Wild Up

Called “a raucous, grungy, irresistibly exuberant … fun-loving, exceptionally virtuosic family” by Zachary Woolfe of the New York Times, Wild Up has been lauded as one of classical music’s most exciting groups by virtually every significant institution and critic within earshot. Artistic Director Christopher Rountree founded the group in 2010 to eschew outdated ensemble and concert traditions by experimenting with different methodologies, approaches, and contexts.

Over the past decade the Grammy-nominated group accompanied Björk at Goldenvoice’s FYF Fest; brought a Julius Eastman portrait to the National Gallery; premiered David Lang and Mark Dion’s anatomy theater at L.A. Opera; gave the West Coast premiere of Ragnar Kjartansson’s 12-hour Mozartian epic Bliss; played the scores to Under the Skin by Mica Levi and Punch Drunk Love by Jon Brion live with the films at Los Angeles’ Regent Theater and Ace Hotel; premiered a new opera by Julia Holter at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust; premiered a new work by avant-pop icon Scott Walker and celestial loop-maker Juliana Barwick at Walt Disney Concert Hall; played a noise concert-fanfare for the groundbreaking of Frank Gehry’s new building on Grand Avenue and First Street in downtown Los Angeles; premiered hundreds of other works; held performance and educational residencies at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Colburn School, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, National Sawdust, the Hammer Museum, the Getty, and dozens of educational institutions across the country; and created two prolific series in L.A.—Endless Season and Darkness Sounding.

Wild Up’s critically acclaimed, two-time Grammy-nominated Julius Eastman re­cording anthology has been celebrated as “a masterpiece” (The New York Times), “instantly recognizable” (Vogue), and “singularly jubilant … a bit in your face, sometimes capricious, and always surprising” (NPR). The recordings have consistently been selected among the Top Ten in all genres by the New York Times and NPR.