Doors open at 6:30.

The Guitar Worship Service series is playful in name, however the intention praises the importance of a guitar’s creative possibilities. Since 2013, GWS presentations select musicians/sound sculptors/artists to examine what a guitar physically or conceptually is. While there are different types of guitars (electric, acoustic, steel, bass, homemade, video game, etc.), past performances have given audiences diverse solo sets, special one-off collaborations, and renowned bands. With encouragement to push creative boundaries, the GWS series has but one requisite for every live performance: At least one guitar, in whatever capacity, is used with unrestricted interpretation. 

This will be GWS’s third presentation at The Chapel and #12 proudly presents five unique sets washed in improvised visual projections. You are encouraged to join us in the audience for this strangest of guitar recitals.

BILL HORIST – For over twenty years Bill has attained legendary status for his approach toward prepared guitar, which is only one dimension of Bill’s impressively diverse musicianship. He has scaled high tiers in free-improvisation, composing, technicality, and as an educator. His involvement in collaborative projects and bands such as Seattle’s avant-garde world music psychedelic supergroup Master Musicians of The Bukkake are seriously countless. Offering an anecdote, In 2013, he was once given ninety seconds in front of millions of viewers to perform solo on television’s America Got Talent. While he ultimately got the gong, it proved that the general public wasn’t ready for non-traditional approaches to guitar. But at any given Guitar Worship Service, that’s a good thing. As an alumni having performed on the very first GWS installment and as a frequent performer at The Chapel, Bill is welcomed back to once again blow our minds at this uncommonplace forum.

THE LAST EMPEROR, aka Stuart Dahlquist, was a tough artist to catch. For over a year gentle nudges were elbowed as Eh?-saying invites for a long past due solo performance. And while not necessarily known as a solo performer, Stuart formed and leads Asva, an experimental group piecemealed by renowned musicians who have formed and led their own notable groups. Once a member of sunn O))), Burning Witch, Goatsnake, Brokaw, and more etceteras than can be typed out, Stuart brings 30+ years of musicianship to The Chapel for his first GWS appearance. Primarily a bass guitarist, it’s been relayed that this evening’s set will also include vintage organ, bells, and voice. Stuart’s involvement is a rare appearance and merits our witness. 

BLSPHM is the solo guitar moniker of Demian Johnston (Great Falls, Hemingway, and more… lots more). Like Bill Horist, Demian performed on the first GWS as a one-off duo with guitarist Timm Mason of Seattle’s psych band Midday Veil. And like Stuart Dahlquist, Demian was a catch that took some patience due to extensive touring with Great Falls throughout 2025. In some time off, Demian’s BLSPHM resurfaced on October 3rd at The Central Saloon (the self-effaced birthplace of grunge) for a lineup of out-music and abstract A/V artists. It was an odd venue choice and perhaps The Central’s very first “experimental” show but it worked. It also signaled Demian’s inherent talent to present once again another dimension of his approach to atmospheric and delicately colored drone guitar. A far cry from the crushing, lower than hell down tunings of Great Falls. Without doubt, this BLSPHM set will ascend higher than The Chapel’s ceiling. 

MONED produces as a multi-guitar pipeline whether it’s thru sculpting seismic walls of warm feedback, manipulating frequencies, layering volume-swelling tones or thru physically exerting primal expressions of harsh noise. Past MONED performances at The Chapel have presented improvisational room-filing meditative drone scapes to semi-composed vigorous sets to the methodically dismantling an impossibly loud amplified electric guitar. MONED has brought the unexpected to the stage.Tonight’s performance is said to be a destination unknown experience. One thing for certain is that it will be tastefully loud.

SCULLY/NAGARAJ/CARRAHER are another one of those special collaborations highly encouraged by GWS’s curator. This trio’s musicians are Tom Scully, Sandesh Nagaraj, and Ryan Carraher all of whom have respectively performed incredible solo sets on GWS’s 7, 8, & 9. With these forces combining as a holy trifecta, it is inconceivable what sonic boundaries will be traversed. These three highly academic guitarists have proven their capabilities to know and master the rules and how to bend if not obliterate them. While the members of this trio can play straight out, it has been experienced time and time and time again that fluidly creating pure auditory abstractions comes to them, perhaps more than easily, as reading sheet music. That dichotomy within this triumvirate collective is singular for a prestigious performance.     

