Stephan Haluska / Adam Shead Duo at Rozz-Tox -- August 9.
Saturday, August 9, 8 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
An inventive duo that explores the outer edges of sound through improvisation and experimental music, harpist Stephan Haluska and percussionist Adam Shead will blend their talents in an August 9 concert event at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox, their collaboration drawing on a shared commitment to sonic exploration and contemporary composition, creating performances as meditative as they are unpredictable.
Cleveland-based improviser, harpist, and composer Stephan Haluska draws from the instrument’s unique textural, percussive, physical, and kinetic qualities. Viewing the harp as a frequently misunderstood and underrepresented instrument in contemporary music, he often rejects conventional modes of playing in favor of finding new ways to expand his sound palette. Haluska plays with an advanced vocabulary of extended techniques and preparations, which explore the use of various tools, materials, gadgetry, and household objects, interweaving elements of found sound, collage, sound art, and movement into his artistic practice.
Since 2021, Haluska leads Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP) as Managing Director. CUSP is dedicated to strengthening the artistic engagement of the Northeast Ohio community by championing the creation and performance of new and experimental music through concert programming and other events. Haluska is on faculty at Case Western Reserve University as part-time lecturer in the music department, teaching music technology. He holds an MFA in harp performance with a concentration in Improvisation from Mills College in Oakland, California, where he studied with Zeena Parkins, Roscoe Mitchell, and James Fei. The musician also studied with Elainie Lillios and Mikel Kuehn at Bowling Green State University, where he received a BA in Music Composition and Theory.
Adam Shead is an accomplished percussionist, composer, improviser, and performance curator based in Chicago. He frequently performs with the Stein/Smith/Shead trio, microplastique, and Cellular Chaos, and is a sought-after percussionist in the Chicago jazz and improvised music scene. For nearly a decade, Shead has curated performances at notable Chicago art galleries such as Slate Arts & Performance and Comfort Station, where he helps promote both emerging and established artists, enriching the local cultural landscape.
Shead has collaborated with prominent figures such as Marilyn Crispell, Roscoe Mitchell, Jason Stein, Damon Smith, John Dikeman, Angel Bat Dawid, Mary Oliver, and Molly Jones, among others. He has released music through various record labels, including Amalgam, Ears & Eyes, Scripts, Balance Point Acoustics, Shifting Paradigm, and Irritable Mystic. Shead is the founder and composer of the Adiaphora Orchestra, microplastique, and Adam Shead Quintet, and works regularly as a sideman in such groups as Ben Zucker’s Fifth Season, the Jake Wark Quartet, and Undisclosed Sims. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from Columbia College Chicago, as well as a Master of Music in Contemporary Improvisation and a Graduate Certificate in Performance Studies from the University of Michigan.
The Stephan Haluska / Adam Shead Duo perform their Rock Island engagement on August 9, admission to the 8 p.m. all-ages concert is free, and more information is available by calling (309)200-0978 and visiting RozzTox.com.
