Wolftone

Wolftone is a duo project made up of Will Overcash (violin) and Ben Roidl-Ward (bassoon) that is dedicated to collaborating with composers to create new repertoire that expands the possibilities of their unusual instrumental pairing. Ben and Will got to know each other as students at the Oberlin Conservatory and formed Wolftone in 2017, when both were students at Rice University. That summer, they toured to Houston, New York, Chicago, and Cleveland, performing 3 newly-commissioned works that were funded by the Sviatoslov Richter Fund and the Lovett Traveling Fellowship.

Later in 2017, the duo moved–Will to Frankfurt and Ben to Chicago. Since then, they have continued their collaboration on both sides of the Atlantic. Performing throughout the U.S., Spain, and Germany, Wolftone has premiered 12 new works, has recorded for Edition Zeitgenössische Musik and Protomaterial Records, and has garnered support from the Illinois Arts Council (US), the Luminarts Cultural Foundation (US), and the Goethe Institute (GER). In the 2023-’24 season, Wolftone collaborated with composer Michael Hersch and Soprano Ah Young Hong to present a program of three new works by Hersch for soprano, bassoon, and violin in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

Recent Performances:

  • May 25th, 2024: Hersch, Kurtag, and Herchet at the Goethe Institut Boston (with Ah Young Hong)

  • May 23rd, 2024: Hersch at the Christopher Cairns Studio, Havertown, PA (with Ah Young Hong)

  • May 20th, 2024: Nelson, Macklay, and Hersch at Peabody Conservatory

  • May 17th, 2024: Nelson, Macklay, and Hersch at Denver University

  • September 9th, 2023: Nelson, Poppe, and Hersch at the Goethe Institut Boston

  • September 8th, 2023: Hersch, Kurtag, and Poppe at the International Museum of Surgical Science (Chicago)

  • September 6th, 2023: Nelson, Amaya, Macklay, and Haven at Columbia College Chicago

  • September 6th, 2023: Presentation for Roosevelt University Composition Students