On Tuesday I visited Adam Murphy’s composition studies class at Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School to demonstrate the basics of tabla performance. Adam lectured on Indian classical music structure and I talked a bit on rhythmic theory. The students were all attentive and sharp, and had some great questions. Hopefully I’ll see them at the next Indian classical music concert here in town.

Monday night (November 12), Trevor Saint will be performing at the UWM Recital Hall at 7:30 pm. The first half of the program is a set of works for solo glockenspiel, mostly with electronics — including works by Matthew Burtner, Jeff Herriott, and Eric Sheffield/Anna Weisling, as well as a performance of Chris Burns’ work “Opalescence”. The second half of the program is a reprise of my work “Alligator Char”, with David Collins, Adam Murphy, Kevin Schlei, Amanda Schoofs, and Seth Warren-Crow joining Trevor in a structured ensemble improvisation. Trevor is an incredibly dynamic performer, and this will be a terrific event.

Monday, November 12
7:30 pm
PSOA Music Building Recital Hall

3223 N. Downer Ave.

TORCH is set to play a concert of original and classic works on November 7th at the Peck School of the Arts Recital Hall, 7:30 pm. The concert is free and open to the public, and should be an exciting debut of the ensemble.

I’m really happy with the way the group has come along since our first rehearsals, and also with the energy that they bring each week when we get together. I hope you can join us for a great concert!

TORCH is the TC-11 Orchestra. The ensemble includes: Chris Burns, Mary Francis, Bill Heinrichs, Brian Lynch, Michelle McKenzie, Adam Murphy, Elliot Patros, Grant Richter, Kevin Schlei, Steve Schlei, Jim Schoenecker.

TORCH – Nov. 7th, 7:30, PSOA Recital Hall

My first tabla recital has come and gone, and I wanted to post my short solo. It was fun to get out there and play, and the crowd was generous and supportive. Afterwards I had the extreme pleasure of hearing Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan play an incredible concert with my tabla instructor Hindole Majumdar. What a great evening.

Click on the thumbnail for the tabla solo:

Some great shots of MiLO by Paul Mitchell (website). Pictured are: Christopher Burns, David Collins, Adam Murphy, Elliot Patros, Kevin Schlei, Steve Schlei, Jim Schoenecker, Amanda Schoofs, Seth Warren-Crow.

Next Wednesday Night, August 29, I’ll be joining some excellent musicians to perform music by Christopher Burns. The show will feature some heavy improvisation with formal instruction. We had a rehearsal last night, and all I can say is that the pieces are a blast to perform. The lineup:

David Collins, sax
Adam Murphy, clarinet
Trevor Saint, percussion
Kevin Schlei, percussion
Amanda Schoofs, voice
Seth Warren-Crow, drums

Wednesday, August 29
8:00 pm
Borg Ward Gallery

823 W. National Ave.

From ‘An Evening with Hindole Majumdar and Kevin Schlei,’ here is a short improvisation called Idiom.

Idiom from Kevin Schlei on Vimeo.

On Sunday, August 19th I will be joined by Hindole Majumdar for an eclectic evening of Classical Indian Percussion and live electronics. Hindole will bring his tabla expertise to Milwuakee, and I will be performing on my own custom instruments (primarily TC-11). There will be solo works and duets featured on the concert.

Come see the collision of two musical styles in an exciting evening of percussion and electronics. Maestro Hindole Majumdar brings Indian classical percussion to Milwaukee with his tabla mastery, and UWM’s own Kevin Schlei presents his cutting edge work on live electronic synthesis.

Sunday, Aug. 19 – 7:30pm
PSOA Music Building
Recital Hall MUS 175
$12 general / $10 student / $5 PSOA student

Tonight at the Sugar Maple MiLO will be performing a full set of improvisations. This time, the show will feature small sets of player ‘sub-groups.’ The mixture of sound sources and styles will be a sonic grab bag – come check it out!

The lineup:
Christopher Burns – electric guitar
David Collins – saxophone, electronics
Adam Murphy – iPad (using Kevin Schlei’s TC-11 software)
Elliot Patros – laptop
Kevin Schlei – tabla, laptop
Steve Schlei – iPad (TC-11)
Jim Schoenecker – Nord modular
Amanda Schoofs – voice, electronics
Seth Warren-Crow – tabla, electronics

More info over at the MiLO tumblr: http://milo-ensemble.tumblr.com/

This Saturday Seth Warren-Crow and I are performing at the Borg Ward Collective. It will be a night of electronic music, live video, tabla improvisation, and more. Seth and I will be joined by Trees Fall, the Milwaukee electronic music and video gurus. It should be a fantastic evening! The show starts at 8:00.