Wild Up to Create New Genre-Defying Music Work on Stage in Real Time at Sierra Madre Playhouse, Oct. 10 at Sierra Madre Playhouse

Wild Up, in partnership with Sierra Madre Playhouse, continues its L.A. Composer Series with a bold program that brings together four of LA’s most fearless musicians – Andrew Tholl, violin; Vicki Ray, piano; Marlon Martinez, bass; and Brian Walsh, clarinet/saxophone – who will co-devise a new genre-defying concert-length work on stage in real time, on Friday, October 10, 2025, at Sierra Madre Playhouse. The musical artists, all of whom are also composers and improvisors, will combine traditional notation with improvisation to create a compelling new work grounded in the moment.

The sonic adventure is part of Wild Up’s series spotlighting living composers working in Los Angeles. 

Tholl is a violinist, composer, and improvisor known for genre-blurring work blends the visceral and the experimental, spanning contemporary classical music, experimental rock and pop, improvisation, film, dance, and theater. His work explores the passage of time, the physicality of performance, noise, nostalgia, and memory. Tholl’s style is heavily informed by a synthesis of musical influences, the integration of improvisation, and a practice-led methodology.

Ray, a Grammy-nominated pianist, improviser and composer, has long championed new music, commissioning and premiering countless new works by today’s leading composers. She is a founding member of Piano Spheres and head of keyboard studies at the California Institute of the Arts. Ray has appeared on numerous international festivals and was a regular member of the faculty at the Bang On a Can Summer Festival at MASS MoCA.  

Martinez is a young virtuoso bassist and composer emerging at the center of the resurgent Los Angeles jazz scene, who has toured with a wide range of artists, from rock icon Stewart Copeland to the classical trailblazer Quatuor Ebène. A protégé of Stanley Clarke, he studied with legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter. Martinez is also the artistic director, composer and bassist of his big own band, Marlonius Jazz Orchestra.

Walsh, fluent in numerous musical styles, specializes in performance on the clarinet and bass clarinet. He performs with such diverse groups as Inauthentica, The New Century Players, The Industrial Jazz Group, PLOTZ!, The Doug McDonald Brass and Woodwind Coalition, and the Vinny Golia Large Ensemble. He also leads the Walsh Set Trio, a jazz ensemble focusing on the performance of his own compositions.

Wild Up is “L.A.’s transformative new music chamber orchestra and collective…founded 15 years ago by Christopher Rountree with a seemingly limitless collection of inventive ideas for bringing classical music into the 21st century and beyond” (Los Angeles Times).

For tickets ($12-$35) and information, please call 626.355.4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org. Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.