Join us for a special event celebrating the Summer Solstice!
Compound Yellow: 244 Lake Street
Friday June 20th
7pm-9pm
$15 Tickets here:
https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/compound-yellow/the-pleiades-series-krissy-bergmark-billie-howard-emily-rach-beisel-edward-wilkerson-jr
BYOB
The Pleiades Series teams up with Compound Yellow to present this beautiful evening of sound on the longest day of the year. We’ll have a quartet featuring four heavy-hitters of the Chicago creative music community: Krissy Bergmark (tabla), Billie Howard (violin), Emily Rach Beisel (bass clarinet/woodwinds) and Edward Wilkerson Jr (woodwinds +).
Afterwards bring your instrument and join us for a free improvisation jam - if you’ve ever been curious about improvising this is your chance to jump in and make some sound in a joyful and supportive setting - we’ll play as the sun sets and relish the abundance of sunlight and life at the summer’s solstice.
Emily Rach Beisel is a Chicago-based improviser, composer, educator, curator and woodwind specialist. Beisel is known for visceral performances blending extended vocal and instrumental techniques with analogue electronics. Their solo album Particle of Organs is described as "heavy stuff, sounds retrieved from the deeper places… Beisel pokes around in the sonic depths and brings leviathans out to play. (A Jazz Noise)” As a curator, Beisel seeks to increase the visibility and involvement of femme, trans and nonbinary artists in the creative performance community. They founded the Pleiades Series at Elastic Arts, presenting monthly performances, community-based free improvisation sessions and a biennial PleiadesFest. Beisel holds a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, is a member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 10-208 and is honored to be a 2024 3Arts Awardee in Music.
Billie Howard is a multi-instrumentalist,
sound artist, music educator, and event producer. She composes experimental music that focuses on breathing cycles, chronic pain, and mediation on both quiet and extremely loud sounds.
Krissy Bergmark is a tabla player, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. Bergmark centers her work on bringing tabla to new artistic spaces through composition and performance, with a grounded understanding of the traditions of the instrument. She has received grants through the Cedar Commissions, the Jerome Foundation, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. She composes and performs as a solo artist, with trio Sprig of That, and with artists across the US and internationally. Bergmark is a teaching artist at Mandala South Asian Performing Arts, an adjunct professor at Oakton College, and studies tabla with Pandit Yogesh Samsi.
Ed Wilkerson:
As the mastermind behind Clade, 8 Bold Souls and Shadow Vignettes, woodwind player Wilkerson has led ensembles that defy convention—from a razor-sharp octet, to a sprawling 25-
piece juggernaut incorporating dance, poetry, and visual art. His large-scale composition Defender was commissioned by the Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest Fund and showcased at
BAM’s Next Wave Festival, cementing his reputation as a force of artistic innovation. His music—heard on over 40 recordings, including two film soundtracks—resonates with the boldness of Duke Ellington, the experimental spirit of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), and the unshakable pulse of Chicago’s music lineage. His self-produced albums, including Birth of a Notion and 8 Bold Souls, have been hailed as essential listening, blending meticulous composition with fiery improvisation. A pivotal figure in the AACM, Wilkerson has influenced generations of artists, teaching composition and even serving as AACM president. His collaborations span a dazzling range, from Roscoe Mitchell and George Lewis to Aretha Franklin, the Lyric Opera and The Temptations, always bringing his signature depth and inventiveness. While his musical journey has taken him across the U.S., Europe, Japan, Africa and the Middle East, Wilkerson’s creativity isn’t confined to the stage—when he’s not orchestrating new sonic landscapes, he’s navigating the skies, racing drones with the same precision and thrill that
define his music.
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