New KMFA Presentation Highlights Real-Time Creative Collaboration

Austin Unconducted has already been on a mission to prove classical music isn’t just for squares or the elite. It’s for everyone. Their latest collaboration with Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre boosts that excitement to an entirely new level.

Just as the name suggests, Austin Unconducted is a cooperative orchestra with no conductor. Their music relies on the musicians – usually an 18-member ensemble – working together and listening closely to create magical musical moments. Co-founder and bassist Andrea Beyer says they try to “bring people into the orchestra world who might not have thought it was a place for them before, and just make it fun, and really fresh, and feel a lot more relevant.” In the past their concerts have involved special guests from Hyde Park Storytelling or members of Craft Beer Austin. These curators often “bring in different viewpoints from outside the classical music world, and [we] work with them to tell a story,” says Beyer.

Which led to their KMFA Offbeat partnership with Andrea Ariel – artistic director of Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre – who is a natural musical storyteller. She also happens to practice “Soundpainting,” an improvisational method first utilized by the Walter Thompson Orchestra of developing art built around a series of gestures the soundpainter – also called the composer – delivers as a single figurehead guiding performers through movements. With over 1,200 gestures, there are plenty of cues for the artists to develop an exciting live spectacle. They’re all grounded by the composer, who delivers signs dictating the who, what, when, and occasionally the how of each new creation.

Soundpainting is completely improvisational. You could go to multiple nights of shows and never hear or see quite the same thing. Sometimes the soundpainters can develop “palettes,” or touchpoints to preexisting material or pre-developed runs of gestures. But those are merely quick anchors in a rush of spontaneous creativity. Picture it like this: The performance itself is an exhilarating river, whirlpools, and rapids guaranteed to make your heart race, but those palettes are branches of safety in the ride, still pools where you can catch your breath before getting caught up again.

It’s a method that doesn’t apply to music alone. Ariel has worked with visual artists, singers, and, of course, dancers. She’s been involved with the practice for over 30 years, ever since her first foray with local choreographer Margery Segal. “It was so incredible as a performer to experience this,” says Ariel. “[You’re] sitting there in perfect presence, waiting for the sign, and when the sign goes you launch into improvisation and create right there in the moment.” She’s continued the tradition while working with her dance troupe and other Soundpainting companies on pieces spotlighting artists like David Bowie or Frederico7. However, this is Ariel’s first experience Soundpainting solely with an ensemble of classically trained musicians. 

Working with Austin Unconducted has been a perfect fit. Soundpainting requires a level of intuition, of keying in to the composer and the other players to create something new. “It’s a real conversation between the soundpainters and the performers,” says Ariel. Austin Unconducted was already prepared for that, as Ariel noticed “they already worked collectively. They were very connected.” 

That connection now gets to expand as nine ensemble members join Ariel for these Soundpainting performances. For Beyer, who doesn’t consider herself an improviser, it’s been a “nurturing space to try things out … to make loud sounds and then adapt.” For the audience, it will be an equally exhilarating exploration into musical possibilities. You might hear some palettes based on classical compositions or classic rock. But overall, it’s a journey into the unknown for viewers and performers alike.

This article appears in February 6 • 2026.