COLORBARD VISUAL has projected eye-melting optics on the huge white wall behind The Chapel’s stage for GWS’s 8 & 10. Matthew Terry uses that wall as a canvas to improvise sound-triggered interactions with the performing musicians to create vivid audio/visual occurrences all the while transforming The Chapel’s interior into an ocular wonderland.

Bamboo and Brass LTD, in collaboration with PATTERNS Saxophone Ensemble, is thrilled to present “Glimmer,” a captivating evening of contemporary classical music. This concert is designed to evoke a spark of wonder, akin to the beauty of a sunrise, the affection of a pet, or a moment of connection. The program features an eclectic mix of pieces from various styles and origins, including minimalism; Greek mythology and the natural elements of fire, water, air, and earth; Japanese picture scrolls; glimpses of light/goodness in darkness; traditional American and folk songs from Veracruz, Mexico. The evening will culminate with both quartets uniting in an octet, celebrating the rhythmic traditions of West African Yoruba culture.

Bamboo and Brass LTD, founded in 2019 to perform at the International Bach in the Subway Festival, is committed to exploring the vast repertoire of contemporary saxophone quartets. The ensemble consists of Ken Murphy (soprano), Evan Takle (alto), Barbara Hubers-Drake (tenor), and Lori Shepherd (baritone). They are known for their dynamic and versatile performances. Recent engagements include showcasing the minimalist music of Dutch composer Douwe Eisenga (sponsored by Seattle Composers Alliance), a play/concert honoring 19th-century saxophone pioneer Elise Hall, and performances at the 2025 N. American Saxophone Alliance Conference–Region I–in Boise, Idaho.

Established in 2021, PATTERNS Saxophone Ensemble was created to meet the demand for premier wind chamber music in Seattle. The ensemble comprises highly skilled musicians Terrell Stephens (soprano), Nate Wood (alto), Jessie Sanchez (tenor), and Allan Levy (baritone). PATTERNS aims to delight audiences with entertaining and touching performances executed with the highest level of expertise. All members also perform with the Seattle Wind Symphony, fostering vibrant connections within the local music scene. Their concerts feature classic and contemporary wind band works. PATTERNS frequently collaborates with the symphony, performing lobby music before SWS concerts and showcasing both small ensemble and full wind band experiences.

A evening of ambient music presented by Husky Records, the UW’s student-run record label. 

Russell Coe is a Seattle-based composer and sound designer. He will be performing using various analog synthesizers and samplers to compose a slowly evolving bed of sound. His work is centered around evolving textures and dramatic melodic expression. 

Doors open at 5:30 PM; performance ends at 9:45.

Seattle is a freely-improvised music hot-house. Organized by musicians Caroline Kraabel (London) and Gregg Miller, this evening’s performance will showcase the deep empathy and close listening of our music-making community. Somewhere between 20 to 40 musicians will engage in a continuous improvisation over 4 hours in a long-form, multi-player event with staggered, overlapping entrances and exits of duos/trios/quartets and more — accompanied by collaborative, visual improvisation led by artist and architect Anjali Grant.

Originally from Seattle, inveterate improviser of the London scene Caroline Kraabel is a saxophonist, artist, composer, author, and organizer. She has worked with many excellent improvisers, including Robert Wyatt, Maggie Nicols, John Edwards, Louis Moholo, Cleveland Watkiss, Hyelim Kim, Pat Thomas, Susan Alcorn, Sarah Washington, and Charlotte Hug.

Gregg Miller is a Seattle-based improviser who started Sonic Action Records to document the vibrant creative/improvisational music scene in Seattle. He has taught political theory at the University of Washington, Western Washington University, Lewis & Clark College, Brooklyn College, and elsewhere. He thinks of improvisational music as political theory.

Anjali Grant is a Seattle-based visual artist and practicing architect. She has exhibited work in New York, Chicago, Portland, Bellingham, Nairobi, and Seattle, and has designed countless record covers for improvising and avant-garde musicians.

