Lyrical Sounds: An Offering of Poetry and Contrabass is a dynamic, collaborative performance where music and poetry unfold together in real time. As a poem is read, bassist Evan Jagels responds intuitively—layering tone, rhythm, and movement beneath the words, echoing their emotion and shaping the atmosphere in the moment. The result is a conversation between sound and language, where no two performances are ever quite the same.

Poets from the Bright Hill Press and Literary Center in Treadwell, NY will be reading, including Bright Hill founder, Bertha Rogers.  A longstanding force in the regional literary community, Bright Hill has fostered generations of writers and continues to be a vibrant space for creative expression.

Evan Jagels is a versatile upright and electric bassist, producer, educator, and Recording Academy voting member whose career has taken him from Carnegie Hall to international stages. He has performed alongside acclaimed artists including Ray Vega, Antonio Hart, and four-time Grammy-winning cellist Eugene Friesen, and recorded with a wide range of influential musicians across genres.

Join us Friday, May 22 from 4–6 PM for this immersive performance celebrating the natural interplay between spoken word and live music.