Face mask wearing required. Thank you for keeping our community safe.

Jaap Blonk:

Jaap Blonk (born 1953, Woerden) is a Dutch avant-garde composer and performance artist. Blonk is primarily self-taught both as a sound artist and as a visual/stage performer. He studied physics, mathematics, and musicology for a time, but did not complete his studies. One of his early influences was Kurt Schwitters, whose Ursonate he first heard in 1979; he memorized the entire work, and it became one of the cornerstones of his repertory; he has recited portions of the piece hundreds of times in various public places. His compositions and performances are examples of sound poetry, making use of words and phonetic snippets as well as clicks, hisses, and other vocal manipulations. He works as a solo performer and has collaborated with avant-garde musicians such as John Tchicai, Tristan Honsiger, and Mats Gustafsson, with his own ensembles Splinks and BRAAXTAAL and many others.

Jaap will perform a solo set & a collaborative set with Veronica Jurkiewicz (violin/viola), Salina Kuo & Julius Masri (both performing a variety of percussive instruments).

Veronica Mercedes Pazymiño Jurkiewicz is an instrumentalist, vocalist, educator, and curator based in Philadelphia.  She is drawn to sound involving the intersection of experimental, improvisational, and traditional practice; has a passion for creating and realizing diverse types of artistic programs and performing art experiences; and is an active member of the avant-garde music scene.

Salina Kuo is a Philadelphia-based person (settler of Lenape territory) interested in accessibility for music performance + music education. She opposes accessibility’s “novel” reputation, and seeks to create nuanced, meaningful art from simplicity. She composes theatrical works for found objects, and writes/arranges songs for vibraphone and voice under “St. John’s Wort.” She holds a B.M. in music education from Temple University. There she studied orchestral repertoire, jazz vibraphone, latin percussion, and drumset. She teaches private drumset + piano lessons, and has performed at the Oh My Ears New Music Festival, Toronto Creative Music Lab, Steve Weiss Mallet Festival and the Montreal Contemporary Music Lab.

Julius Masri is a Philadelphia based multi instrumentalist, and performer/composer for the city’s  dance  community at large. Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, he moved to the States in 1990 and started drumming a year later. He studied with Philadelphia instructors Carl Mottola, Elaine Hoffman-Watts, and as an  undergraduate  at Bard College, with AACM’s Thurman Barker, Richard Teitelbaum, and Joan Tower. Julius plays drums, circuit modified Casio keyboards, Oud, Kamancheh  (aka Rabab, Spike Fiddle), and various other instruments. He currently performs  in groups  such  as  grind/crust metal band Night Raids, free jazz groups Sirius Juju and Dromedaries, trombone and synth duo Superlith, and  more.  Julius is a recipient of a 2022 Yaddo Fellowship for composition, as well as the 2022 University of the Arts Creative Research and Innovation grant.

Kyle Press:

Kyle Press performs improvised, amplified, and effected soundscapes of multiphonics and overtones on vocals and saxophones. He had performed with the groups Love Club, Impressionist, OhBree & others. He’s also am active participant in Philly’s vibrant free jazz / improvisation scene, where he has reliably pushed against the more academic trappings of the genre; focusing on creating walls of sound rather than re-contextualizing jazz/classical norms in an improvisational environment.

venue is not wheelchair accessible

This event made possible by a grant from the Penn Treaty Special Services District.