Members

Zaira Castillo

Zaira Castillo is a pianist and sound artist whose work blurs the boundaries between performance, experimentation, and community engagement. While trained as a classical pianist her practice has evolved toward creating immersive experiences through contemporary classical music, electroacoustic works, improvisation, and interdisciplinary projects. Integrating electronics, lighting, gesture, and found objects, she explores new ways for performers and audiences to interact with sound, space, and the body.

Zaira has appeared across Chicago and beyond in venues such as Constellation, Elastic Arts, the Epiphany Center for the Arts, Roosevelt University, Northwestern University, and the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York. Festival and series appearances include SPLICE, New Music Chicago’s Impromptu Fest, the Frequency Series, Elastic Arts’ Pianist and a Partner Perhaps, and the 2025 Time:Spans Festival with Ensemble Dal Niente.

An active educator, Zaira is a Steinway Educational Partner and teaches at the Music Conservatory of Illinois, mentoring the next generation of musicians.

Evan Kopca

Evan’s musical engagements span across a collective of genres and practices that explore classical, contemporary improvisation, jazz, rock, and lo-fi music. Along with performing with Duo Riso, Evan regularly plays traditional early jazz with The Do-Rights, video game music with Jamie Demeny's 4-player game, and is regularly a guest performer with various groups around Chicago.

Evan also performs and records extensive improvisational works that draw influence in post-rock, and electronic music. These interests have resulted in collaborations with the Pinson Chamber Band, a 2021 EP release with electronic artist Paige Gulley titled Maxim & Mantra, and participation in the 2019 Montreal Contemporary Music Lab. His bass clarinet playing will also be heard in the upcoming Blumhouse Spanish horror film, No me Sigas.

Evan posts videos of original lo-fi inspired music on his Youtube channel centered around clarinet melodies. Some of the recordings are also paired with original animations created through 2D & 3D modeling programs. Along with his own channel, Evan has also recorded clarinet for the award winning web series Diasporan on the NutzDesign YT Channel.

Evan received his Masters of Music from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and his Bachelor of Music from James Madison University. While Evan primarily performs on clarinet, he is also a proficient guitarist & electric bassist, and can be heard playing both in his solo music material.

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