ABOUT

ABOUT

Founded in 1986 by Dawn and Lou Mallozzi, Eric Leonardson, and Perry Venson, Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) has occupied its Edgewater location since 2006. The facility is home to a full-service recording, mixing, and mastering studio for hire; Audible Gallery, a small public space for exhibitions, meetings, workshops, performances, and artists' projects; and the Creative Audio Archive—an invaluable collection of recordings, print, and visual ephemera related to avant-garde and exploratory sound and music of the last five decades. ESS presents eclectic performance and installation programming, workshops, and artist talks year round—both in the various spaces around the studio (including its beautiful garden) and at various partner venues around Chicago.

 

Mission

Experimental Sound Studio is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to artistic evolution and the creative exploration of sound. As an international hub for sonic experimentation, ESS nurtures artists, heralds new works, and builds a broad, supportive community of makers, enthusiasts, and creative partners through production, presentation, education, and preservation.

 

Core Values

  • The artist is at the center of the creative process
  • The past informs and inspires invention and innovation
  • Experimentation requires both artistic rigor and risk
  • Sonic-based expression has no boundaries and requires an inclusive environment that welcomes and values diverse perspectives and voices
  • Collaboration activates growth
 

Staff

Adam Vida: Managing Director

Contact Adam

Adam Vida has been Studio Manager/Events Coordinator at ESS since 2008. In addition to running the day-to-day operations of the recording studio, he is instrumental in scheduling and executing ESS' events programming at ESS—developing, curating, and coordinating many concerts, workshops, and performance series—including Sunday Solos, SummerSonic, the Benefit Concert for Frank Rosaly, and Drone for the End of Time. Adam also works as a producer for recording sessions and an in-house composer for film and video projects.

Adam is also a multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser, and producer. After attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Adam moved to Chicago in 1997 where he has performed and recorded in various rock, jazz, improvised, and experimental music projects (U.S. Maple, Singer, Dhalgren, DRMWPN, Azita, Redmoon Theater, Central Falls, Ken Vandermark). He has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe with various projects.

 

Alex Inglizian: Technical Director, Chief Engineer

Contact Alex

Alex Inglizian has been with ESS since 2007, shortly after he received a BA in Sound from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A seasoned engineer, he has over 10 years of experience in both live and recorded sound. In addition to managing the upkeep of the studio's soft- and hardware and engineering most of our recording sessions, he co-curates the SummerSonic series, and runs location sound and does post-production mixing for many independent film and video projects. Inglizian is a technical wiz, exhibiting prodigious skill in sound design, circuit bending, programming, and as an educator. He is an active musician and improviser around Chicago, playing in bands such as Dhalgren and El is a Sound of Joy.

 

Olivia Junell: Development & Outreach Director

Contact Olivia

Olivia Junell's role as Development & Outreach Director focuses primarily on reaching out within and beyond ESS's already strong support bases, developing opportunities for deeper involvement with the organization for a wide range of individuals, and continuing to grow community partnerships.

A native Texan, Olivia moved to Chicago in 2013 to pursue a dual Masters in Arts Administration and Public Policy and Modern Art History and Critical Writing at the School of the Art Institute Chicago. Before moving Olivia worked in development for over 8 years, most recently as Development Manager at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

Olivia is also Managing Director of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival and serves on the board of Honey Pot Performance.

 

Ryan Packard: Marketing Director

Contact Ryan

Ryan Packard is the newest member of the ESS team and brings with him fresh ideas both for programming and the organization’s public face. In addition to managing ESS’s website, mailing lists, press communication, and social media, Packard serves as in-house graphic designer. Packard performs and tours as a member of a number of new music ensembles and has presented work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, dfbrl8r, Constellation, b-sides festival, and montreal nouvelles musiques, among others.

 

Lou Mallozzi: Founder / Director Emeritus

Founder Lou Mallozzi is an artist, arts administrator, and educator. He is a founding member of ESS and was Associate Director since its inception in 1986 until 1999, when he became Executive Director. His duties include developing programming and organizational partnerships, and overseeing administrative and financial operations. During his time at ESS he has facilitated the presentation of work by several hundred artists and ensembles to Chicago audiences by curating, organizing, or co-producing scores of performances, exhibitions, broadcasts, roundtable discussions, and other cultural programs. These include the ESS Florasonic sound installation series, the Outer Ear Festival of Sound (now the Outer Ear Series), the Sounds From Chicago radio series (1988-1996), the Artist Residency Program, and others.  He oversaw ESS’s studio renovations in 2001 and 2006, the initiation of the Creative Audio Archive in 2003, and the establishment of Audible Gallery in 2006. He has been invited to speak on numerous panels concerning sound as art, public art practice, and historic and theoretical topics in contemporary art practice.  His own practice as an artist engaged primarily with sound has received considerable attention, including performances and exhibitions in the US, Canada, and Europe, as well as grants and residencies from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, the Chicago-Lucerne Sister Cities Program, and others. He is on the faculty of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he teaches in the Sound Department with an emphasis on sound art, sound installation, creative production techniques, and interdisciplinary art practice. Lou retired from his position of Executive Director in July of 2016.

