Longtime musical collaborators, Jessica Pavone (viola) and Katherine Young (bassoon) weave their unique solo languages together into an intensely focused and richly dynamic shared music in this new duo project.

Throughout their 20-year history, Pavone and Young have presented music together at venues such as Roulette, Issue Project Room, Pioneer Works, and the Sunview Luncheonette in Brooklyn; Eye Drum in Atlanta; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Basel; and others.

ABOUT JESSICA

Violist and composer, Jessica Pavone, explores the tactile and sensory experience of music as a vibration-based medium. Inspired by processes centered on intuition and instinct, her music channels these ideas by focusing on how music feels when played and heard, integrating her experiences as an instrumentalist into works that transcend time. Although her primary training was in classical music at the Hartt School of Music (B.M. Music Ed. ’98) and Brooklyn College (M.M. Music Composition ’07), Pavone has dedicated her practice to exploring alternative avenues for creative musical expression and “has made a career of redefining the possibilities for her instrument” (Steve Smith, National Sawdust Log). Pavone’s music has been premiered at prominent NYC venues such as: Abrons Art Center, ISSUE Project Room, the Kitchen, the Noguchi Museum, Pioneer Works, Roulette, and the Socrates Sculpture Park. Grants and Commissions: NYSCA (2024), Queens Arts Council (2024, 2022, 2020), NYFA NYC Women’s Fund (2023), MATA Festival (2023), Foundation for Contemporary Arts (Emergency Grant, 2021), New Music USA (2015), Tri-Centric Foundation (2015), Experiments in Opera (2013), and the Jerome Foundation (2011). Residencies and Fellowships: Herb Alpert/Ragdale Prize (2024), Marble House (2024), Kimmel Harding Nelson Center (2024), I-Park Foundation (2024), Loghaven (2023), Ragdale (2022), and Ucross (2020).

ABOUT KATHERINE

Katherine Young makes electroacoustic music and sonic art using expressive noises, curious timbres, and kinetic structures. Her work has been recognized by awards and fellowships including a Fromm Foundation at Harvard University Commission and the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in Music Composition.

Relationship building and ecological thinking are central to her practice. She has worked closely with Yarn/Wire, Wet Ink, Ensemble Nikel, Linda Jankowska, Olivia De Prato, Weston Olencki, and others. The LAPhil, Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, Third Coast Percussion, Ensemble Dal Niente, Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik, and others have commissioned her music. The University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art and the Science Gallery Atlanta have commissioned her installation work.

As a bassoonist and improviser, Katherine amplifies her instrument and employs a flexible electronics setup. She performs as a soloist, in ad hoc improvised groups, and with projects such as Beautifulish (duo with Sam Scranton). She has documented her work on numerous recordings, including her quartet Pretty Monsters self-titled debut and a duo recording with Anthony Braxton.

 Katherine has deep ties to Chicago’s creative music communities. She is now based in Atlanta, where she teaches composition, electronic music, and improvisation at Emory University.