The Vortex Other Dimension blends the worlds of contemporary classical music and contemporary improvisation as a means for spontaneous music creativity. Todd Brunel and Improbable Beasts director Jonathan Russell are teaming up with 3 other Beasts, pianist Peter Cassino, saxophonist Erik Van Dam, trumpet player Eric Dahlman and drummer John Dalton to bring an evening of uncompromising music discovery. The core idea of this concert is to have a unified thread behind elements of notation and pure improvisation.

Todd Brunel is a critically acclaimed clarinetist and sax player who performs extensively as a classical and jazz musician. He has worked with such artists as The Irish Tenors, Judy Collins, Andy Pratt, John Tchicai, Lawrence ‘Butch’ Morris, poet Regie Gibson, Garrison Fewell, Bobby Watson, David Maxwell, Celtic Women, Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five, Guo Yhazhi, and many others. He has worked and recorded with the Whites Snakes Projects, WGBH Television,The Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Opera Ebony of Harlem, Music At Eden’s Edge and the legendary White Heat Swing Orchestra. Many of his recordings can be found on Innova Recordings, Revello Records, PBS, Creative Nation Music, Leo Records, and Navona Records. Brunel was in the band for Front Porch Arts Collective’s 2022 critically acclaimed productions of Ain't Misbehavin’. His current original music projects include: Know Orchestra, Dr Dougies Dangerous Delights, Peter Cassino and Friends, Improbable Beasts, The David Haas Group: Coalition of the Willing, Tom Casale's No Bad Parts, The Roaring Foxes, Occasional Brass, and Jerome Deupree's Listen to This. He was an original founding member of Musaner (Music of Armenia re-imagined), The Lilli Lewis Project and The Eric Hofbauer Quintet. He holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Boston Conservatory where he was a student of Atilio Poto and a Master of Music Degree from Brooklyn College Conservatory where he was a graduate assistant to professor Paul Shelden.

Eric Dahlman has performed with PEK, Hal Russell, David Williams, Jed Speare, Thomas Wilkins and Rakalam Bob Moses. He has studied with Anthony Davis, John Luther Adams Dave Frank.

Erik Van Dam is an improviser and composer specializing in soprano, alto, tenor saxophones and flute. Having studied with the highly acclaimed Joe Lovano and later Hal Crook, Erik has gone on to draw inspiration from many influences, including Lovano, Sam Rivers, and Eric Dolphy. Erik has crafted a sound of his own. He has also spent time working and performing with Bob Moses, Bill Lowe, and Stan Strickland. Erik has performed internationally in Tokyo, Paris, Jamaica, and Bulgaria. Erik currently performs at many venues and clubs, and has been featured on numerous albums of local artists. In addition to being a musician, Erik is an avid, creative painter, designer, and sculptor who teaches art professionally in a local school system. One can hear the connection of shapes and colors between the auditory and the visual worlds.

Peter Cassino

Piano faculty Longy School of Music, founder of the Modern American Music Department. Peter resides in Boston and has performed with Marty Ehrlich, Andrew D’Angelo, Matt Wilson, Oscar Noriega, Bob Moses, Ed Schuller, George Schuller, Stan Strickland, Charlie Kohlhase, Joe Morris, Paquito D’Rivera, and others. He’s been awarded two performance grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and was part of the touring roster of the New England Foundation for the Arts for over 10 years. He has also performed in Japan, Moscow, and Armenia. Peter has taught at Dean Junior College in Franklin, Massachusetts, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, The All Newton Music School, The Community Music Center in Boston, and other institutions. Peter began teaching at the Longy School of Music in 1979 and started Longy’s first ja department. In 1996 the department developed a new curriculum and was renamed The Department of Modern American Music to reflect its philosophy well as its expanded mission.

John Dalton is a Boston based percussionist, composer, and improviser. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he studied with Chris Poudrier, Jamie Eckert, and Jim Robitaille. He is a regular performer on the Boston scene, as both a sideman and the leader of his own group, “John Dalton’s Spheres of Influence”, which has played in various venues, including at the New Bedford Jazz festival. He has been featured in performances from a wide variety of musicians, including Tony Malaby, Jim Robitaille, Jing Wang, and royal hartigan. John is an avid and experienced educator, having taught music at Long Lake Camp for the Arts, Bosse School of Music, Bach to Rock, and Morningside Music Studio. His teaching style emphasizes musicality and fun, while also encouraging fluency in a variety of styles and a strong sense of fundamental skills. John shares the passion and joy of making music with students of all ages, from children to adults.