 

Board

Drew Roulo: President And Chair

Director of Asset Servicing, Guggenheim Partners Investment Management
Expertise: financial planning and fiscal management.

Ed Herrmann: Treasurer

Freelance audio producer and composer
Affiliations: Association of Independents in Radio, Public Radio Exchange, Guild of Carillonneurs in North America
Expertise: Small business finance, programming.

Kim Alpert

Founder, Make Amazing; Artist
Expertise: Experience based immersion, design, interactive architecture, new and emerging media concepts and technologies, event production

Carrie Cooper

Partner & Chief People Officer, Dark Matter Coffee
Affiliations: Ithaca Underground, Ithaca, NY, Board Member; The Chicago Outfit Roller Derby, Chicago; Hope for the Day, Chicago (Dark Matter Coffee Partner Organization); Garfield Park Garden Network, Chicago, (Dark Matter Coffee Partner Organization); Hyde Park Art Center, Volunteer (formerly Finance & Operations Manager & Art Instructor).
Expertise: community partnerships; events organization; financial management.

Lou Mallozzi

Adjunct Professor and Graduate Coordinator, Sound Department, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Artist, curator, and educator. Co-founder and former executive director – now director emeritus – Experimental Sound Studio.
Expertise: Contemporary interdisciplinary arts; arts administration, curating, cultural events organizing, cultural organization partnerships, post-secondary arts education.

Darin Walsh

Sr. Manager, Product Content, Shure Incorporated.
Affiliations: Trustee, DEW Foundation.
Expertise: Management, content technology, community access to culture and social services

 

