Kemper Unplugged: EcoTones
Curated to intersect with the themes of the exhibition Carolina Caycedo: Growing Deep Roots, EcoTones presents a concert of chamber jazz works inspired by St. Louis urban prairies; relationships of interdependence among plants, pollinators, and humans; and the health and wellbeing of St. Louis rivers and their nonhuman inhabitants.
Inspired by Caycedo’s ongoing work to connect human, flora, and fauna, the performance promotes an eco-social worldview of interrelatedness between humans and the natural world. Concertgoers are encouraged to visit the exhibition before or after the concert and, upon reflection, to consider the myriad native species of flora and fauna immediately surrounding the Museum as beings with agency, requiring time and space to develop into a mature and biodiverse local food web, thriving within a human-made campus environment.
Arrive early or stay after to grab lunch at the Museum’s Coffee Bar. Enjoy ice cream sandwiches from Sugarwitch, savory deli sandwiches from Parker’s Table, and pastries from Colleen’s. Members get 10% off your purchase with every visit. Learn more and join here.
These 45-minute concerts are free and open to the public.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences.
Performers
Jen Gartley, flute
Thomas Jostlein, alphorn & French horn
Tricia Jostlein, alphorn & French horn
Emily Aponte, alphorn & French horn
Joel Vanderheyden, saxophone
Alan Ferber, trombone
Jody Redhage Ferber, cello
Vince Varvel, guitar
Bob Deboo, bass
Biography
EcoTones Concerts are whimsical performances, braiding world-class musicians, audiences, and local public nature spaces to grow new audiences for live instrumental music and an eco-social worldview of interrelatedness among humans, flora, and fauna. Named “Best New Concert Series of 2022” by the Riverfront Times of St. Louis, EcoTones features instrumentalists and vocalists performing repertoire inspired by the flora and fauna surrounding performances, encouraging musicians and audiences to listen in a new way and to cultivate a sense of belonging within local nature spaces. EcoTones Concerts have presented once-in-a-lifetime performance events in Tower Grove Park and the legendary Bellefontaine Cemetery Arboretum in St. Louis, River Hook Preserve in Nyack, New York, and most recently in Madison Square Park in Manhattan, with an upcoming permanent audio trail of newly composed chamber music celebrating the park’s notable horticultural collections launching in fall 2026. Please visit www.ecotonesconcerts.org for information about upcoming live performances.