Catamount Arts and Upright Steeple Society announce EK Duo’s 4th season, opening with a new show at York Street Meeting House, Sunday, September 7th, at 3pm. Bassoonist Rachael Elliot and percussionist Thomas Kozumplik of EK Duo, known for haunting avant-chamber music with folkloric, minimalist, electronic, and noise elements, are joined by oboist Katie Oprea for this show.
EK Duo performs original and improvised music by Kozumplik and fellow Clogs-bandmate, Padma Newsome, among others. Longtime Clogs collaborators, Elliott and Kozumplik have performed on stages ranging from the Sydney Festival to BAM, from Big Ears to the Knitting Factory, from London Jazz Festival to Amoeba Music, and points between. The duo has performed across the northeast, as well as tours in Michigan, Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona. They cover the stage with a colorful array of instruments including drums, vibraphone, cymbals, bassoon, melodica, looper pedals, and more, for a unique experience for curious ears of all ages.
Thomas Kozumplik composes and performs with the collaborative ensemble, Loop 2.4.3, using an array of percussion instruments integrated with electronics, keyboards, sampling and improvisation. He recently oversaw the release of “Ionisation,” an album honoring the late percussionist/mentor Robert Hohner. Gramophone called his song-cycle "American Dreamland" an “astonishing variety of brand-new yet iconic sounds that create a riveting aura” and praised its “artistic punch.” Pitchfork concurred, calling his playing, “sublime.”
Lyndon native Rachael Elliot has been hailed as “one of the sharpest executors of new-music currently on the scene” (WQXR) and an “intrepid bassoonist” (Time Out New York). A versatile performer active in classical, new music, improvised and rock/pop settings, Elliot is a founding member of Clogs, Dark in the Song, Rushes Ensemble, and Heliand Consort. Cleveland Classical described her work as “an engaging, eclectic mix of contemporary music,” and PopMatters praised her “charismatic exploitation of a chamber group’s nimbleness.”
A native of St. Albans, Katie Oprea has performed as a soloist with the Vermont Youth Orchestra and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and as principal oboist with the Romanian State Opera of Timisoara, the Burlington Chamber Orchestra, and Middlebury Opera Company. She has also appeared with the Timisoara Philharmonic, the Europa Symphony, the Bolshoi Ballet, and at the Vermont Mozart Festival and is a member of Heliand Consort.
For tickets to see EK Duo, at York Street Meeting House, on Sunday, September 7th, at 3pm, or to learn more about live music events in the Northeast Kingdom, visit www.catamountarts.org, call 802-748-2600, or stop by the Catamount Arts box office on Eastern Avenue in St. Johnsbury. Tickets are also available at the venue the day of the show. To learn more about EK Duo, visit www.ekduo.com.
