Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - 8:00pm

Susan Alcorn:

One of the world’s premiere exponents of her instrument, Susan Alcorn has taken the pedal steel guitar far beyond its traditional role in country music. Having first paid her dues in Texas country & western bands, she began to expand the vocabulary of her instrument through her study of 20th century classical music, visionary jazz, and world musics.

Though known as for her solo work, she has collaborated with numerous artists including Pauline Oliveros, Chris Cutler, the London Improvisors Orchestra, the Glasgow Improvisors Orchestra, Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, Nate Wooley, Ingrid Laubrock and Leila Bourdreuil, Evan Parker, Michael Formanek, Zane Campbell, and Mary Halvorson among others.

In 2016, she was voted "Best Other Instrument" by the International Critics Poll. In 2017 she received the Baker Artist Award, and in 2018, along with saxophonist Joe McPhee, she was the recipient of the Instant Award in Improvised Music.

The UK Guardian writes, “As an improvisor and composer, Alcorn has proven to be visionary. Her pieces reveal the complexity of her instrument and her musical experience while never straying from a very direct, intense, and personal musical expression.”

Luis "ToTo" Alvarez:

Chilean composer, producer and guitarist. Present in the music scene since 1992, he has participated since 2001 in the fields of composition, research, improvisation and experimental radio, creating in that year the editorial label El silencio, to promote autonomous sound distribution.

Concert and recording collaborations include: Arnold Noid Haberl, Dafne Vicente-Sandoval, Klaus Fillip, Ricardo Tejero, Zelmar Garín, Rodrigo Montoya, Pascuala Ilabaca, Susan Alcorn, Acoustic Ensemble Valparaíso, Aldo macha Asenjo, Eva Moltchanova, Christof Kurzmann, Zbigniew Karkowski, Lukax Santana, Carlos Canales, Tetuzi Akiyama, Ryuta Kawabata, Leonel Kaplan, Eden Carrasco, Sam Nacht, Tatsuya Nakatani, Reynaldo Young, Julie Rousse, Billy Gould (Faith no More) & many others.

Systolic Murmurs:

Subtle, shifting, irregular patterns via plucked/bowed/rubbed strings n things, crumbling electronic impulses and tape-delay decay, strange seeds planted or tossed to the winds, growing how and where they care. Tones coaxed by Emily Milano (Permasquelch), Jordan Burgis (Honey Radar), Will Henriksen (Florry).