The Paul Dresher Ensemble

06/12/2026

Next Thursday, June 18, at 5 PM, Joel Davel and I will present a special program with the Dresher Davel Invented Instrument Duo at the Hosfelt Gallery.

RSVP Donation : givebutter.com/hosfelt

Using our hand-built instruments—including the Quadrachord and the Hurdy Grande—we will create a unique and immersive musical experience unlike any other.

This one-night-only event supports the Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency (DEAR), which each year provides six early-career artists with studio space, professional production resources, mentorship, and a $1,500 stipend to help bring bold new work to life.

Attendance begins with a suggested donation of $35, and guests are invited to contribute at higher levels to further support DEAR and the next generation of adventurous artists.

Experience an unforgettable performance while helping sustain a program that gives emerging artists the time, space, and support they need to create.

Hosfelt Gallery 260 Utah Street, San Francisco

The Gallery has two amazing exhibitions: Isabella Kirkland and Patricia Piccinini

Join the Dresher–Davel Invented Instrument Duo at Hosfelt Gallery for an evening of music, art, and community supporting the DEAR Residency program

06/05/2026

Tomorrow
RAGA & RAGINI
Saturday, June 6, 2026 · 7:30 PM
Dresher Ensemble Studio, West Oakland

Some musical traditions invite us to listen differently. In Hindustani classical music, a raga is more than a scale or a melody—it is a living musical personality, capable of evoking particular emotions, seasons, times of day, and states of mind. For centuries, musicians have explored these intricate musical worlds through improvisation, creating performances that are at once deeply structured and completely unique to the moment.

Join us for an enchanting evening of Hindustani classical music featuring acclaimed vocalist Sohini Mojumdar and sarod virtuoso Sougata Roy Chowdhury, accompanied by Gaurav Kale on tabla and Rajdeep Singh on harmonium.

Sougata Roy Chowdhury is a distinguished sarod player whose expressive artistry, deep grounding in the Hindustani classical tradition, and captivating performances have moved audiences throughout India, Europe, and the United States. Trained from a young age within the lineage of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan under several eminent gurus, he combines technical mastery with a sensitive and soulful musical voice that speaks equally to seasoned listeners and newcomers.

Sohini Mojumdar is a highly regarded Hindustani classical vocalist known for her deeply expressive singing and refined command of raga. Rooted in a rich musical tradition and trained under eminent gurus, she blends intellectual depth with emotional nuance. Her elegant artistry and soulful interpretations have captivated audiences across India and internationally.

Together with master accompanists Gaurav Kale (tabla) and Rajdeep Singh (harmonium), they will create an evening of musical dialogue, improvisation, and beauty—an opportunity to experience one of the world's great classical traditions in an intimate setting.

Dresher Ensemble Studio
2201 Poplar Street, Oakland, CA

https://raga-ragini.eventbrite.com

05/02/2026

I’d love to invite you to join us this Sunday, May 3, at ELEVEN (11) AM for something truly special—Morning Ragas at the studio.

There’s a unique magic to music in the late morning. In the tradition of North Indian classical music, certain ragas are meant to be experienced at this exact hour—when the day is just unfolding, and the mind is especially open. It’s a rare opportunity to encounter this music as it was intended: immersive, meditative, and deeply alive.

We are honored to welcome Indradeep Ghosh, an exceptional violinist whose artistry blends breathtaking virtuosity with deep sensitivity and a profound understanding of the raga tradition. His performances draw you in completely, revealing layer upon layer of nuance and expression.

He will be joined by Sudhakar Vaidyanathan (tabla), a highly regarded Bay Area artist trained under Shri Satish Tare and Padma Shri Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and a regular collaborator with the Chitresh Das Institute

Together, they promise a performance that is both grounding and uplifting—a beautiful way to begin your Sunday.

I hope you’ll come share this moment with us

https://morning-ragas.eventbrite.com

04/30/2026

Tomorrow Friday, May 1, & Saturday, May 2 at 8 PM
Merlin Coleman and Amy X Neuburg will present two very different multi-channel song cycles, in which you will be surrounded by sounds and stories emanating from the studio’s Meyer Sound audio system.

In Merlin Coleman’s DISPATCHES from the CHARCOAL FOREST, a group of six singers—two of whom are members of the acclaimed vocal ensemble Kitka—move through the space, singing over a quadraphonic audio sculpture composed of found recordings, collected sounds, and interviews reflecting on the 2017 Sonoma County Tubbs Fires.

Amy X Neuburg’s “Come to My House” explores themes of house and home, comfort and discomfort, through an eclectic collection of eight songs emanating from eight audio speakers. Ranging from the meditative loops of potato chip crunches to spiraling legal jargon to downright pop, Amy’s songs are lush, complex, and emotional, always featuring her signature humor and colorful lyrics. More Information >>​​

Dresher Ensemble Studio
2201 Poplar Street, Oakland, CA

https://merlin-and-amy.eventbrite.com

04/24/2026

I’ve known Carl since we met at Cal Arts and I heard his electronic score for an animated film and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. While a true pioneer in live electronic music performance, Carl was also one of the first three commissions we did for the Electro-Acoustic Band in 1993, for which he composed Ruen Pair, which we premiered in Japan in the fall of 1993. A few years ago, we started improvising together in Carl’s performance format, i.e. he grabs fragments of the sound/music I’m producing on the Hurdy Grande (one of my invented musical instruments), and puts it through the remarkable transformations he does with his laptop. It’s always a pleasure to make music together and it’s always a surprise what results.

