The Space

The Musicians at “Their Own Devices”

Posted by SoundBox

April 8, 2015

Christopher Rountree

Christopher Rountree, who leads these SoundBox performances, is the founder, conductor, and creative director of the L.A. chamber orchestra wild Up. wild Up started in 2010 with no funding and no musicians, driven only by his vision of a world-class orchestra that creates visceral, provocative experiences that are unmoored from classical traditions. Whether he’s conducting, composing or curating a program, Christopher’s approach is united by high energy and a deep connection between the music, musicians, and audience.

Tom Hemphill

Tom Hemphill is a percussionist with the San Francisco Symphony, and also has a strong interest in jazz. He is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory. He was an organizer of the San Francisco Percussion Ensemble and currently serves as a coach of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Raymond Froehlich

Raymond Froehlich is a percussionist with the San Francisco Symphony. A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he was previously a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and a timpanist with the Berkeley Symphony. He performs with several jazz ensembles in the Bay Area, as well as a rock trio and Ultra World X-tet, which combines Chinese instruments—the guzheng and pipa—with saxophone, electric guitar, and bass.

Sarah Cahill

Sarah Cahill has commissioned, premiered, and recorded numerous compositions for solo piano. Sarah enjoys working closely with composers, musicologists, and scholars to prepare scores for performance. Composers who have dedicated works to her include John Adams, Terry Riley, Frederic Rzewski, Pauline Oliveros, Annea Lockwood, and Evan Ziporyn. She has also premiered pieces by Lou Harrison, Julia Wolfe, Ingram Marshall, Toshi Ichiyanagi, George Lewis, Leo Ornstein, and many others. Her radio show, Revolutions Per Minute, can be heard every Sunday from 8 to 10 pm on KALW, 91.7 FM in San Francisco. She is on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory, hosts a new music series at the Exploratorium, and curates a monthly series of new music concerts at the Berkeley Art Museum.

Amos Yang

Amos Yang is Assistant Principal Cello with the San Francisco Symphony. Born and raised in San Francisco, he was a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and San Francisco Boys Choir. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard. He has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the US, including regular appearances with the Seattle Chamber Music Society and at the Olympic Music Festival. From 1996 to 2002 he was the cellist in the Maia String Quartet. Amos’s awards include the CD Jackson Prize at the Tanglewood Music Festival. He has served on the faculties of the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Iowa, Grinnell College, and the Interlochen Advanced String Quartet Institute.