Laurent Estoppey navigates between improvised and written music, saxophone and electronics, Switzerland and the United States. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, Estoppey has performed throughout Europe and North America with Christian Marclay, COLLAPSS, baBel ensemBle, and many others. www.laurentestoppey.com
Durham guitarist James Gilmore approaches improvised music with the vocabulary of modern jazz guitar and its offshoots. He’s played with Eugene Chadbourne, Jeb Bishop, David Menestres, Laurent Estoppey, Vattel Cherry, Joe Westerlund, Shawn Galvin, Karen Strittmater-Galvin and in many more or less formal settings with area improvisers. www.jimmygilmoremusic.com
Steven Landis earned an MM in composition (2013) from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and earned an MM in double bass performance (2002) and a BM in composition (1999) both from The University of Florida. Steven studied composition with Mark Engebretson, Alejandro Rutty, James Paul Sain, and Paul Richards and studied bass with Kevin Casseday. As a composer Steven works with many mediums including solo instrumental, mixed chamber groups, large ensembles, digital and mixed media, as well as film and theater. Recordings of his work can be found on Postcards, a double-disc release by the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, and CURRENT recorded by trumpeter Adam Hayes and pianist Kris Carlisle. Works are available through Veritas Musica Publishing. Steven holds the position of Principal Double Bass with the Albany Symphony Orchestra (Ga.) and teaches Composition at Salem College in Winston-Salem. http://slandismusic.com/
Gary Heidt is a theater and music improviser, poet, playwright, essayist, songwriter and multimedia artist. He is co-founder of Lovesphere, a 67 year performance project currently in its 21st year, and of the Perceiver of Sound League, which hosts a monthly improvised music series in Greensboro, N.C. He DJs on WUAG and WQFS. He has performed across the United States and Europe and his operas have been reviewed internationally (“engrossing!” –Opera News, “marks a turning point”- Journal of Classical Philology, Italy), his songs have been performed on national television, and his first album was dubbed a “masterpiece” by the Village Voice. His poetry has appeared in, among other publications, Fence, Infinity’s Kitchen, Private Arts and Lost and Found Times and has had solo gallery shows. He has founded several improvising theater groups, including the Dr. Polyfeemerous Troupe, The Friendly Baader-Meinhof Gang, and the Conspiracy of Proletarian Shamans in the 2010’s.
David Menestres is a bassist, composer, and writer currently living in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. David is the founder/leader of the Polyorchard ensemble and is the host and producer of Tone Science, a weekly two-hour radio show on taintradio.org since 2010. http://davidmenestres.com/
Chris Robinson is a saxophonist, freelance music writer, and independent scholar based in Durham, North Carolina. Robinson has performed with several experimental ensembles in North Carolina (Polyorchard, Cyanotype, Bivins/Robinson Duo), Kansas City (Black House Improvisers Collective), and elsewhere. www.robinsonmusicwriter.com twitter: @crmusicwriter
Dan Ruccia is a Durham, North Carolina, based composer, violist, and improviser. Ruccia’s music has been performed across the United States and Europe. As an improviser, he has played with numerous different North Carolina groups. www.danruccia.com
Amy Zigler serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Graduate Studies Coordinator in the School of Music at Salem College, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate music history, piano literature, and courses on women in music. Her research specializes in music of the 19th and 20th centuries, with a focus on the cultural study of chamber music, the social history of music in Germany and Great Britain, and the study of gender and sexuality in music. Dr. Zigler has presented papers internationally, nationally, and regionally, and she has also been published in the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music as well as the Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy website. She holds a doctorate in musicology from the University of Florida, where she was a Graduate Alumni Fellow; her dissertation explored the intersection between biography and style in the chamber works of Dame Ethel Smyth. Dr. Zigler holds degrees in Piano Performance from Belmont University (M.M.) and the University of Alabama (B.M., magna cum laude), and she continues to perform as a soloist and collaborative pianist.
Out and Gone Music 