Andrew Tholl

Andrew Tholl is a violinist, composer, and improvisor whose genre-blurring work blends the visceral and the experimental, spanning contemporary classical music, experimental rock and pop, improvisation, film, dance, and theater. Hailed by the Los Angeles Timesas “vigorously virtuosic,” his compositions and performances have been heard across the United States and Europe. As a composer, Tholl’s work explores the passage of time, the physicality of performance, noise, nostalgia, and memory. His style is heavily informed by a synthesis of musical influences, the integration of improvisation, and a practice-led methodology. As a soloist and chamber musician, he is dedicated to the performance of new music and the collaborative process between composers and performers. He is a co-founder of the “superb” (Los Angeles Times) Formalist Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to adventurous new repertoire by both established and emerging composers, and has been a member of the contemporary music ensemble Wild Up since its formation. In addition to his work as a "classical musician," Tholl maintains a second musical life writing and performing pop, rock, punk, noise, ambient, and improvisational music. Working across disciplines, he challenges traditional formats, creating intersections between music, art, and performance. His most recent project, The River Above, The River Below, is an album of electronic ambient work released on Populist Records, a Los Angeles-based label he co-owns and operates. Tholl holds degrees from Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, and the California Institute of the Arts. He has previously taught at the California Institute of the Arts and Moorpark College; he currently teaches violin and music history at Ventura College and composition at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He lives in Los Angeles, where he continues to be involved with music for concert halls, art galleries, films, puppet shows, bars, garages, bedrooms, and coat closets.