv
• Brendan LaBotz, electronics

Schedule:

Saturday, May 18

3pm, Concert Hall

Cristina Valdes (piano + electronics)

Mehrdad Gholami (flute + video)

Eli Schille-Hudson (guitar)

Melanie Sehman + Sarah Yates (percussion + bass improv)

7:30pm, Room 16

Odd Partials (clarinet + modular synth)

Kevin Woods and Cat Toren (trumpet and piano improv)

Brendan LaBotz (electronic music)

Sunday, May 19

3pm, Room 16

Performers TBA

7:30pm, Room 16

Performers TBA

About Sound Culture Festival

Sound Culture and WWU CFPA present a festival of adventurous music, sound art, and intermedia on the campus of Western Washington University and in downtown Bellingham. Featuring concerts, lectures, presentations and gallery pieces, SC Fest explores experimental strains of pop, ambient, noise, and hybrid genres; as well as multiple aesthetics of electroacoustic, modern classical and free improvisation.

About Western Washington University (WWU) Department of Music

https://cfpa.wwu.edu/music

About Odd Partials, clarinet & modular synth

Odd Partials is a clarinet and electronics duo that performs pre-composed interactive compositions by a variety of composers, as well as live improvisations. Formed in 2011 by computer musician Greg Dixon and clarinetist Rachel Yoder, Odd Partials takes a collaborative and flexible approach to composition and performance, equally at home in concert halls, dive bars, and house shows. The duo has appeared at the 2015 International Computer Music Conference (Denton, TX), 2013 Society for Electroacoustic Music in the U.S. (SEAMUS) conference (St. Paul, MN), the Wayward Music Series (Seattle), and the University of Wyoming New Frontiers Festival.

About Kevin Woods, trumpet improv

Trumpeter/composer Kevin Woods is emerging as one of the most melodic and emotive voices in improvised music in the Northwest. His passion for both performance and education have made him in demand as a leader and a sideman as well as a composer, arranger and clinician. Woods lives in Bellingham, Washington where he is active as a performer, educator, author, composer/arranger, and serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Western Washington University. He leads the group Trio Linguae, and co-leads In Motion and the Torren // Woods Trio.

About Cat Toren, piano improv

Cat Toren is an award winning pianist, improviser and composer residing in Brooklyn, New York. Described as “vibrant, earthy and spiritual” (UK Vibe), Cat “uses bold atmospheric abstraction and fluid melodies to mix deep human warmth with creative fire” (Coastal Jazz and Blues Society).

As a bandleader, Cat Toren has released six albums under her leadership, most recently “Sea/Sky” (2022) a trio record of subtle allure featuring Josh Zubot and Katie Rife and “Scintillating Beauty” on Panoramic Recordings (2020). “Scintillating Beauty”received critically acclaimed reviews including five stars in UK Vibe, four stars in the All Music Guide and was included in Bandcamp Daily’s “The Best New Jazz on Bandcamp” list in October 2020. As a co-leader, Cat performs with several groups including the Vancouver-based JUNO award winning Pugs & Crows, and the avant-jazz trios Ocelot and TMT Trio.