cenOte | experimental | prepared guitar | flute | gregory hoffman | gwen young
electronics | fretless guitar | free improv | bells | percussion | toy piano | melodica
broken autoharp | half-size violin |recorder | duo | viola | bowl | marble | rattle
whistles | voice | microtonal | metal | wood | air | water | north carolina | searchers
bio
cenOte is experimental free improvisation by Gwen Young and Gregory Hoffman. The word originates from the Mayan dz’onot, describing a cave or sinkhole filled with water, considered a portal to the underworld. Using an eclectic array of acoustic and electronic instruments, the NC duo creates surreal soundscapes to map a sunken dominion.
projects
In addition to live performance, cenOte engages in site-specific interactions with intuitive artist environments, landscapes, and intriguing points of interest. See projects for more information.
affiliated activities
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Improvisation Workshop, UNC School of the Arts Experimental Improvisation Summer Mini-Fest, July 6,2024
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Improvisation Workshop, UNC School of the Arts Summer Contemporary Music Mini-Festival, July 1, 2023
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A Page of Madness by Teinosuke Kinugasa - a live improvised soundtrack to the 1926 silent film by the Tatsuya Nakatani Orchestra - November 1, 2022. Shadowbox Studio, Durham, NC. More info here. [Greg, prepared guitar; Gwen, flute]
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Concert for Piano and Orchestra by John Cage - April 27, 2019. S.E.M. Ensemble, directed by Petr Kotik, with Joseph Kubera, piano. Neo-Pastiche Festival, Black Mountain College + Art Museum, Black Mountain, NC. More info here and here. [Greg, viola; Gwen, flute]
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Graffiti Composition by Christian Marclay - April 11, 2017. Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC. More info here. [Greg, prepared guitar and electronics; Gwen, flute and electronics]
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knives of spain is an experimental song/sound project by Gwen Young (multi-instrumental + voice)
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Gregory Hoffman studied composition and builds sound devices
projects
Site-specific interactions with self-taught / intuitive artist environments
Site: Randyland L.A.
Artist: Randlett (Randy) King Lawrence (b. 1956)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Built: begun 2000
Visit date: 2.23.2025
Site: The Watts Towers
Artist: Sabato (Simon) Rodia (1875 - 1965)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Built: 1921-1954
Visit date: 2.22.2025
Site: East Jesus
Artist: Charles Stephen Russell (1965 - 2011) and many others
Location: Niland, CA
Built: begun 2007
Visit date: 2.20.2025
Site: Salvation Mountain
Artist: Leonard Knight (1931 - 2014)
Location: Niland, CA
Built: 1984-2011
Visit date: 2.20.2025
Site: Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Art
Artist: Noah Purifoy (1917 - 2004)
Location: Joshua Tree, CA
Built: 1989-2004
Visit date: 2.19.2025
Site: Tio's Tacos
Artist: Martin Sanchez
Location: Riverside, CA
Built: begun 1980s?
Visit date: 2.18.2025
Site: Clarke Bedford's house and vehicles
Artist: Clarke Bedford (b. 1947)
Location: Hyattsville, MD
Built: begun early 2000s?
Visit date: 9.14.2024
Site: Rock Star Meadow
Artist: Nick Della Penna (b. 1941) and Estelle Ross (1945 - 2016)
Location: Rock Hill, NY
Built: begun 1988
Visit date: 7.20.2024
Site: OPUS 40
Artist: Harvey Fite (1903 - 1976)
Location: Saugerties, NY
Built: built 1938-1976 (unfinished)
Visit date: 7.19.2024
Site: Hartman Rock Garden
Artist: H. G. “Ben” Hartman (1882 - 1944)
Location: Springfield, OH
Built: 1932-1944
Visit date: 4.10.2024 Video
Site: Temple of Tolerance
Artist: Jim Bowsher (1948 - 2024)
Location: Wapakoneta, OH
Built: 1981-1999
Visit date: 4.8.2024
Site: Tinkertown Museum
Artist: Ross Ward (1940 - 2002), and Carla Ward
Location: Sandia Park, NM
Built: 1967-2002
Visit date: 10.16.2023
Site: Leroy Gonzales's Bottle House
Artist: Leroy Gonzales
Location: Golden, NM
Built: ?
Visit date: 10.16.2023
Site: Studio 3115
Artist: Ken Wolverton (b. 1944)
Location: Madrid, NM
Built: begun 1989?
Visit date: 10.13.2023
Site: Bill Loyd Bells and Sculpture
Artist: Bill Loyd (b.?)
Location: Truchas, NM
Built: begun ?
Visit date: 10.12.2023 Video
Site: The Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden
Artist: Pearl Fryar (b. 1940)
Location: Bishopville, SC
Built: begun 1983
Visit date: 9.22.2018
Site: Easter Island on the Hudson
Artist: Ted Ludwiczak (1926 - 2016)
Location: Haverstraw, NY
Built: built 1988–2016
Visit date: 6.2.2018 and 7.21.2024
Site: Fortress of Faith
Artist: Floyd "Junior" Banks (b. 1946)
Location: Greenback, TN
Built: begun 1993
Visit date: 6.11.2017 & 3.21.2019 Video
Site: Home for Wayward Babydolls
Artist: Cecil R. Ison and Bet Ison
Location: Morehead, KY
Built: collection begun late 1980s?, current environment early 2000s
Visit date: 11.5.2016 and 10.13.2019 Video
Site: Shangri-La
Artist: Henry Warren (1883 - 1978)
Location: Prospect Park, NC
Built: 1968-1977
Visit date: 8.21.2016 and 4.21.2018
Site-specific interactions (landscapes, celestial events, historical sites, curiosities, etc.)
Description: Joshua Tree National Park
Location: Joshua Tree, CA
Date: 2.19.2025 and 2.21.2025
Description: Total eclipse
Location: Wapakoneta, OH
Date: 4.8.2024
Description: Garden of the Gods
Location: Sante Fe, NM
Date: 10.16.2023
Description: Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness
Location: Bloomfield, NM
Date: 10.15.2023
Description: Annular eclipse
Location: Ojito Wilderness, Jemez Pueblo, NM
Date: 10.14.2023
Description: NM-76 (High Road to Taos)
Location: Truchas, NM
Date: 10.12.2023
Description: Quartz boulder
Location: Uwharrie National Forest, Troy, NC
Date: 12.26.2020
Description: The Rock House
Location: Pinnacle, NC
Date: 12.23.2020 and 12.25.2020 Video
Note: Built 1770, home of Jack and Nancy Shipp Martin.
Description: Bold Moon Preserve
Location: McLeansville, NC
Date: 6.12.2020, 12.11.2020, 10.2.2021
Note: Former site of a 1980s lesbian separatist commune, based on the principles of Womyn's Land, an intentional women-only community and social movement.
Description: Old Burying Ground
Location: Beaufort, NC
Date: 9.16.2017, 9.28.2021, 8.2.2023
Note: Early-1700s cemetery, Revolutionary and Civil War graves and site of the "Little Girl Buried"
Description: Total eclipse
Location: Huckleberry Knob, Nantahala National Forest, Cheoah, NC
Date: 8.21.2017 Video