"Jaap Blonk (born 1953 in Woerden, Holland) is a self-taught composer, performer and poet.He went to university for mathematics and musicology but did not finish those studies.In the late 1970s he took up saxophone and started to compose music.A few years later he discovered his potential as a vocal performer, at first in reciting poetry and later on in improvisations and his own compositions. For almost two decades the voice was his main means for the discovery and development of new sounds.From around the year 2000 on Blonk started work with electronics, at first using samples of his own voice, then extending the field to include pure sound synthesis as well.He took a year off of performing in 2006. As a result, his renewed interest in mathematics made him start a research of the possibilities of algorithmic composition for the creation of music, visual work and poetry.

As a vocalist, Jaap Blonk is unique for his powerful stage presence and almost childlike freedom in improvisation, combined with a keen grasp of structure. He has performed around the world, on all continents. With the use of live electronics the scope and range of his concerts has acquired a considerable extension.

Besides working as a soloist, he collaborated with many musicians and ensembles in the field of contemporary and improvised music, like Maja Ratkje, Mats Gustafsson, Joan La Barbara, The Ex, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble and the Ebony Band. He premiered several compositions by the German composer Carola Bauckholt, including a piece for voice and orchestra. A solo voice piece was commissioned by the Donaueschinger Musiktage. On several occasions he collaborated with visual computer artist Golan Levin, for the Ars Electronica Festival.

Blonk's work for radio and television includes several commissioned radio plays.He also makes larger-scale drawings of his scores, as well as visual poetry, which is being exhibited.

He has his own record label, Kontrans, featuring a total of 25 releases so far. Other Blonk recordings appeared on various labels, such as Staalplaat, Basta, VICTO, Ecstatic Peace, Monotype Records, Terp and Elegua Records.His book/CD 'Traces of Speech' was published in 2012 by Hybriden-Verlag, Berlin. Forthcoming is a sequel with the title "Traces of Cookery".A comprehensive collection of his sound poetry came out as a book with 2 CDs in 2013, entitled "KLINKT"."

"Nathan Corder composer, performer, sound artist

Nathan Corder is an Oakland-based composer of works for electronics, objects, and arrays of people.

Active as a composer and improviser on custom designed electronics and guitar, Corder has collaborated with artists such as Roscoe Mitchell, Jaap Blonk, Tatsuya Nakatani, and William Winant. His discography has been released on Shhpuma (Cleanfeed), Flaming Pines, Amalgam, SEAMUS Records, Noise Pelican, and Coup Sur Coup.

Nathan's music has been honored and programmed at events such as the International Symposium of New Music (Brazil), Le festival International des Arts Sonores EXHIBITRONIC (Strasbourg), MUSLAB (Mexico City), Echofluxx (Czech Republic), mise-en music festival, NUNC!3, NYC Electroacoustic Music Festival, N_SEME, Root Signals, the Yarn/Wire Institute, and SEAMUS. He received the Elizabeth Mills Crothers Award for music composition in 2018 from Mills College. In 2014, Nathan was awarded the Allen Strange Memorial award from SEAMUS.

Corder holds an MFA in Electronic Music & Recording Media from Mills College, where he studied with Roscoe Mitchell, John Bischoff, Maggi Payne, Chris Brown, and James Fei. He also holds degrees in composition (BM) and philosophy (BA) from the University of South Florida, where he studied composition and theory with Paul Reller, Baljinder Sekhon, and Ciro Scotto, and has studied composition at UC Berkeley with Ken Ueno, and privately with Ellen Fullman."

"Matt Robidoux is an Oakland based composer, improviser, and community organizer interested in accessibility within contemporary music and the healing potentials of music improvisation. In 2017 he established the Mills AIE (Adaptive Instrument Ensemble), a community based group with a mission to expand the improvising community (across abilities, demographics, geographies) and explore embodied modalities of music making.

He has worked with Henry Kaiser, Maria Chavez, William Winant, Jaap Blonk, David Behrman, Stuart Dempster, Maggi Payne, Wendy Reid, Phillip Greenlief, Sunburned Hand of the Man, gabby fluke-mogul, J Mascis, Wendy Eisenberg, Alan Courtis and Tatsuya Nakatani. His scholarly work on musical improvisation and inclusion practices has been presented internationally and published in Contemporary Music Review. ​He holds a MA in music composition from Mills College, where he studied with Roscoe Mitchell, Zeena Parkins, Laetitia Sonami, John Bischoff, David Bernstein, and Daniel Schmidt."

"Tim Russell lives at the confluence of the aural and the visual. He was raised in a house filled with the sounds of piano and guitar, his parents both being recreational musicians. From that nurturing experience, it seems only fitting that he was drawn to music and more specifically, percussion. He began his professional career as a musician at fifteen, playing drums in rock bands around the Chicago suburbs. His passion for music and percussion deepened as he attended the University of Wisconsin, where he eventually graduated with a degree in percussion performance. After college, Tim expanded upon his musical fascination, immersing himself in the world of Contemporary Movement via accompanying classes and composing music at the University of Wisconsin Dance Program. Tim recently left his position as the Music Director at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Dance Department to pursue an MFA in Music Improvisation at Mills College in Oakland, CA. He has been called "The premier composer for Modern Dance in Milwaukee" by the Shepherd Express and a "thrilling show within the show" (DanceTabs). Tim is an extremely active performer/composer; his work is almost exclusively created within the context of choreography and improvisation. He is the co-curator of Hyperlocal MKE, a Music and Dance improvisation series which is now in it's third year. Along with his long time collaboration with the Gerald Casel Dance Company, his audio shares the stage with a vast array of choreographic artists such as: Li Chiao Ping, Danceworks, Kate Corby, WildSpace Dance, Liz Sexe and Kun Yang Lin, bringing Tim and his "Compelling original Music" (Madison Isthmus) all across the country, from the Judson Church in New York City to ODC in San Francisco."