Description

Three From The Vault is the debut of a chamber trio of seasoned Chicago musicians that draws upon a massive range of musical and performance practice. Cellist Katinka Kleijn may be the most renowned of the lineup, as a member of both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and International Contemporary Ensemble. But she’s not ever one to follow a predictable or dependable path. Her exploratory, interactive creative practice leads her into every last corner of the performance world, mining the fertile intersection of improvisation, composition, and performance art. Kohl’s work similarly transcends genre. Trained as a cellist, she also incorporates synthesizers, field recordings, toy instruments and radios into her work, searching for a balance between virtuosity and curiosity. She gravitates towards sound practices which reveal and speak to their time and place: field recording, improvisation, radio broadcast and transmission. And she often focuses on mundane or pedestrian sounds – sounds which often go unnoticed or under-documented, searching for the profound, unknown, and beautiful in everyday life. Rempis – a stalwart of the Chicago improvised music scene most associated with blustery, driving bands, also knows how to mine more pastoral territory, highlighting the breathy timbral worlds of his instrument.

This digital release documents the trio’s first performance – a live concert they organized in October 2025 at the historic May Chapel in Chicago’s Rosehill Cemetery. Built in 1898 by German craftsman to memorialize Horatio N. May, a Chicago scion of groceries and dry goods, as well as one of the first paid firefighters in the city, The May Chapel has become a beloved sanctuary of the Chicago improvised music scene over the last decade. Concerts here take place sporadically, only a handful of times each year. And the beauty of this intimate room, where gold-filtered light streams through massive stained-glass panels onto dark wooden beams and mosaic-tiled floors, make each one of those a cherished occasion.

On Three From The Vault, we hear a new chamber trio tapping into the unique character of that room to produce music of patiently detailed elegance. Never rushed, never overbearing. At times, shifting long tones melt into one another like fondue; never quite revealing which instrument produces them, nor where they begin or end. At others, feathery upper partials dance on top of scraped strings to produce quiet but driving textural momentum. And throughout, an uncanny harmonic sensibility arises between these three to produce mercurial cadences whose beauty confirms their innate logic.

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