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bio​

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cenOte is experimental free improvisation by Gregory Hoffman and Gwen Young.  Layering acoustic and electronic timbres, they create otherworldly, off-kilter soundscapes with prepared instruments, extended techniques, circuit bent toys, damaged record players, radios, tape machines, contact mics, analog synths, electronics, and anything else within reach. In performance, the duo maps a sunken dominion, enters a fugue state, summons the uncanny.

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cenOte is experimental free improvisation by Gregory Hoffman and Gwen Young.  The duo creates off-kilter electro-acoustic soundscapes with prepared instruments, circuit bent toys, record players, synths, and more.   In performance, the duo maps a sunken dominion, enters a fugue state, summons the uncanny.

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projects

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In addition to live performance, the cenOte project encompasses collaborations and improvised site-specific interactions, including:

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• Site-specific interactions with outsider artist environments

• Site-specific activation of natural/man-made // wonders/disasters, including celestial events, biospheric interactions, landscapes, historical sites, curiosities, etc.

• Collaborations with dancers, poets, film makers, etc.

• Video artifacts of performances and improvised sound for self-produced film projects

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See here for more information.​

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affiliated activities

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As individual musicians, Gwen Young and Gregory Hoffman have participated in ensembles performing pieces by composers working with improvisation:

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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]

• Concerto 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]

• 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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Greg and Gwen have also taught improvisation workshops at the UNC School of the Arts Summer Contemporary Music Mini-Festival, (July 1, 2023) and UNCSA Experimental Improvisation Summer Mini-Fest (July 6,2024).  Both workshops were geared towards high school musicians with little or no improvisation experience.​​​

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