Saxophonist and composer Evan Smith will premiere a new set of solo saxophone music, taking advantage of the exceptional acoustics of the Chapel Performance Space. After years of composing shorter works for solo saxophone, Evan began developing a solo set to be debuted as part of a Racer Sessions curation in 2023. With the goal of moving seamlessly between these compositions and his own improvisational language, he has committed himself to continuing his extended solo performances, drawing on inspirations such as Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, and Roscoe Mitchell.
John Teske will present new graphic scores and guided improvisations with an ensemble of local musicians. For the past 15 years, John has been exploring the distillation of musical concepts and how to perform with any collection of instruments. John will premiere new works in which he has re-interpreted concepts from western classical music as algorithmically-generated graphic scores, with inspiration from other genres such as drone music and metal. The ensemble will also revisit some of John’s original ‘vectorscores’ that make use of animation to promote spontaneous improvisation.
Any Ensemble:
Evan Smith, saxophone
Haley Freedlund, trombone
Noel Kennon, viola
John Teske, double bass
Aaron Butler, percussion
Jonathan Rodriguez, percussion
Evan Smith’s musical landscape lives in multiple worlds. Most often seen touring with local pop outfit, The Dip, Evan has also been an active figure in Seattle’s free and improvised music scenes for over a decade. Originally settling in Seattle to pursue doctoral work in Saxophone Performance at the University of Washington, he has a long history with classical and contemporary concert saxophone works and has been dedicated to commissioning and performing new repertoire for the instrument.
John Teske writes contemporary concert music and presents site-specific performances. Teske’s compositional approach explores the balance between intentional composition and spontaneous expression. He uses algorithmic techniques to generate scores and musical systems that incorporate variation, chance, and improvisation.