Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

While studying to be a composer, Chris Cresswell worried he wouldn’t get to play his own music.

“I primarily wrote for other people, which was fun, but I missed that feeling,” Cresswell said. “Like playing with other people. That was kind of where the original idea for the ensemble came from.”

But while studying for his masters in music composition in Birmingham, England, Cresswell formed the 315 Ensemble, an electro-acoustic sextet ensemble through which he could experience both of his loves. The ensemble hit a lull soon after its initial founding, as Cresswell focused on other non-music endeavors. This year, Cresswell revived the ensemble in Syracuse, its namesake location, and it’s now fully comprised of Syracuse University students and alums.

While Cresswell is a classic composer, he also plays the electric guitar. Bringing in the sounds of the electric guitar to the classic acoustic sound was Cresswell’s creative way of inserting himself in the ensemble and finding ways to play around with the typical classical music audiences are used to.
After solidifying his newfound sound, Cresswell had to look for fellow musicians who were just as curious about unique sound avenues to bring his vision to life.

Self-proclaimed “pioneer of alternative style strings,” Kristen Kopf is one of these musicians. Kopf plays the cello in the ensemble and has spent most of her career playing around with non-traditional music.

“Thirty years ago, I began stepping out of the traditional string settings by incorporating rock and contemporary music and electric instruments into my programs and ensembles,” Kopf said.

While the ensemble performs pieces Cresswell wrote, it isn’t restricted to them, which gives the group the opportunity to play around with a variety of sounds and place an emphasis on different instruments in the group.
In addition to Cresswell and Kopf on the guitar and cello, the ensemble has four other members — Diane Jones on flute, Edgar Tumajyan on violin, Mark Olesh on clarinet and Nick Abelgore on piano. Cresswell views acoustic and electric sounds as a Venn diagram, and playing around with the different sides of the diagram is where the group finds their sound.

“There’s a tension there (where they overlap), and there’s you know things that (electric and acoustic sounds) do really well together…Sounds that can only be made by these two sort of separate forces,” Cresswell said. “The electric guitar is like the secret instrument, because we’re the one that kind of bridges both worlds.”

The ensemble has also helped the reputations of the other members in the music community at large. The group has helped Kopf develop and solidify her reputation as an innovative string educator and performer, she said.
The group gets funding through grants from various sources and from fans across the world, including CNY Arts, WCNY-FM and Birmingham Conservatoire.

The ensemble also broadcasts other composers. While the group gets funding from grants, it still isn’t in a position to pay composers to write pieces, so Cresswell has to get creative when looking for other composers. He tweets out open composer calls and uses the Composer Diversity Database, which showcases work from classical composers who have compositions for electric guitars.

Because of its innovative sound and music, the group is aware of how different it may sound to some, but all it asks of audience members is to come with an open mind.

“This group plays repertoire that is much different than most other groups. I am hopeful that the appeal of something new will encourage many to come listen and experience what is being offered,” Kopf said.

Though the 315 Ensemble’s music is slightly unconventional, Cresswall is confident that the future of the group is bright. The 315 Ensemble is collaborating with some larger arts organizations in the city and has some music from British composers coming soon.
Cresswell has gotten to see the group become more than he imagined.

“We’re becoming more and more a unit. More and more like not just a group of players,” Cresswell said. “It’s the thing that I’ve come to love most about this version of the group…the happiness and the joy that everyone brings to the music making.”

Published on December 7, 2022 at 11:49 pm