Performance Photos
Migratory Sounds
Mnemosyne Quartet is dedicated to helping bystanders realize the auditory environments they interact with on a daily basis. We improvise music inspired by the surrounding environments. Our goal is to nudge the listener towards a moment of peaceful contemplation in the middle of our hectic lives. We utilize native birdsongs and the idea of migration to construct our music and will look for ways to let the audience participate as we all listen deeply to what happens around us.
Performance Schedule
Mnemosyne Quartet will perform on Thursday, August 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Oppenstein Brother’s Memorial Park, 12th and Walnut Streets.
Artists’ Bios
Russell Thorpe has lived and worked in Kansas City since 2005. He is co-founder of black house collective and has written music ranging from a string quartet to a chamber opera to jazz tunes. He is active as a performer in a wide variety of groups and styles.
Michael Miller is a composer and performer who currently resides in the Kansas City area. As a bass clarinetist, he has performed with ensembles and as a soloist throughout The United States, Europe, and South America. As a result, his compositions are strongly informed by a performative perspective. Michael strongly believes in the aesthetic of the composer-performer; a synergy equally evident in jazz, rock, Persian dastgāh, contemporary concert, death metal, hip hop, and every fusional suggenre in between.
Elizabeth (Eli) Hougland is a composer, violinist and violist currently residing in Kansas City, Missouri. She is also an avid collaborator, and has participated in several ArtSounds– a “cross-media expression through creative concert-making.” She has had works recorded by Quadrivium and NewEar. As a performer, Eli has played in groups such as Musica Nova, RIP ensemble, and Black House Collective. She is a current Charlotte Street Resident.
Ted King-Smith is a composer and saxophonist hailing from Kingston, NY. His influences include jazz greats such as Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington, composers of classical and contemporary music, and a variety of electronic music acts including Animal Collective and Dan Deacon. Ted has degrees in music from the Hartt School of Music and Washington State University, and is currently working towards a DMA in Composition at UMKC. In addition to music, Ted enjoys biking and hiking, as well as an excellent hoppy beverage.
