Sound-ing Paint

Sound-ing Paint
St. Paul's United Reform Church, Newton Road
London, United Kingdom 
April  11,  2026

Readers who are familiar with the Dutch-born, London-resident artist Gwendolyn Kassenaar will not be surprised by her latest venture which combines art and improvised music. Many will have made first contact with her when she painted or sketched their image during a skronk performance at which they were a performer or an audience member. Others will have encountered her when she performed as a member of The Noisy Women Present... in London or at Cambridge cathedral.

Anyone who has previously experienced Kassenaar will be pleased to know that the Sound-ing Paint performance on April 11th was the first of five. Judging by the size of that audience and their enthusiasm, the other performances should be well-attended. For some audience members, it might have been unexpected to see Kassenaar in the company of two male musicians. However, at the start of the set, she explained that the line-up of the trio had been agreed between her and Canadian keyboardist Cheslav Singh talking over a prolonged coffee break.

The third member of the trio, saxophonist Zhenya Strigalev, was born in St. Petersburg. Having won "Best Saxophonist" at a Russian national competition when he was 17, he moved to the UK in 2007 on a full scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. These days, he often bridges the gap between London and New York.

As the photograph of the performance eloquently illustrates, Kassenaar was at the centre of the trio's performance, seen both on the screen and in person, with the two musicians listening to and watching what she was painting and responding appropriately, throughout, Strigalev stage right, Singh stage left. Kassenaar opens proceedings, semi- dancing alone as she adds details to her already blue canvas... five minutes after the start, an organ chord rings out, signalling that the organ has joined proceedings; Singh's organ chords fit in with what Kassenaar is doing. Strigalev's saxophone soon enters, and from the start his playing complements that of his bandmates.

There is little or no indication that what the three are playing has been practised; instead, it sounds as if the two instruments are freely improvising while Kassenaar looks as is if she is listening and reacting to the instruments. At times there is call and response between the organ and saxophone but they still sound like a trio in which each of the three is a member. Yes, there is give and take from all three...
Although Kassenaar's contributions were visual rather than musical, it was obvious that she was responding to the playing of her bandmates and they were responding to her visuals. Likewise, it was clear that the audience were responding equally to the organ, saxophone and the painting. This was blatently obvious when the painting and music came to a halt and the audience gave all three performers a standing ovation. It seems highly likely that the trio's remaining performances will be well attended...

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