 
OPTION: Macie Stewart Solo; Macie Stewart & Julian Kirshner Duo April 23rd, 2018 Doors At 7. Music At 7:30. ESS 5925 N Ravenswood Ave. Chicago, IL This Monday, violinist, pianist and vocalist Macie Stewart performs solo and in a duo with drummer Julian Kirshner. Thanks to @galeriecapitain for sponsoring OPTION in April. @kirshner_ @maciestewart
OPTION: Macie Stewart Solo; Macie Stewart & Julian Kirshner Duo April 23rd, 2018 Doors At 7. Music At 7:30. ESS 5925 N Ravenswood Ave. Chicago, IL This Monday, violinist, pianist and vocalist Macie Stewart performs solo and in a duo with drummer Julian Kirshner. Thanks to @galeriecapitain for sponsoring OPTION in April.
OPTION: Macie Stewart Solo; Macie Stewart & Julian Kirshner Duo April 23rd, 2018 Doors At 7. Music At 7:30. ESS 5925 N Ravenswood Ave. Chicago, IL This Monday, violinist, pianist and vocalist Macie Stewart performs solo and in a duo with drummer Julian Kirshner. Thanks to @galeriecapitain for sponsoring OPTION in April.
Tomorrow night at OPTION:, saxophonist and composer Aram Shelton and Norwegian drummer Håkon Berre make their OPTION debut. A discussion with Tim Daisy follows. Door at 7. Music at 7:30pm CT. Thanks again to @galeriecapitain for sponsoring OPTION in April.
Tomorrow night at @darkmattercoffee star lounge! #Repost @woodsadie with @get_repost ・・・ #onthisday 1983 #HaroldWashington was the first and only black mayor elected in the city of Chicago. Looking forward to performing #DreamMerchant, an ode toMayorHaroldWashington, for @homeroomchicago’s #TenxTen Retrospective tomorrow at @starloungechicago. No cover, art, and music. 7pm start. @allen_moore_127 @esschicago @spudnikpress
Tomorrow night at @darkmattercoffee star lounge! #Repost @woodsadie with @get_repost ・・・ #onthisday 1983 #HaroldWashington was the first and only black mayor elected in the city of Chicago. Looking forward to performing #DreamMerchant, an ode toMayorHaroldWashington, for @homeroomchicago’s #TenxTen Retrospective tomorrow at @starloungechicago. No cover, art, and music. 7pm start. @allen_moore_127 @esschicago @spudnikpress
Stop by @darkmattercoffee Star Lounge on Friday, April 13 to hear and see new collaborations from Chicago artists #MelinaAusikaitis, #AmbrosiaBartosekulva, #AllenMoore, and #SadieWoods. Known for their robust practices in both visual art and music, these performers were brought together through the @homeroomchicago and @spudnikpress collaborative project Ten x Ten. @pipeworksbrewing will be providing complementary beer! 🍻
Florasonic Lakshmi Ramgopal: A Half-Light Chorus Exhibition Information: May 6-July 22, 2018 Daily, 9-5pm Lincoln Park Conservatory 2391 North Stockton Drive Chicago, IL, 60614 May 6, 3pm: Installation Opening Performance Lakshmi Ramgopal (vocals, sruti box, movement) Lucy Little (violin) July 22, 3pm: Installation Closing Performance: Lakshmi Ramgopal (vocals, sruti box, movement) Subi Shah (vocals) Sonal Aggarwal (vocals) Asha Rowland (movement) Rosé Hernandez (movement) Efrén Arcoiris (movement) Kiam Marcelo Junio (movement) Lucy Little (violin) Diana Rose Harper (wardrobe) After hearing an unknown bird sing for years outside her grandmother's house in India, Lakshmi Ramgopal wonders about the importance of birdsong to memory and kinship in A Half-Light Chorus, her installation for Experimental Sound Studio’s Florasonic series. Set in the Fern Room of Chicago's Lincoln Park Conservatory, the installation features a four-channel recording of vocalists imitating the calls of birds from India and Sanskrit literature. Punctuated with original Tamil odes to individual birds, this shimmering tapestry of arias, whistles, clicks, and cries plays with the diurnal rhythms, forms, and functions of birdsong. These sounds immerse the Fern Room's greenery in a cross section of India’s avian bioacoustics.
Florasonic Lakshmi Ramgopal: A Half-Light Chorus Exhibition Information: May 6-July 22, 2018 Daily, 9-5pm Lincoln Park Conservatory 2391 North Stockton Drive Chicago, IL, 60614 May 6, 3pm: Installation Opening Performance Lakshmi Ramgopal (vocals, sruti box, movement) Lucy Little (violin) July 22, 3pm: Installation Closing Performance: Lakshmi Ramgopal (vocals, sruti box, movement) Subi Shah (vocals) Sonal Aggarwal (vocals) Asha Rowland (movement) Rosé Hernandez (movement) Efrén Arcoiris (movement) Kiam Marcelo Junio (movement) Lucy Little (violin) Diana Rose Harper (wardrobe) After hearing an unknown bird sing for years outside her grandmother's house in India, Lakshmi Ramgopal wonders about the importance of birdsong to memory and kinship in A Half-Light Chorus, her installation for Experimental Sound Studio’s Florasonic series. Set in the Fern Room of Chicago's Lincoln Park Conservatory, the installation features a four-channel recording of vocalists imitating the calls of birds from India and Sanskrit literature. Punctuated with original Tamil odes to individual birds, this shimmering tapestry of arias, whistles, clicks, and cries plays with the diurnal rhythms, forms, and functions of birdsong. These sounds immerse the Fern Room's greenery in a cross section of India’s avian bioacoustics.
Versatile bassist Tom Blancarte and Danish - American saxophonist, vocalist and composer Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen perform solo and in duo with Chicago's own Kent Kessler. #chicago #experimentalsoundstudio #newmusic #freejazz #denmark #soundart
RIP Cecil Taylor. Your creative legacy will be in our ears, hearts and minds forever. Pictured above is Cecil talking to a young Han Bennink. Photo by Pieter Boersma.
RIP Cecil Taylor. Your creative legacy will be in our ears, hearts and minds forever. Pictured above is Cecil talking to a young Han Bennink. Photo by Pieter Boersma.
@mocrep and Jennifer Walshe at the beautiful @chicagoathletichotel next Tuesday, April 10th!
@mocrep and Jennifer Walshe at the beautiful @chicagoathletichotel next Tuesday, April 10th!
Thank you @galeriecapitain for being our OPTION sponsor for the month of April!
Thank you @galeriecapitain for being our OPTION sponsor for the month of April!
OPTION: Gerrit Hatcher and Anton Hatwich April 2nd, 2018 Doors At 7. Music At 7:30 ESS 5925 N Ravenswood Ave Chicago, IL Saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher and Bassist Anton Hatwich perform solo and duo on the OPTION stage. Thanks to @galeriecapitain Galerie Gisela Capitain for being the OPTION sponsor for the month of April.
