Called “a raucous, grungy, irresistibly exuberant … fun-loving, exceptionally virtuosic family” by Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times, Wild Up has been lauded as one of classical music’s most exciting groups by virtually every significant institution and critic within earshot. In 2010, Artistic Director Christopher Rountree founded Wild Up with 15 musicians. Today, this GRAMMY® nominated ensemble comprises 32 performers, with membership ranging from award-winning composers to experts in contemporary techniques, baroque music specialists, activists, studio musicians, jazz improvisers, indie artists, and educators.
Wild Up has collaborated with an expansive list of composers, performers, and cultural institutions. Over the last decade, the group has premiered hundreds of new works with artists such as Pamela Z, Sarah Hennies, David Lang, Ted Hearne, Julia Holter, Scott Walker, Juliana Barwick, and Ragnar Kjartansson and accompanied significant stars such as Björk. Wild Up has given milestone concerts across the United States at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hammer Museum, the Broad Museum, LACMA, The Soraya, The 92nd Street Y, National Gallery, National Sawdust, Roulette, and many more.
Their critically acclaimed, two-time GRAMMY-nominated Julius Eastman recording anthology has been celebrated as “a masterpiece.” (The New York Times), “instantly recognizable” (Vogue), and “singularly jubilant..a bit in your face, sometimes capricious, and always surprising.” (NPR).
Read more about Wild Up:
- Boston Globe David Weininger
- The New Yorker Alex Ross
- Los Angeles Times Mark Swed
- NPR Harmony Holiday
- The New York Times Zachary Woolfe