Gliss Glass Gong with Karen Stackpole and Krys Bobrowski

Join us January 14th at 7:30pm for a powerhouse performance by Gong Master extraordinare, Karen Stackpole (The Gong Woman) and Krys Bobrowski, (instrument inventor/musician, composer, educator) and experience a psychedelic soundscape of gongs, found objects, invented instruments and water.

Krys Bobrowski and Karen Stackpole have collaborated in the quartet Vorticella for over 20 years. During that time they started their duo of gong and Gliss Glass, an instrument invented by Krys Bobrowski consisting of water-filled glass vessels mounted on telescoping stands and interconnected with tubes and valves. By varying the height of the vessels and opening valves the sound dynamically changes with the level of the water changing the pitch from the glass via friction, mallets, splashes. The sounds are captured via piezo pickups and amplified. The Gliss Glass blends extremely well with the sound of the Gongs played by Karen Stackpole using various techniques with friction mallets, bows, and other implements. Karen Stackpole and Krys Bobrowski create a deep sonic journey that unfurls into an engaging and transcendent soundtrack for the imagination.

Karen Stackpole is an audio engineer, educator, writer, and drummer/percussionist who specializes in gongs. Since 1991 she has incorporated gongs in her life and music and has cultivated some distinctive techniques for drawing harmonics out of tam tams with various implements. She specializes in dynamic soundscapes and textures and is active in the experimental music scene, but she also contributes gong sounds to more conventional musical genres and creates source material for film soundtracks.

In addition to solo work, she has performed and recorded with various projects including Sabbaticus Rex, Ghost in the House, Vorticella, the Francis Wong Unit, Malcolm Mooney and The Tenth Planet, and the rock band Steel Hotcakes. Most recently her work has focused on duet performances and recordings with experimental instrument builder Krys Bobrowski (Gliss Glass & Gongs), contrabassist Bill Noertker (Talking Frog), and guitarist extraordinaire, Fred Frith.

Krys Bobrowski, sound artist, musician, composer, inventor, educator

In addition to concert works, she has created interactive installations and designed day long performances. Krys often transforms natural and everyday objects such as kelp and bowls into musical instruments.

Photo credit: Peter B Kaars

#experimentalmusic #gong #invetor #oaklandmusic

Host or Publisher UMA Gallery Oakland