Jennifer Walshe + @mocrep Tuesday, April 10th, 2018 7:30pm-10pm $10 ESS Members / $15 General Admission Madison Ballroom @chicagoathletichotel 12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603 Experimental Sound Studio, in collaboration with Mocrep,  is pleased to present a performance of works by Jennifer Walshe on April 10th at the Chicago Athletic Association hotel.  This exciting interdisciplinary collaboration between Walshe and Mocrep, will include moments of karaoke, sounds of the outdoors and sometimes no sound at all. This performance has been facilitated by the Aisteach Institute, the Avant Garde Archive of Ireland, and will feature the Chicago premier of the film, AN GLÉACHT. Jennifer Walshe's Chicago appearance is sponsored by the Sound Department of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. @saicpics The program continues an established relationship between Walshe and Mocrep. They began working together in 2015, when Mocrep presented her work Hygiene as part of the Mathias Spahlinger Festival There is No Repetition. In 2016 they presented the US premiere of her barbie opera, XXX_LIVE_NUDE_GIRLS and have performed Volunteer Chorus, a choral work which mines social media platforms for content, at the international Summer Courses for New Music Darmstadt (2016) and the Art Institute of Chicago (2017).
OPTION: Gerrit Hatcher and Anton Hatwich April 2nd, 2018 Doors At 7. Music At 7:30. ESS 5925 N Ravenswood Ave. Chicago, IL Saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher and Bassist Anton Hatwich perform solo and duo on the Option stage this coming Monday. They are some of the finest Chicago musicians on the scene today. ESS will be streaming the concert live at ess.org/option at 7:30pm CT. A big thanks goes out to @galeriecapitain for being the OPTION sponsor for the month of April! (photo by Julia Dratel)
OPTION: Gerrit Hatcher and Anton Hatwich April 2nd, 2018 Doors At 7. Music At 7:30. ESS 5925 N Ravenswood Ave. Chicago, IL Saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher and Bassist Anton Hatwich perform solo and duo on the Option stage this coming Monday. They are some of the finest Chicago musicians on the scene today. ESS will be streaming the concert live at ess.org/option at 7:30pm CT. A big thanks goes out to @galeriecapitain for being the OPTION sponsor for the month of April! (photo by Julia Dratel)
Stop by @darkmattercoffee Star Lounge on Friday, April 13 to hear and see new collaborations from Chicago artists #MelinaAusikaitis, #AmbrosiaBartosekulva, #AllenMoore, and #SadieWoods. Known for their robust practices in both visual art and music, these performers were brought together through the @homeroomchicago and @spudnikpress collaborative project Ten x Ten. @pipeworksbrewing will be providing complementary beer! 🍻
Catch the closing concert of @elasticarts Exposure Series at #OPTION this Monday, March 26th at #ESS. Detroit based composer and performer Molly Jones makes her Option debut. Multi-Instrumentalist Michael Foster and percussionist Ben Bennett perform duo for the second set. Doors at 7pm. Music at 7:30. Stream live at ess.org/option. Big thanks to @corbettvsdempsey for their March sponsorship.
@elasticarts has put together an incredible series this week and early next week at the finest venues in Chicago. Don’t miss the Exposure Series/ESS collaboration featuring Molly Jones, Michael Foster and Ben Bennett at ESS this coming Monday for a special OPTION concert. Doors and 7. Music at 7:30pm. You can stream the concert live at ess.org/option
@elasticarts has put together an incredible series this week and early next week at the finest venues in Chicago. Don’t miss the Exposure Series/ESS collaboration featuring Molly Jones, Michael Foster and Ben Bennett at ESS this coming Monday for a special OPTION concert. Doors and 7. Music at 7:30pm. You can stream the concert live at ess.org/option
We're looking forward to the Banrei opening tomorrow from 6-9pm at the ESS Audible Gallery. Banrei will be performing at 7:30pm sharp. Not to be missed! mass notification is a sound installation by the artist Banrei (Jake Harper) that considers auditory methods of control and the language of the siren. The work experienced at Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) consists of an array of hundreds of works dispersed through short auditory bursts of sound that swell and spatter, interspersed with moments of modulated silence, utilizing sheer volume as a visceral form of object presence. This is the latest iteration from a series of international site-specific installations and performances by the artist, titled mass notification. The first work in the series was devised in collaboration with a neuroscientist and was a live test of a specially reconfigured siren that broadcast sound from a mobile medical clinic. The sound was engineered to function on a cognitive level as a siren but was reworked into a more inviting series of sounds. In this apparently paradoxical situation, the sound system was employed to improve the efficacy of delivering humanitarian aid, through radical sonic urban place-making
Molly Jones (solo) / Michael Foster & Ben Bennett March 26th, 2018 Doors At 7. Music at 7:30pm Experimental Sound Studio 5925 N Ravenswood Ave Chicago, IL Exposure Series is just around the corner! ESS has partnered with @elasticarts to present Molly Jones, Michael Foster, and Ben Bennett March 26th for our last OPTION concert for the month of March. We appreciate @corbettvsdempsey for being the OPTION sponsor for March.
Kris Davis (solo) March 19th, 2018 Doors At 7. Music At 7:30pm Pianist and composer Kris Davis performs solo on the Option stage. Kris then joins Ken Vandermark for a discussion about her work.
As @ken_vandermark points out in this article, "Dave leads by example—not by talking about trying to accomplish something, but by actually doing it." @daverempis truly brings every ounce of his being to anything he does. Dave's dedication to the music and arts community along with his appreciation and understanding of Chicago's long history of creative music has helped keep this scene thriving. We are proud to work with Dave in all of his artistic and administrational capacities. Check out the Exposure Series at ESS this March 26th with Molly Jones, @faux.star and Ben Bennett. Thank you @pmargasak for such a thoughtful article.
As @ken_vandermark points out in this article, "Dave leads by example—not by talking about trying to accomplish something, but by actually doing it." @daverempis truly brings every ounce of his being to anything he does. Dave's dedication to the music and arts community along with his appreciation and understanding of Chicago's long history of creative music has helped keep this scene thriving. We are proud to work with Dave in all of his artistic and administrational capacities. Check out the Exposure Series at ESS this March 26th with Molly Jones, @faux.star and Ben Bennett. Thank you @pmargasak for such a thoughtful article.
 

