LiveSounds: Aimée Niemann & Megan Atchley

ABOUT LIVE SOUNDS

Third Street Music School Faculty Concert Series spotlighting the expert teaching artists of the Third Street faculty.

LOCATION

Third Street Music School

Anna-Maria Kellen Concert Hall

Fridays at 7pm

ABOUT ARTISTS

Aimée Niemann (they/them) is a violinist and improviser who investigates sound through its intersection with movement. Steeped in the world of experimental music, dance, and theater, they compose graphic scores that serve as frameworks for interdisciplinary invention and the unearthing of new sounds.

​Niemann is a founding member of the genre-bending Diaphanous Ensemble (Che Buford and Abby Swidler), which premiered new works addressing climate change, queerness, and healing, and will present a collaboration at the New Orleans Triennial in Fall 2024 with interdisciplinary artist Deborah Jack. Aimée is also one half of BUKA, with Marija Kovačević an experimental duo exploring themes of ritual and time, and recently performed a 24-hour version of Erik Satie's Vexations at Canada Gallery.

​They co-founded the violin duo Du.0, with Charlotte Munn-Wood known for its contemporary and noise-based music, which “[shines] in moments of deep listening” (I Care if You Listen). Du.0’s debut album, Thoughts from the Future (Gold Bolus Recordings), was featured on Best of Bandcamp's Contemporary Music in May 2024, with their second album, O Most Noble Greenness, to be released in November 2024 on Orb Tapes in collaboration with filmmaker Kevin Sims.

As an educator, Aimée teaches violin at Third Street Music School Settlement and founded its Creative Sound Lab course. They are a strong advocate for improvisation in the classroom and have trained over 50 teachers in the Creative Ability Development (CAD) method.

Megan Atchley is a New York based violinist dedicated to creating musical experiences that resonate with her audiences aesthetically, politically and bodily. As Artistic Director for the Firey Strings Company and member of new music/jazz/hip-hop collective ShoutHouse, as well as a frequent performer with various new music ensembles including Wordless Music Orchestra, Megan is dedicated to creating a diverse array of contemporary music. A committed music educator, Megan founded and directs the violin program at Girls Prep Middle School in addition to holding faculty positions with InterSchool Orchestras and Third Street Music School. As a scholar and passionate feminist, Megan presented a lecture-recital at the 2011 Feminist Theory and Music Conference on the work of Kaija Saariaho. Megan’s credits as a recording artist include releases on Deutsche Grammophon and ShoutHouse. She holds degrees from NYU Steinhardt and Ithaca College.

Host or Publisher Third Street Music School