Members

Zaira Castillo

Zaira Castillo is a dedicated pianist with a profound commitment to contemporary music and collaboration with living composers. Over recent years, she has commissioned and premiered numerous solo and chamber piano works, showcasing her passion for pushing musical boundaries. She completed her Masters in Piano Performance at the University of Georgia where she was awarded the Osborne Fellowship during her first year of study. During her second year of study, she was one of two graduates to receive the inaugural ArtsLab Fellowship, which recognizes graduate students in the arts who exhibit extraordinary potential to enhance research, practice and community engagement in the arts. As an active performer and a recent transplant to the Chicago area, she has premiered works at several local venues including, Constellation Chicago (Frequency Series), the Epiphany Center for the Arts (Impromptu Fest), Northwestern University, Roosevelt University (Faculty Concert), and Experimental Sound Studios (ESS). Based in Chicago, Zaira balances her career as a freelance pianist and private instructor with her roles as the pianist for Duo Riso and the publicity director and pianist of the Locus Ensemble.

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, and original jazz music with Azure Main. Evan also performs and records extensive improvisational works that draw influence in post-rock, and electronic music. These interests have resulted in ongoing 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.

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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