On Friday, May 13 at 7:00 p.m., pt.fwd and the McLean County Museum of History are pleased to co-host the debut performance of Bloomington-Normal's most exciting new music group, the Normal Community High School Experimental Ensemble, with special guest Edward Breitweiser. The event will be presented in the Museum's first floor rotunda, and is free and open to the public.

The Ensemble is lead by Stefen Robinson and Zachary Sargent, both teachers at NCHS who also perform with the group. Eleven students make up the group, and together with their teachers, they "make adventurous music...." Student members include Matthew Beigie on cello, Cooper Jeb on piano, Lilly McClelland on bass guitar and trumpet, Ibrahim Muftee on electric guitar, John Nguyen on electric mandolin, Stefani Nguyen on bells and harmonium, Ram Paramatmuni on radio and record player, Audrie Schuller on violin, and Krishiv Sreejith on flute. Robinson performs on bass clarinet and percussion, and Sargent plays alto saxophone.

Selections for the performance will include Otomo Yoshihide's arrangement of Eric Dolphy's "Serene", and their own arrangement of "Early Grave" by The Contortionist. The program will conclude with their arrangement of Curtis Mayfield's "Think". In between those songs, improvisations by smaller groups within the larger ensemble will be featured.

Illinois-based artist, musician, and writer Edward Breitweiser will be joining the Ensemble as a guest artist, performing on synthesizer and electronics. 

The Museum continues to monitor the conditions that surround the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and how these conditions will impact our ability to hold future in-person programs. As long as current health and safety guidelines from the CDC and State of Illinois allow for in-person programming at that time, we plan to host this program in-person at the Museum. Please visit mchistory.org for updates on this and other upcoming programs.

Live stream available at: ESS on YouTube

All pt.fwd concerts are free and open to the public. pt.fwd is an independent non-profit program that organizes contemporary music and sonic arts performances in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.