Erin Rogers/Nava Dunkelman/Payton MacDonald trio + Carlos Santiago/Pete Dennis/Julius Masri trio

Erin Rogers, Nava Dunkelman & Payton MacDonald:

Based in New York City, Erin Rogers is a Canadian-American saxophonist, composer, and improviser dedicated to new and experimental music. Her “decidedly future-oriented” music has been described as “whimsical, theatrical” (Brooklyn Vegan), “radical and refreshing” (Vital Weekly) and “a richly expressive display of stentorian brilliance” (The Wire Magazine). Her work ranges from chamber music to solo improvisation to individual and collaborative compositions that incorporate live electronics and theater. Rogers’ music has been performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), Roulette, Centro Nacional de las Artes (Mexico City), Celebrity Series (Boston), MATA Festival, Ecstatic Festival at Merkin Hall, Prototype Festival, Winspear Centre (Edmonton), Resonanzraum (Germany), Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid), and NyMusikk Bergen (Norway). Rogers is co-artistic director of NYC-based performance ensembles: thingNY, New Thread Quartet, Hypercube, Popebama, and core member of the International Contemporary Ensemble and LA-based WildUp.

Nava Dunkelman is a percussionist and improviser based in Brooklyn, NY. Born in Tokyo, Japan and raised in a multi-cultural environment by an American father and Indonesian mother. Her musical approach is innovative and dynamic, combining virtuosity and intuition. Meticulous in an intrinsic way, she uses her distinctive sound palette to explore and give life to a vast spectrum of musical possibilities. Nava's current projects include electro-percussion experimental noise duo IMA with Amma Ateria, and percussion duo NOMON with her sister Shayna Dunkelman. She also has performed and collaborated with Angélica Negrón, Brandon Seabrook, Du Yun, ÉMU, Fred Frith, gabby fluke-mogul, Ikue Mori, John Zorn, Pauchi Sasaki, William Winant, yuniya edi kwon, and many others. She has performed classical and contemporary pieces with the William Winant Percussion Group, Joan Jeanrenaud, Raven Chacon, San Francisco Girls Chorus, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and others. Nava studied percussion under Eugene Novotney at Humboldt State University before attending Mills College, where she studied with William Winant, Fred Frith, Maggi Payne, and Zeena Parkins.

Payton MacDonald is a percussionist who works across a wide range of musical disciplines. He was a founding member of Alarm Will Sound, a new-music chamber orchestra. Alarm Will Sound is currently regarded as one of the foremost new music ensembles in the country, with multiple recordings and performances all over the globe. He was with Alarm Will Sound from 2001 to 2014, and during that time he made five recordings with them on the Nonesuch and Cantaloupe labels. He has also appeared as a soloist in many countries, performed with Present Music and Verederos flute and percussion duo, and toured Japan with Keiko Abe and the Galaxy percussion group. Payton has dedicated much of his career to expanding the art of marimba playing. To that end he has commissioned many works from other composers, including Charles Wuorinen, Robert Morris, Akshaya Tucker, Caleb Burhans, Don Freund, Elliott Sharp, David Saperstein, Michael Udow, Stuart Saunders Smith, Gene Pritsker, and many others. Payton is also one of the few marimbists in the world who is a dedicated improviser. He frequently improvises entire performances, and works with other notable improvisers, including Erin Rogers, Weasel Walter, Aakash Mittal, Steven Crammer, Peter Evans, Tim Feeney, Todd Sickafoose, James Ilgenfritz, Ras Moshe, and many others. MacDonald has released over 100 recordings. He currently leads the avant-jazz band Void Patrol, with Billy Martin, Colin Stetson, and Elliott Sharp.

Carlos Santiago, Pete Dennis & Julius Masri trio:

Carlos Santiago was born and raised in Philadelphia and was educated at The Hartt School of Music and Temple University. Approaching music from multiple standpoints, Carlos has relished performing in a wide variety of musical settings and styles such as the multi - disciplinary Bismuth String Quartet, the complex mathematical compositions of the rock band Normal Love, soloing with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, playing Tango, Salsa, and Afro-Caribbean jazz with Sonic Liberation Front, or Roma jazz with BeauDjango. Past teachers include John Blake, Diane Monroe, Yusef Lateef, Adolf Sandole, Louis Lanza, and Nicholas Mann. Sharing the unity of all of these types of music is the driving force behind his passion for sonic exploration.

Pete Dennis (he/they) is a bassist, composer, improviser, visual artist and teacher. After growing up in Richmond, Virginia, he moved to Philadelphia where he has been inspired by the creative music and art of his vibrant community. Other inspirations include his teacher William Parker, his partner Abigail Swoboda, and the fine vibrations of the sacred sound. In 2019, Dennis released his first two recordings, Killing a Dixie Hummingbird and Look at My Roses, under his main project name Search for the Infinite Light. Since then has continued to release music under this moniker, and with the ensembles Spectral Forces & 99 Futures. Dennis considers himself fortunate to create with many close friends and collaborators in bands such as Mitamu and Deliriant. He believes that sound is the foundation of healing and wants to acknowledge all master improvisors of the past and present, we stand on the shoulders of giants.

Julius Masri is a Philadelphia based multi instrumentalist, and performer/composer for the city's dance community at large. His music focuses on improvisatory methods and syncretic / linguistic exchanges within various musical languages including Jazz, Metal, AfroCuban, Experimental Noise, and Arabic music. Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, he moved to the States in 1990 and picked up 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. He has performed with Henry Grimes, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Thurman Barker and members of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Julius is a recipient of a 2022 Yaddo Fellowship for composition, the 2022 university of the arts creative research and innovation grant, and project funding via pew center for arts & heritage, as well as Swarthmore college and the Andrew W. Mellon foundation.

accessibility: two steps from street to venue.

Please note, entrance is via the side door on Arizona Street.