5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60660. USA

info@ess.org

773-998-1069

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Funders

ESS programs & services are made possible through the generosity of our members and donors, including significant contributions from anonymous donors. Major support is provided by the DEW Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development, a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

Partners

Lost Arts
Black Cinema House
Chicago Film Archives
Constellation
Links Hall
Comfort Station
Frequency Series
The Bridge
Chicago Park District
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago Cultural Center
Morton Feldman Chamber Players
Chicago Artists Coalition
The Nightingale
Spudnik Press
Goethe-Institut Chicago
Homeroom
Sound American
The Poetry Foundation
Dark Matter Coffee
Chicago Archictecture Biennial
CAPE
Amundsen High School
WFMT
High Concept Labs

Volunteers

Jenny Bendelstein
Michael Gillilan
Rebecca Himelstein
Ralph Loza
Kyle Maurisak
Colin Morris

Contracted
Engineers

Todd Carter
Ralph Loza
Stephen Ptaçek

Members

Doyle Armbrust
Brian Ashby
Lawrence Axelrod
Brian Baxter
Lynn Bechtold
Keith Berg
Olivia Block
Marc Bonadies
Beth Bradfish
Jennifer Brown
Stephen Buono
Elizabeth Bustamante
Michael Catolico
William Ching
Daniel Christain
Susan Chun
Amanda DeBoer
Timothy Edwards
Nomi Epstein
William Faber
Ben Gibbins
Browne Goodwin
Aaron Gottl
Becky Grajeda
David Grant
Mary Griffin
Laura Harrison
Kyle Henry
Kikú Hibino
Stephen Hunt
Eliezer Kaplan
Matthew Kordonowy
Thomas Lunt
Brianna Matzke
Mary Mazurek
Shirley Mordine
Gregory O'Drobinak
Isabel Olive
Bill Ovca
Christopher Preissing
Hal Rammel
Richard Reger
Ben Remsen
Adam Rogers
Paula Romanaux
Fred Schmalz
Jason Shanley
Charlie Simokaitis
Mark Skillicorn
Adam Sonderberg
Jean Sousa
Lisa Stone
Deborah Stratman
Glenn Thomas
Ken Vandermark
Mary Vida
Darlene Vinicky
Susan Voelz
Mary Wallman
Mike Weis
Daniele Wilmouth
Michael Zerang
Ishmael Zghoul