Lester St. Louis (solo) / Chris Williams (solo)

 

Lester St. Louis

Lester St. Louis is a composer, cellist, and curator based in Brooklyn, NY. And by way of endless performances, collaborations, and solo improvisations, Lester St. Louis has emerged as one of the most exciting voices in new music today. His works are rooted in dynamic environments of improvisation both sonically and socially, ecstatic sound worlds. flow and interaction.

An autodidact, St. Louis did not begin playing the cello until he was 16 years old and quickly learned that he has perfect pitch. Encouraged by his high school orchestra teacher, St. Louis dove into the cello with energy and respect. Upon graduating High School, St. Louis audited classes all over the NYC area, studying not only cello, but theory, musicianship, and composition all without the aid of an institution. St. Louis was a Jerome Fund for New Music awardee in 2018 and was commissioned by the prestigious JACK quartet in 2019. St. Louis manages a venue dedicated to new and experimental music called Spectrum on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.

He has performed internationally throughout the U.S, the E.U, Canada, China, and in South America; and collaborates with artists such as Chris Williams [under the moniker HxH], Edi Kwon Jaimie Branch, Dre A. Hočevar, Charmaine Lee, Isabel Crespo Pardo, Emeka Okereke, Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, TAK Ensemble, The International Contemporary Ensemble, Random International, Wet Ink Ensemble, and many more. As a composer, Lester has been commissioned by artists such as The JACK Quartet, Jennifer Koh, and Ghost Ensemble, among others. He is deeply excited to see what new ventures and collaborations the future may bring and those that will be made.

   

Chris Ryan Williams

Utilizing both trumpet and electronics into an intense flurry of beautiful lyrical sound, Chris Ryan Williams is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based between NYC and LA and most at home collaborating with contemporary improvisers and experimentalists.

He has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe. His work explores the dyad of ancestral trauma and power existing in all Black Americans. Investigating this has led to the creation of the modular piece I Ain’t Got No Spare (2019) which interweaves performance, homemade electronics, sound and projection. Recent projects include: mehahn a theatrical meditation on grief and hereditary dissonance created alongside director Natalia Lassalle-Morillo, Sans Soleil a duo with Patrick Shiroishi out on Astral Spirits (2021).

Williams has received grants and/or been in residence with BANFF Centre for the Arts, Foundation of Contemporary Arts, CultureHub, Atlantic Center for the Arts, WasteLAnd, and others. Williams has collaborated with creators Eyvind Kang, Miriam Parker, Patrick Shiroishi, Bennie Maupin, Nicole Mitchell, Wendy Eisenberg, Luke Stewart and Eric Revis.

  Bandcamp