Duo Riso
Seth Andrew Davis
At tonight’s CLEAT Series we welcome Seth Andrew Davis in from Kansas City for a solo performance, followed by three pieces from Duo Riso.
Duo Riso is an ensemble project founded by pianist Zaira Castillo and clarinetist Evan Kopca. The Duo creates immersive, boundary-blurring performances that reimagine the traditional concert experience through sound, space, and collaboration. Rooted in a shared spirit of curiosity and play (riso, from the Latin word for “laughter”), the duo embraces humor, spontaneity, and deep listening as essential parts of their artistic practice.
Duo Riso, dedicated to expanding the sonic possibilities of piano and clarinet, premieres multichannel works by Zouning Liao, Pedram Diba, and Curtis Rumrill. The program encompasses elements of satire, found objects, and gesture ultimately leading to the culmination of a large-scale theatrical experience. The duo is equally comfortable in written and improvised formats, drawing on aesthetics from contemporary classical music, experimental sound, and intermedia performance practices.
Seth Andrew Davis is a performer, composer, improviser, technologist, scholar and educator from the Kansas City area. Davis is involved in the improvised music/free improvisation, experimental, and electronic music scenes in Kansas City. Davis’ music runs the gamut of compositions for orchestral and chamber ensembles, performances with free-jazz/free improvised music ensembles and large groups, solo performance, collaborations with dancers and video artists, and the design and collaboration of autonomous and interactive artificial life agents and 3D environments. Tonight he presents An American Is A Complex Of Occasions, a new piece for electric guitar, live electronics, virtual improviser, and interactive video. The piece explores a multi-movement structure that explores the maximalist terrain of American culture in the 21st Century.
$15 / $10 w/ Student ID - Tickets Available at the Door
Artist Bios
Zouning Anne Liao is a composer, sound designer, and multimedia artist from Guangdong, China. Her music reflects her fascination with natural phenomena, cycles of life, the materiality of sound, and the evolving relationship between humans, technology, and the environment. Her works have been showcased at international festivals such as IRCAM ManiFeste & Forum Workshop (France), Sound/Image Festival (UK), ICMC (USA), Espacios Sonoros (Argentina), SEAMUS (USA), and SPLICE Festival (USA), among other international venues. She holds a Master’s degree in Computer Music Composition from Indiana University. Now based in Chicago, Zouning is in her second year of a PhD program in Music Composition and Technology at Northwestern University.
Pedram Diba's music has been praised for its “powerful interaction and striking richness of components” (ResMusica, France) and its “deep sense of musical energy and attention to the organicity and morphological profiles of sound” (Pierre Jodlowski). His work has been presented at international festivals including SEAMUS, IRCAM Forum, ICMC, Splice, and SICMF, and performed at venues such as the DiMenna Center (New York), Le CENTQUATRE (Paris), CKL Stage (Seoul), Constellation (Chicago), and Le Gesù (Montreal). He is the recipient of the Prix CIME Residency, the William T. Faricy Award, and the Max Stern Fellowship. Diba holds degrees from the University of Oregon and McGill University and completed the IRCAM Cursus in Paris. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in composition and music technology at Northwestern University.He will serve as composer-in-residence at SMEAMuz Poznań in 2026 and as a Fulbright Fellow in Germany for the 2026–2027 academic year.
Curtis Rumrill’s music blends literary form, theater, opera, and modern chamber music, often telling darkly comic, fable-like stories with a focus on language and experimentation. His works have been performed internationally across Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. Notable premieres include the opera, Her Holiness, The Winter Dog for Kamratōn, Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, and Shana Simmons Dance; Õs Grândė Fædeur dî Rïdiendo for Juna Toksöz Winston; The Parasite, and Her Sister for Ensemble Dal Niente; and Abigail, Martin, the Virus and the Voice of God for Ensemble l’Itinéraire. He co-founded MusicArte Panama, chaired Alia Musica, and has served on the Board of Directors for Kamratōn since 2021. A dedicated social justice activist, Rumrill has presented on music and labor organizing at AMS/SEM/SMT. He is currently a Professor of Music Theory at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Doctoral Candidate at UC Berkeley.
Seth Andrew Davis is a performer, composer, improviser, & electronic musician from the Kansas City area. Davis is involved in the improvised music/free improvisation, experimental, and electronic music scenes in Kansas City. Davis is a founding member of Second Nature, a free jazz/new music/math-rock ensemble along with Michael Eaton, Re-Animator/DeCorpsinator, was the guitarist in the new music ensemble Project C4 (2018-2020), and is a founding member of EMS: Extemporaneous Music Society. Davis is also an active concert organizer in the Kansas City music scene as the Vice President of KcEMA (Kansas City Electronic Music Alliance) and as the Production Coordinator of newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. In 2020, Davis co-founded Mother Brain Records with saxophonist & composer Michael Eaton. Mother Brain Records is a Midwest based label focused on releasing the works of artists in the experimental & improvised music scenes. Since 2019, Davis has been an artist resident with Charlotte Street Foundation.