Founded in 2017, the J. Pavone String Ensemble, which consists of Aimee Niemann on violin, Abby Swidler on violin and viola, and Jessica Pavone on viola, presents original compositions that expand on the themes of Pavone’s extensive solo work for viola.

The music of the J. Pavone String Ensemble experiments with indeterminate techniques: alternating between metered and time-based scores, and improvisational and notated instructions. In this system, the players develop the skills of responding to a score and to each other, encouraging a model of connectivity within the group. During each performance, the musicians re-create the works together. A digital clock is often used as a conductor to mark sections, duration, and cues. The score includes time frames that direct musicians to move freely between sections, creating an overlap of sonic textures. The ensemble approach focuses on a vision of collective improvisation that prioritizes a collaboratively woven fabric, in contrast to the traditional improvisatory method that prizes the showmanship of the soloist.

Similarly, Pavone’s approach to composition expands the traditional purpose of music. Rather than just working with melody and harmony, she chooses ensemble sounds to provoke physical and cognitive effects on the audience. This reflects her interest in how the body plays a role in sound and intention. Thus, people–both players and listeners–play a huge role in the work’s development.

Four studio albums have been released to critical acclaim from The Wire, The New Yorker, Pitchfork, JazzTimes, and San Francisco Classical Voice. Brad Cohen of Jazz Times described her as "a free-thinker who can't be pigeonholed." In 2019, the string ensemble's debut album, Brick and Mortar, was hailed by the Chicago Reader's Peter Margasak as "the most assured, bracing work of Pavone's career." Astral Spirits Records released their second, Lost and Found, in 2020 to critical acclaim from publications such as; The Wire, The New Yorker, NYC Jazz Record, NPR, and Jazzwise. Bandcamp Daily named it a "Best Contemporary Albums of 2020". Chris Ingalls from Pop Matters described their music as "too stunning to lump into genres."

Chaka Benson & Kimya Imani Jackson:

Chaka Benson is well known around the Philly Space Music scene, and has had live appearances on local ambient radio shows.... StarsEnd, MusicWithSpace, GalacticTravels and DataCultAudio. You can find him out performing locally in unique spaces like the Art Museum, Bartram's Garden, and the Discovery Center. The sound is ever-evolving and changing over time, layered, a challenge to pin down and always rewarded! Each performance has a new patch specially prepared for it and a new improvised set is performed each time. Always on the move maybe he's coming your way soon! Check his FB and Instagram and find out more...

Kimya Imani Jackson is from Champaign, IL and Atlanta, GA. This midwestern Georgia peach is a dancer, performance artist, Pochinko clown, choreographer, and a PhD trained Biobehavioral Health scientist. She has a B.A. in Psychology from Spelman College and Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Health from The Pennsylvania State University. When not creating or thinking about creating, she is evaluating medical/allied health professionals.

venue is wheelchair accessible