west oakland sound series
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2 2025 7:15PM
KRYS BOBROWSKI and
KAREN STACKPOLE, long-time collaborators in the improvising quartet Vorticella, organically formed a duo combining Stackpole’s Gongs with Bobrowski’s Gliss Glass, an invented instrument of her own design that consists of water-filled glass vessels mounted on telescoping stands that are interconnected with tubes and valves. By varying the height of the vessels and opening and closing the valves, Bobrowski can dynamically alter the pitch of the sound by changing the level of the water as the instrument is played via friction, mallets, bare hands, and splashes. The sounds are captured via piezo pickups and amplified. The Gliss Glass blends extremely well with the sound of the Gongs played by Stackpole, who employs various techniques with friction mallets, bows, and other implements. Karen Stackpole and Krys Bobrowski create a deep sonic journey that unfurls into an engaging and transcendent soundtrack for the imagination.
JAMES GOODE coaxes extraordinary sounds from everyday objects. Russian nested dolls are transformed into squealing narwhals; bird calls into growling lions; the voice box from a stuffed animal into a flock of hungry seagulls; and brief vocal sounds into the soundtrack for a comic and surreal conga line. Defying easy description or pigeonholing, his music takes you to an unfamiliar place filled with luscious atonality and compelling polyrhythm. He navigates a course between austere minimalism on the one hand and pandemonium on the other. Goode has recorded and/or performed with Chris Cohen, John Dieterich, Thomas Dimuzio, Shelley Hirsch, Bill Horist, John Ingle, Cheryl Leonard, Bär McKinnon, Roger Powell, Jesse Quattro, Jake Rodriguez, Greg Saunier, David Slusser, Ches Smith, Trey Spruance, Sudhu Tewari, Gregg Turkington, William Winant, and many others.
SUNG KIM presents four of his most recent iterations of musical instruments that he has been developing for the last 36 years. In the tradition of Korean
sanjo, he improvises with a collection of melodies that were developed in tandem with the instruments. A sculptor and self taught composer operating a design and build studio in Richmond under the name of Hare and Arrow Arts, Kim writes:
"With every instrument that I complete, I feel as if my goal for the full ensemble that I have been searching for gets further away and I am realizing that I may never be finished. Please come and celebrate my unending toil."