Dresher Ensemble Studio
2201 Poplar street, Oakland CA
Buy Tickets Online

tinyurl.com/carlstone2

04/18/2026

From Paul Dresher: I’ve long been a Virtual Reality [VR] skeptic, judging it to be a medium primarily for gamers, since that has been one of its main applications. But just seconds after donning the VR headset and picking up the hand controller for "Point Line Piano” - composer/media artist Jaroslaw Kapuściński’s amazing VR installation - I was instantly immersed in a truly vast and fully 3-dimensional universe of intense visual and sonic beauty. Taking off the headset after 30 minutes of immersion in this gorgeous abstract space (and it truly feels like space), I experienced a very surprising shock in my return to our “normal" world. I’ve now watched half a dozen people discover this entirely new visual reality, and all were deeply moved by the experience.

If you - like me - have been a skeptic of or curious about VR, I strongly encourage you to stop by the Dresher Ensemble Studio TODAY, Saturday, from 2 - 6 PM for a free opportunity to explore this new medium for yourself. (We have 15 20-minute slots available)

Come to draw and compose immersive musical worlds in VR. Explore the boundaries of your imagination.

04/18/2026

Tonight Only (April 18): Pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi Performs Kapuściński (Interactive Projection) + Jarosław Kapuściński Live Virtual Reality Performance.

Step into a new dimension of music and image.
Join us for a rare evening of immersive performance featuring Jarosław Kapuściński (Stanford University) and pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi. Blending live piano, interactive video, and virtual reality, this program invites audiences into a fully responsive audiovisual world.


The evening comprises two parts
Part I: Piano + Interactive Visuals features two piano-and-video works by Jaroslaw Kapuściński. The piano performance by new music specialist Keisuke Nakagoshi is carefully tracked by a computer that responds with large-scale video projections that follow the score.

Juicy (2009) pairs piano with interactive projection, revealing unexpected connections between music and visual form.

Side Effects (2017) combines live piano with aerial imagery, exploring the relationship between nature and human intervention through a series of vivid, shifting landscapes.

Point Line Piano (2024) is a groundbreaking VR work in which drawing in space generates music in real time—transforming gesture into an immersive audiovisual experience.

Part II: Live VR Performance Kapuściński performs inside virtual space, drawing music into existence—projected live for the audience. Audience members will have the opportunity to experience the VR environment following the performance.

More Information and Tickets >>
https://Point_Line_Piano.eventbrite.com

04/14/2026

We’re thrilled to present the Bay Area premiere of Point Line Piano, a groundbreaking VR installation and performance by Jarosław Kapuściński, originally premiered at ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe.

🎧 VR INSTALLATION (Free)
April 15–18 | 2–6 PM
(20-minute sessions for two participants)
👉 RSVP required https://Point-Line-Piano-VR.eventbrite.com

Enter a virtual environment where you draw lines in space—and sound emerges.
Your gestures become music. Your movement shapes a living composition.

LIVE PERFORMANCE + VR
April 17 & 18 | 7:30 PM

Featuring pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi, this unique evening combines piano, large-scale projections, and live VR performance. Watch as music is drawn into existence in real time—and step inside the experience yourself.

This is not just something you watch.
It’s something you enter.

Dresher Ensemble Studio, 2201 Poplar Street, Oakland
👉 Tickets: https://Point_Line_Piano.eventbrite.com

Experience a piano concert brought to life by interactive visuals and a live VR performance.

04/05/2026

When I started the DEAR Residency, I wanted to create a place where artists could fully inhabit their process—where technical experimentation, collaboration, and imagination could unfold without limits.

That vision continues today.

Tomorrow is the final day to apply for the 2026–2027 residency.
If your work would benefit from sustained time in a fully equipped studio, I encourage you to apply.

www.dresherensemble.org/dear

01/25/2026

Tonight West Oakland Sound Series (Woss) presents
ANDY MEYERSON (The Living Earth Show) — solo

San Francisco–based percussionist Andy Meyerson brings his electrifying and expansive musical world to WOSS for an evening of solo performance and bold collaborations.

Meyerson is a vital and fearless presence in today’s experimental scene:
The Living Earth Show guitarist Travis Andrews and percussionist Andy Meyerson)
Co-founder and drummer of q***r nü-metal collective COMMANDO
Music director of renegade dance company Post:ballet
Drummer for Russian feminist protest/performance art group P***y Riot

Expect visceral percussion, unexpected textures, and a spirit of risk and play that perfectly fit the Tonight West Oakland Sound Series

First Act
STRING THING #2
Made by Fae Ordaz and Penina Biddle-Gottesman, the first String Thing was born from a bucket of discarded piano bass strings. Fastened with nails to two blocks of scrap wood, at their best they produced a low resounding thud. A year later the second String Thing came to fruition, this time made of harpsichord strings and a cigar box, fashioned with guitar pegs, heart-shaped holes, and bridges. These strings are strong and thin, bending and stretching with the bodies that animate them. STRING THING #2 exists in the space between the two bodies that wear it, and the bonded trust. They are its backbone. Without them it makes no sound.

WEST OAKLAND SOUND SERIES

Sunday at 7:15 PM
sfsound.info
bit.ly/w-o-s-s [tickets]

SUNDAY JANUARY 25 2026 7:15PM
STRING THING #2
ANDY MEYERSON