The Creative Horn Collective, comprised of the Pacific Northwest’s best improvising French horn players, performs their original and specially arranged compositions unlike anything you have experienced before.

Led by Matt Shevrin, horn player, composer and arranger, the CHC is making its debut performance at Good Shepherd’s Chapel Performance Space. Originally appearing as The Jazz French Horn All Stars in 2025 in Seattle, they showcase their originally composed and arranged jazz and freely improvised pieces tailored to the rich and full sound of this beautiful and majestic instrument. The cavernous acoustics of the Chapel will intensify these qualities as the ensemble improvises over modern jazz and experimental musical selections.

The CHC includes the following players: Matt Shevrin, Tom Varner, Jeffrey Snedeker, Greg Campbell, Hayden Douglass, Mike Simpson, Matt Anderson, Josiah Boothby, Danielle Kuhlmann, Stacey Eliason, Jill Jacques. Supporting players include Tom Cole on bass and Paul Blaney on drums.

A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to the Tibetan Language and Cultural School, a project of the Tibetan Association of Washington. Musicians from this community will also be performing with the CHC at this evening’s concert.

Under the moniker, esc, Rawivati’s current musical endeavor “Mother of the Pearl; the Annihilator” is an effort inoculated in years as a musician and circus performer. A piano based experimental musical work that raises a physical veil to reveal a more vulnerable self hidden beyond the body. A meshed network of veiled objects too vast to express themselves in the crystallization of language, a digital stitching breaches the organic piano-vocal fabric bringing us all together in a moment of equalization, eye to eye.

Formed in the Summer of 2025, the duo of rising star DoYeon Kim and native Seattlite Andrew Drury brings together two visceral and pioneering musicians who channel Korean and radical percussion traditions. The performance will feature wide-ranging musical improvisation (with embedded compositions) evoking chaos, order, catastrophe, and calm.

DoYeon Kim (b. 1991, Seoul) is internationally recognized for introducing the gayageum, a traditional Korean zither, into contemporary music. The first gayageum player admitted to New England Conservatory and Berklee’s jazz programs, Kim merges Korean idioms with jazz and improvisation. She has been honored by the Korean Grammy Awards, Berklee & New Music USA’s Next Jazz Legacy, and has served on the faculties of NEC and The New School. Her work spans solo performances, intercontinental collaborations, and leading roles with ensembles like ACC X Music Festival and the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra. Her collaborators include Mark Dresser, Tyshawn Sorey, Anna Webber and Peter Evans. 

Andrew Drury (b. 1964, Bellevue) is a drummer, improviser, composer, bandleader, and a pioneer of extended techniques for percussion, most notably in the use of drums as wind instruments. Rooted in lifelong fascinations with Nature and African-diasporic creativity, and cultivated by a decade-long mentorship with Ed Blackwell, Drury’s work combines a reverence for musical tradition with an openness to the infinite possibilities of the moment. He has worked with artists such as Myra Melford, Wadada Leo Smith, Ingrid Laubrock, Annea Lockwood, Howard Johnson, and Nels Cline. Originally from the Seattle area, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.

SAVE THE DATE!

JUNE 4: JASON KAO HWANG’S HUMAN RITES TRIO @ The Chapel, featuring Jason Kao Hwang violin/viola, Ken Filiano bass, Andrew Drury drum set

Elias Hampton is a Seattle-based musician known in jazz-adjacent spheres as a guitarist. While guitar-playing may be the most densely forested neck of his musical ‘woods’, his work with different artists lends itself toward other nestled roles like producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He recently played at the Earshot Jazz Festival alongside some of the area’s finest musicians. He’s played bass in the experimental pop outfit Chanel Beads, and currently plays synth in Latin-pop band Aquíestoy (led by Carlos Snaider).

His newest release, “Eyes Like Wings”, brings these many roles together through a jazz-infused strain of indie rock with glints of chamber music. Recorded between July 2024 and October 2025, the album explores mythopoetic themes, further animated by a carefully selected cohort of musicians with strong Seattle ties. Elias is excited to present new music with a full band that showcases longtime collaborators, many of whom contributed to the recording process. Joining him tonight are Hannah Paulus (cello), Millie Runion (violin), Tony Lefaive (bass), and Rocky Martin (drums). “Eyes Like Wings” comes out February 13, 2026 on CD and streaming platforms, with an extra special bonus track exclusively on BandCamp. CDs will be available for purchase at the show, and on BandCamp.

