Madlener House
4 West Burton Place
Chicago, Illinois 60610
Telephone: 312.787.4071
info@grahamfoundation.org

Hxh_1

HxH
Lampo Performance Series
Feb 15, 2025 (7pm)
Performance

Free; RSVP required

Cellist Lester St. Louis and trumpeter Chris Williams are the electroacoustic duo HxH (pronounced “H by H”). Together, they blend acoustic sound, grainy electronics, breaks, cuts, and beats into a kind of expansive, post-techno experimentalism that unfolds with a sense of limitless possibility. For Lampo, St. Louis and Williams premiere loop.max.infinite, a concert-length performance featuring strings, horn, and sample-based electronics, presented in quad sound.

HxH has performed at Pioneer Works, Roulette Intermedium, The Kitchen, Musik Installationen Nürnberg, ‘T’ Space Rhinebeck, The Lot Radio, and Abasement. The duo has collaborated with artists and organizations including Torkwase Dyson, fields harrington, Black Science Fiction, Found Sound Nation, TAK Ensemble, and the International Contemporary Ensemble.

HxH has performed at Pioneer Works, Roulette Intermedium, The Kitchen, Musik Installationen Nürnberg, ‘T’ Space Rhinebeck, The Lot Radio, and Abasement. The duo has collaborated with artists and organizations including Torkwase Dyson, fields harrington, Black Science Fiction, Found Sound Nation, TAK Ensemble, and the International Contemporary Ensemble.

Lester St. Louis (b.1993, Queens, NY) is a New York-based composer, improviser, cellist, sound designer, and curator. He did not begin playing the cello until he was 16 years old and quickly learned that he has perfect pitch. Upon graduating high school, he audited classes all over New York City, studying cello, theory, musicianship and composition, all without the aid of an institution. Since then, he has performed through the United States, Europe, South America, and China. In addition to his duo HxH with Chris Williams, he has collaborated with Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die, Ben Lamar Gay, Yaeji, Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, Miho Hatori, Dré A. Hočevar, Charmaine Lee, Otim Alpha, Nate Wooley, Isabel Crespo Pardo, TAK Ensemble, Random International, Irreversible Entanglements, Pheroan Aklaff, Terence Nance, Wet Ink Ensemble, and many more. The JACK Quartet, RAGE Thormbones, Jennifer Koh, String Noise, and Ghost Ensemble have commissioned his compositions. St. Louis also cocurates a monthly series in Brooklyn with bassist Luke Stewart called Assembly.

Chris Williams (b.1990, Sacramento, CA) is an interdisciplinary artist and musician based in Brooklyn. His work explores the dyad of ancestral trauma and power existing in all Black Americans. Williams has toured extensively throughout the UnitedStates and Europe. He has been commissioned by the International Contemporary Ensemble and WasteLAnd, the Los Angeles concert series. He was 2023 American Composers Forum Fellow and a 2024 Hermitage Artist Retreat Fellow, and he has been in residence at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Collaborators include Eyvind Kang, Joanna Mattrey, Lester St. Louis, Patrick Shiroishi, Bennie Maupin, Nicole Mitchell, Fay Victor, Wendy Eisenberg, Yaeji, Luke Stewart, Pink Siifu, and Marjani Forte-Saunders.

Lampo, established in 1997, supports artists working in new music, experimental sound, and other interdisciplinary practices. The Chicago-based organization's core activity has been and remains its performance series. Rather than making programming decisions around tour schedules, Lampo invites selected artists to create and perform new work, and then the organization provides the space, resources, and curatorial support to help them fulfill their vision. Lampo also organizes artist talks, lectures, screenings, and workshops, and publishes written and recorded documents related to its series.

Please note that registration for Lampo programs is required, but does not guarantee entry.  Capacity for this performance is limited. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the performance and seats are available on a first-come, first-serve basis for those registered in advance. Due to the popularity of the Lampo programs, performances quickly reach capacity. No late seating will be permitted. This performance series includes high-volume sounds in close proximity to the audience, ear protection is available upon request.

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Unless otherwise noted,
all events take place at:

Madlener House
4 West Burton Place, Chicago

Gallery and Bookshop Hours:
Wednesday–Saturday, 12–5 p.m.

CONTACT
312.787.4071
info@grahamfoundation.org



Accessibility

Events are held in the ballroom on the third floor which is only accessible by stairs.
The first floor of the Madlener House is accessible via an outdoor lift. Please call 312.787.4071 to make arrangements.