WEST
OAKLAND
SOUND
SERIES
 

UPCOMING

 

SPECIAL EVENT! - SAT SEP 26 - OAKLAND REDUCTIONIST ORCHESTRA @ JOAQUIN MILLER PARK

SUN OCT 4 - JAMES FEI / MATT DAVIGNON / LEAKING (KORBER + LONBERG-HOLM + PEDERSEN)
SUN OCT 11 - JAAP BLONK / ECHO'S BONES
SUN OCT 18 - JARED REDMOND PLAYS FELDMAN'S "TRIADIC MEMORIES" / OAK RDCT ORCH
SUN OCT 25 - OCHS + DAVIS + JOHNSTON + MEZZACAPPA / DJLL + HEGLIN + STACKPOLE

 

a weekly new music and experimental sound series every sunday
presented by new performance traditions and sfSound

 

 

DRESHER ENSEMBLE STUDIO

2201 poplar street :: oakland ca

 

ample parking! please park perpendicular when past the trees on poplar
$20 (FREE for students/underemployed)

 cash & venmo accepted at door - order advance here
 

concerts start promptly at 7:30
:: late arrivals follow instructions on door to get buzzed in ::

 

submit a proposal to perform!

 

view previous concerts

September 26 2026  3pm

SPECIAL LOCATION: Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland at this location

Join us as oakland reductionist orchestra performs with and within Joaquin Miller Park, not far from the Redwood Glen trailhead at this location.

 

Emergent Sound Practices is an outdoor sound performance series that offers an unconventional circumstance for artists to share emergent and experimental works in conversation with place. With an intent to tread lightly, all presented sound is generated either acoustically or through small, portable amplification. Through the assertion of process, and by embracing the unpredictable nature of outdoor environments, the artists of this series depict, in real time, how music is more than simply putting notes and sounds together – it is placing oneself in a specific moment and context, preparing mind and body to shape sound, in community with observers, players, and one’s surroundings. It’s a relationship.

October 4 2026  7:30pm

$20 click here to purchase advance tickets online

(FREE for students/underemployed)

JAMES FEI
MATT DAVIGNON
LEAKING
(JAY KORBER, FRED LONBERG-HOLM, BRIAN PEDERSEN)
 

JAMES FEI performs his The Nerve Meter, where microphones distributed in the performance space are connected to two Frequency Shifters and fed back through loudspeakers. During the course of the performance, the output of the Frequency Shifters increasingly modulate each other, creating inherently unstable patterns that are dependent on interactions of the electronics as well as the acoustics of the room.

 

 

MATT DAVIGNON performs on the Boss DR-770 drum machine—the core instrument behind most of his music over the past two decades. Davignon will exploit the device's internal sounds and tools to build complex ever-changing musical passages, without his usual pedal effects and looping devices.

 

 

What happens when three stalwarts of the Bay Area improvised/noise/jazz/rock/ experimental scene collide in real time? Find out when LEAKING'S atmospheric river of sound hits the Dresher studio. Members Jay Korber (drums), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello) and Brian Pedersen (sax) have worked with groups ranging from Nine Dog Dick, the Peter Brotzmann 10tet, Key West, Ettrick, Zeek Sheck, Fistortion, Burmese, The Flying Luttenbachers, Elf Ass.  They’ve been playing as a trio for over a year now and so far… it’s been a blast.

October 11 2026  7:30pm

$20 click here to purchase advance tickets online

(FREE for students/underemployed)

JAAP BLONK
ECHO'S BONES

JAAP BLONK performs his own compositions, improvisations, and historical sound poems.  Blonk (born 1953 in Woerden, Netherlands) is a self-taught composer, performer, poet and visual artist. His unfinished studies in mathematics and musicology mainly created a penchant for activities in a Dada vein, as did several unsuccessful jobs in offices and other well-organized systems. In the early 1980s he discovered the power and flexibility of his voice, and set out on a long-term research of phonetics and the possibilities of the human voice. At present, he has developed into a specialist in the creation and performance of sound poetry and a unique vocal improviser, supported by a powerful and uninhibited stage presence. He has performed and taught around the world, on all continents. With the use of live electronics and sometimes projection of visuals the scope and range of his concerts has acquired a considerable extension. 

 

Blonk’s recorded / published output comprises some 75 titles: CDs, vinyl, cassettes and books. From his sound poetry scores he developed an independent body of visual work, also supported by his renewed interest in mathematical procedures. It has been exhibited in various countries, and selections have been collected in books by publishers in North and South America and various European countries.

PROPOSALS

Our focus is on the bay area experimental and new music community, hopefully encouraging crossover among sub-scenes (composition and improvisation; established and emerging; institutional and underground; etc.) We strongly suggest local musicians attend concerts before requesting to perform on the series. Visiting aritsts are also welcome, ideally splitting a concert with local musicians.

We are also seeking compositions (in all forms of notation) to be performed by the sfSoundGroup.

We have a 92-key (down to a Low F!) 1953 Imperial Bösendorfer 7’4” Model 225 Piano (no sostenuto pedal; inside/prepared is OK). The venue hosts a Meyer Sound System, drum kit, additional piano, lighting, and projection equipment.

Please send proposals to mattingalls at me dot com

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