Primarily known as an improviser and bassist for groups like Grammy-nominated band Alvvays and Seattle surfers La Luz, Abbey Blackwell has moved into writing songs that feature the voice and guitar (a time-tested combination). Under her name, she has released one EP and two LPs with another on the way in April 2026. All of which have garnered recognition — The Brooklyn Vegan recognizing Big Big Motion as “a lovely slice of folky indie rock with a lush atmosphere and just a little ragged edge,” and My Maze (2023) ended up being one of Gorilla vs Bear’s top albums of 2023.

Sweetgum currently enjoys writing fun songs with “psychedelic”, “folk”, “rock” and “pop” elements and has an immense blast weaving and playing them. Currently working on the fifth album, the latest release from 2024 entitled “Moth Math” can be found on Bandcamp as well as other streaming platforms.

Ryosuke Kiyasu (Tokyo, Japan) is an internationally acclaimed snare drum soloist, active since 2003. He has performed in 60+ countries, energetically displaying deconstruction of the drummer and the instrument.

Globe Discount Center (Shanghai, China): Consumer-gear driven AV failures. Cables lead nowhere or don’t get plugged in. Things break. There are voices.

Toothsayer (Seattle): Quartet combining two duos, Strange Bedfellows and Till the Teeth.

Strange Bedfellows are found in the crawlspace between ancestral ritual and becoming the inner child who just wants to play with toys and friends. A duo linking Adam Levitt and Silas Morrow, formed over a close friendship that turned into practice sessions. Strange Bedfellows makes use of saxophone, flute, violin, percussion, synthesizer, metal objects, toys, found discarded objects, and small consumer electronics. Most objects have been passed on or gifted by loved ones and everything else was discovered in random but significant heartfelt circumstances.

Till the Teeth is an interdisciplinary art collective founded by Jonathan Rodriguez and Sandesh Nagaraj. Grounded in the cultural and contested landscapes of the U.S.-Mexico border and southern India, Till the Teeth serves as a lens for framing sonic and spatial ecologies, using improvisation, ritual, and metamorphosis as central methodologies. Their practice embraces a rasquachismo ethic—making do with available resources—alongside experimental approaches that interrogate the boundaries of music, performance, and art-making. By activating found objects, field recordings, and reimagined instruments, Till the Teeth explores sound as an unpredictable, ephemeral, and communal medium for resistance and renewal.

Join Matt Sargent, Ben Luca Robertson, & Aaron Michael Butler for an evening of actuated strings, microtonal guitar, percussion, & bespoke instrumentation. 

Matt Sargent is a composer, guitarist, recording engineer, and music technology specialist based in upstate New York, where he is an assistant professor of music at Bard College. His music grows from resonance, memory, the making/breaking of patterns, and computer models of musical thought. Working between the concert stage, the recording studio, and the code box, Sargent’s audio technology has been called “a veritable fountain of intensifying, kaleidoscopic spumes” (Peter Margasak, Bandcamp). Over the last decade, his work has focused extensively on musical algorithms and real-time notation systems, which can be heard in his compositions and technical collaborations with other artists.

Ben Luca Robertson is a composer, sound artist, experimental luthier, educator, and co-founder of the independent record label, Aphonia Recordings. As a practicing artist, he employs a variety of instrumental and electronic forces, including chamber ensembles, generative algorithms, analog circuits, and handmade instrumentation. The bulk of his projects address an interest in autonomous processes, landscape, and biological systems — often supplanting narrative structure with an emphasis on the physicality of sound and place, just intonation, spectral tuning structures, and microtonality. Ben lives and works in rural eastern Washington, where he teaches & directs Eastern Washington University’s Music Technology program.  

Aaron Michael Butler is a percussionist, composer, and educator based in Seattle. His work often deals in static textures, repetition, durational stamina, resonance, and psychoacoustic effects.