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Chris Sies. percussionist. collaborative artist.
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The powerhouse mixed-chamber ensemble Latitude 49 is dedicated to exploring new sounds, engaging diverse audiences, and holding hands with composers of today. Equally at home in urban clubs, modern art museums, classrooms, and traditional concert halls, Latitude 49’s genre-bending approach blends the finesse of a classical ensemble with the drive and precision of a progressive rock band. Members come together from across Canada and the United States, epitomizing an unconventional family of sounds, instruments, and human experiences.
L49’s work with living composers is at the heart of its mission, yielding over sixty premieres since the group’s founding in 2012. The 2016 release of Latitude 49’s Curious Minds was hailed as an “impressive debut” (Peter Margasak, Bandcamp Daily) featuring a collection of six works described as a “tapestry ...of oft-dazzling hues” (Textura). The ensemble’s extended family of composers ranges from aspiring students to Pulitzer prize-winning masters including Jared Miller, Garrett Schumann, Shulamit Ran, Mark Kilstofte, Pascal Le Boeuf, Loren Loiacono, Marc Mellits, and Chen Yihan to name a few. The 2019-2020 season marks Latitude 49’s debut on New Amsterdam Records with the release of their sophomore album, Wax and Wire, featuring works by Sarah Kirkland Snider, Viet Cuong, Annika Socolofsky and L49’s own Chris Sies.
L49 is known for their vibrant, passionate onstage presence, which the group has brought to performances at the Bowling Green New Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Chicago Cultural Center, Detroit’s Strange Beautiful Music, Constellation Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Art, and the Ear Taxi Festival in Chicago. Past seasons have seen a succession of specially curated programs, exploring themes through a weaving of music and multi-media: She celebrates the music of seven living women; Labyrinths explores mazes both ancient and modern, literal and imagined; Time Past and Time Present dives into the experiences and mechanisms of memory; This Might Hurt a Little takes a hard look at violence and its cultural permeation; and PLAY! is a playpen in concert form, blurring the lines between performers, composers, and audience members.
Latitude 49 has expanded to foster large-scale collaborations including Love Wounds, a fully-staged production presented in May 2019 with Chicago Fringe Opera, featuring new and established works by Christopher Cerrone during his 2017-2019 Composer Residency. Previous collaborations include performances at (le) Poisson Rouge and The Juilliard School with the Attacca Quartet and a community-focused partnership in Chicago with Chai Collaborative Ensemble to raise funds and awareness for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. L49 welcomes composer Juri Seo as Composer-In-Residence for the 2019-2021 seasons in addition to anticipated premieres of new works by Andrew McManus, Gity Razaz, and Evan Ware.
L49 carries its contagious energy beyond the concert hall, with extensive educational work throughout the country. Previous residencies include Baylor University, Princeton University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Kenosha Creative Space in Wisconsin has become a frequent home in recent years, hosting the ensemble for multiple educational visits each season. The ensemble has also presented workshops on commissioning and entrepreneurship as part of residencies across the nation at the University of Tennessee Martin, the University of Western Kentucky, Elmhurst College (IL), SUNY Fredonia, and the University of Toledo (OH). Latitude 49’s name is inspired by the border that rests between Canada and the United States, representing a bridge between artists, composers and listeners of today.
Willo is a creative outlet for a group of friends dedicated to experimentation and growth. The band has had its hand in several different projects including but not limited to creating electronic music, creating multi-media shows, collaborations with visual arts and dancers, playing house concerts, art galleries, etc. We use Willo as a means of exploration and expression through original composition, improvisation, and occasionally arrangements of our favorite existing works.
More on Willo here:
www.willocollective.bandcamp.com
Click HERE to listen to Willo's performance of Hanuman's Leap with Elliot.
I view improvisation as an important part of my identity. Much of my work as a composer (and interpreter) flows from a state of improvisation. I try to make my compositions feel improvised and my improvisations feel composed. The two sides influence and feed each other. I owe this notion to my work with Betsy Soukup and Ben Willis - two of my favorite people to play with. Be sure to check out Betsy and Ben's respective websites for more of their work as well as the projects listed here.
More on Betsy Soukup here:
More on Ben Willis here:
Original song by Betsy
Original song by Betsy
Improvisation structure by Ben Willis, performed by Men of the Cloth
Conor Barry, electronics/drumset; Collin Johnson, tenor saxophone; Ashley Manci, movement; Eric Schweizer, baritone saxophone; Chris Sies, percussion/drumset; Nola Smith, movement; Jonathan Taylor, drumset; Ben Willis, bass guitar
This page features some of the work I've been able to create with different choreographers. Be sure to check out the websites of my collaborators to see more of their work!
(renewed) (2013-14) is collaborative work between myself and dancer/choreographer Maddy Rager. Featured in the 2014 American College Dance Association's National Gala, (renewed) has been performed across the U.S. at venues including the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C. and was recently featured in the 2014 Michigan Muse. This work examines the relationship between performers and the ambiguity of their roles. There are three main components of the work: choreography, triangle playing, and the electronics. You can listen to the electronic component of (renewed) here.
More information on Maddy's work can be found here:
Color Suite (2013) is a large dance work choreographed by Maddy Rager for which I composed the music. Included here is the third and final section of the work. Music is for vibraphones, glockenspiel, and electronics. You can hear all of the music for this work on my Soundcloud.
Edges (2014) is a screen dance also by Maddy Rager that makes use of my work "Edges Burned" for percussion and electronics.
Dead Man's Float (2017) is a collaboration for solo dancer and percussionist that L. Brooke Schlecte and I made together. Most recently featured at the {254} Dance Festival in Waco, TX. You can find out more about Brooke's work here:
Other collaborators (click names for websites):
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