photo by Nile Scott Studios
Known for their “inestimable chemistry” with “both intimacy and power” (Take Effect), Departure Duo creates “performances [that] are so secure, so colorful, so full of personality” that “the results are magical” (The Arts Fuse). As “virtuosic performers of undeniable gifts” (Fanfare), soprano Nina Guo and double bassist Edward Kass “simply draw the listener in” (The Arts Fuse) with their “phenomenal musicianship [and] humor” (Which Sinfonia).
Departure Duo is a pair of listening addicts dedicated to making music in the extreme, reveling in the unusual and new. Committed to performing and commissioning repertoire for their high+low combination, they have premiered dozens of new works resulting from in-depth collaborations, including commissions from Katherine Balch, Sarah Gibson, and Mikhail Johnson. In demand internationally, Departure Duo has sold out performances at Spoleto Festival USA, with recent highlights including Constellation’s Frequency Series (Chicago), Sequence at km28 (Berlin), and Yellow Barn, and more.
Praised as “a veritable playground for the ear” (The Arts Fuse) and a “remarkable release” (Fanfare), Departure Duo’s “exquisitely beautiful” (Avant Music News) debut album, Immensity Of, was released on New Focus Recordings in 2022.
Departure Duo has been in residence at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Brandeis University, UC Santa Barbara, and more, with upcoming residencies at Stanford University and Northwestern University.
In addition to performing, Departure Duo has cataloged over 170 pieces as part of their “30x’30” project with the goal of finding 30 hours of soprano and double bass repertoire by 2030.
Short or long bios available upon request.
Departure Duo
Nina Guo, soprano
Edward Kass, double bass
departureduo@gmail.com
PROGRAMS
SHARP TONGUES
A dazzling display of virtuosity comprising four commissions resulting from our close collaborations, this program is full of color and extreme variety. High energy showstoppers featuring Dorothy Parker’s caustic wit and a gleefully judgemental Death are presented alongside hypnotic and mesmerizing soundscapes of sliding tones and shimmering sounds.
emojicons - Emily Koh
Evil's Peak - Mikhail Johnson
The Boys Are There - Sarah Gibson
Immensity Of - Emily Praetorius
EXTREME HIGH, EXTREME LOW
Built from the repertoire that brought us together as a duo, this music shows off the expressive potential of soprano and double bass. With tormented passion, wry humor, and blossoming lyricism, we feature our award-winning, first commission Vidi l’angelo nel marmo by Katherine Balch, our newest commission by Tomás Gueglio, and some of the pillars of our high-low repertoire.
Vidi l'angelo nel marmo - Katherine Balch
Lotófagos - Beat Furrer
Murmelnszenen - Tomás Gueglio
yes I said yes I will Yes - Amy Beth Kirsten
Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs - György Kurtág
WORDPLAY
Playfulness with text takes center stage in this program. Poems are splintered into single phonemes; dramatic images are painted through sound; nonsense is clarified through musical logic. Language is broken apart and reassembled, leaving us with sonorities that transcend language, reaching us in a way words cannot describe.
Plain Truths from Timothy Dexter - John Liberatore
Tiergarten - John Aylward
Seer/Seen - Jesse Maker
Phrases - Katherine Balch
Immensity Of - Emily Praetorius
ONLY FOR NOISE
An exploration of the gradient within “quiet,” these four commissions invite a deeper listening to the vast range of sounds and colors in the space just before silence. Tranquility, agitation, loneliness, and softness– each one shows a different face of low dynamics.
de este desierto o tiempo - Quentin Tschofen
the keeper of sheep - Alex Jang
Only for noise - Rachel C. Walker
VULNERR - Daniel T. Lewis
EDUCATION | WORKSHOPS
Departure Duo is committed to preparing composers and performers for a professional life in new music. Through artist residencies, workshops, and seminars, Departure Duo has worked closely with students at institutions including Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Brandeis University, UC Santa Barbara, University of Georgia, and Clark University, with upcoming residencies at Stanford University and Northwestern University.
Educational offerings range from single session seminars to in-depth residencies with multiple visits over the academic year.
Our educational programs can be tailored to the institution and presented as individual events or alongside performances.
Offerings include:
University and conservatory artist residencies, creating new works in collaboration with student composers
Masterclasses, coachings, and workshops focused on contemporary music preparation and performance, emphasizing chamber music skills
Seminars on writing for soprano and double bass, including repertoire surveys, technical examples, notation, history, and more.
“Composer Playground” sessions for hands-on exploration of sounds and techniques
Sessions on entrepreneurship, “the industry”, and professional development
Individual lessons with composers, performers, or ensembles
PRESS
“the Duo’s performances are so secure, so colorful, so full of personality, that the album… is a veritable playground for the ear.”
- The Arts Fuse | Immensity Of
“their phenomenal musicianship [and] humor… continues to engage… and surprise”
- Which Sinfonia | Immensity Of
“Guo and Kass have a lightness of approach… not to mention complete command over their instruments, making listening a pure pleasure.”
- AnEarful, Best of 2022 | Immensity Of
“Departure Duo’s masterful performance makes a strong case… for their high-low partnership.”
- The Whole Note | Immensity Of
“sparse yet exquisitely beautiful”
- Avant Music News | Immensity Of
“inestimable chemistry”
- Take Effect | Immensity Of
“a treat for listeners”
- Infodad | Immensity Of
“Guo and Kass are virtuosic performers of undeniable gifts”
- Fanfare | Immensity Of
“Guo’s voice was pristine, while Kass infused contrasting elements of percussive bass and the acoustic stringed instrument’s tonal extremities - a delicate dance between high-low dialogue, life and death.”
- Post and Courier | Evil’s Peak at Spoleto Festival USA’s Music in Time series.