Wendy Eisenberg and Dana Jessen

OJS and The Musikos Collective present

Dana Jessen and Wendy Eisenberg

Wendy Eisenberg is an improviser and songwriter who uses guitar, pedals, the tenor banjo, the computer, the synthesizer and the voice. Their work spans genres, from jazz to noise to avant-rock to delicate songs; their performances span venues, from international festivals to intimate basements. Though often working solo as both a songwriter and improviser, with acclaimed releases on Tzadik, VDSQ, Out of your Head, and Garden Portal, they also perform in the rock band Editrix, and in endless other combinations of their heroes and peers including Allison Miller, Carla Kihlstedt, John Zorn, Billy Martin, and Caroline Davis. They are also a writer on music and other things, with published essays on music in Sound American, Arcana, and the Contemporary Music Review.

Dana Jessen is a bassoonist, improviser, and electroacoustic musician whose original compositions, improvisations, and collaborative work have been met with critical acclaim. A recipient of the 2023 Cleveland Arts Prize and hailed as a “bassoon virtuoso” (Chicago Reader), Jessen’s distinct voice and musical language have positioned her as a pioneer of contemporary and improvised music on the bassoon. Over the past two decades, she has presented world premiere performances throughout North America and Europe while maintaining equal footing in the creative music community as an improviser.

This concert will also feature conservatory and college musicians performing alongside Dana and Wendy in Pauline Oliveros' 13 Changes