What Clients, Critics, and Collaborators are Saying…

What Clients, Critics, and Collaborators are Saying…

[Guqin Yoga/Meditation] “Everything is exactly as it should be. Breathe. Listen. Actively and peacefully exist. Swirls of yellows and limes invite you to reflect. Gratitude for this moment is deeper than can be expressed. Observing and participating in the peace that … Continue reading

Jessica Strauss, Playwright/Director

[Guqin Yoga/Meditation]  “I had the immense privilege of experiencing Brian’s musically guided meditation. The centering powers of the qin while masterfully and thoughtfully played by Brian invited me into a state of calm that had seemed unachievable previously. I am grateful … Continue reading

Jessica Strauss, Playwright/Director

[Dance/Theater Score]  “The Collaborative Process – Brian, has worked very closely with our directors to produce not only the kind of sound that a production needs, but the kind of score that transcends the page.   Commitment – Like an … Continue reading

Erin S. Baal, Board of Directors, Strollers Theatre Ltd., Madison

[Dance/Theater Score]  “I strongly recommend Brian Grimm and his work as a composer and collaborator. I worked with Brian on a unique project over an intensive six-month period in 2010 in which he created, composed, and played live onstage an … Continue reading

James Still, Writer and Director, Los Angeles

[Dance/Theater Score]  “Brian Grimm is a true collaborator. I highly recommend him as his expertise, generosity, and improvisational skills made him an integral element of Indiana Repertory Theater’s success with the production of ‘Mary’s Wedding’. Brian’s passion for music, narrative, … Continue reading

Gwendolyn Whiteside, Producing Artistic Director, American Blues Theater, Chicago

[Dance/Theater Score]  “There are very few artists that I trust implicitly, and Brian is one of them.  It’s amazing how much he can capture emotion and the human condition in those inanimate strings.”

Tommy Lewey, Choreographer & Director, NoExit Performance, Indianapolis

[Album Review]  “Madison, WI-based avant-jazz explorer BC Grimm is well known locally not just for his phenomenal cello work in live collaborations with artists like Julian Lynch, Spires That In The Sunset Rise, and the mighty Db Pedersen (to name … Continue reading

Signal Dreams, 2014

[Album Review]  “Madison-based multi-instrumentalist Brian Grimm specializes in playing the guqin and guzheng, Chinese zithers that sometimes run as large as a small canoe. He’s also a classically trained cellist and, under the name Brain Grimmer, produces adept and twisted … Continue reading

Arts Extract Podcast, 2014

[Album Review]  “Madison composer and cellist Brian Grimm’s meditative, experimental soundscapes blend modern improvisational styles with ancient Chinese string instrument technique. …Prepare to be transported into a beautiful dream.“

Isthmus Daily Page, 2016

[Album Review] “[Orbis Obscura] … builds, peaks, and resolves through a series of aural whirlwinds and jolting, churning dialogue between the ancient sonic traditions of a 2,000-year old instrument and a just-encountered effects pedal.”

Emili Earhart, Tone Madison’s “Top 20 Best Madison Records of 2016”

[Album Review] “Brian Grimm is something of an experimental-music powerhouse in Madison.”; ” …one of the most sonically untethered things Grimm has put out there so far—which is saying something, and also not a complaint. He uses this eccentric but … Continue reading

Scott Gordon, Tone Madison, 2016

[Album Review]  “- a totally immersive, blissed-out trip that transports the listener away to distant climes…simply beautiful!”, “…glimmers of ‘sci-fi’ noises bleed through the drones. Over the course of the 35 minutes it totally immerses the listener in wave upon … Continue reading

 Dayz Of Purple And Orange (UK), 2016

[Album Review]  “(Brothers Grimm) … able to create extremely striking contemporary classical with only string instruments.  Compositions like “Stochastic Contexture: Heads” possess the unique ability to calm and agitate almost simultaneously.”

AV Club, Madison, 2012

[Album Review]  “(Brothers Grimm) … compositions are both classical and experimental, both disciplined and exploratory.”

Isthmus Daily Page, 2012

[Services: Events/Fundraiser]  “We hired Brian to provide music for a fundraiser for a community organization with approximately 75 guests. He was wonderful to work with and his music added an element to our event that was unique and elegant. Brian … Continue reading

Lynn K. Lodahl, Attorney, Hawks Quindel s.c.

[Guqin Yoga/Meditation]  “Brian’s accompaniment and flexibility as an artist added elements of grounding, exquisite expression, and serenity to our recent Y-Massage retreat. We are thrilled to be able to work with him again.”

Shannel and LaCouir Yancey, Y-Massage

[Services: Wedding]  “I am so grateful for what Brian brought to our ceremony.  Being able to provide such a broad request for a certain type of mood, having him dial in immediately and help it grow was priceless.  His presence … Continue reading

Neil Jarman

Recent Posts

11/11 | BC Grimm (prepared guzheng) , Def Sonic, & Hunter Nicholson @ Common Sage! (Madison, WI)

Check out this incredible poster art by @assortedpsychedelia Andrieu Todd!!! 😍😍😍

Saturday, 11/11/2023
Common Sage
934 Drake Street

BC Grimm
Def Sonic
Hunter Nicholson

Potluck @ 7pm
Music @ 8pm
$10 suggested donation


I’ll be performing the title track from my 2014 album of experimental zither music called, “The Ideating Knell”. It’s a long-form piece for a ‘prepared guzheng’ Chinese zither, exploring all of the non-traditional sounds you can make on the instrument. In the spirit of John Cage’s groundbreaking solo prepared piano works, this music prepares the guzheng with shell necklaces, clay pottery tools, mixing bowls, small gongs, bows, dulcimer hammers, clay teapot shards, and more! I would describe the 21-string guzheng with its spine of bridges and large coffin-like resonating chamber as a “cathedral of sounds”.

I’m very excited for this opportunity to perform at Common Sage, hosted by Tim Russell and Liz Sexe! An experimental musician and dancer couple who I’ve known nearly the entire time I’ve been in Madison! What they are cultivating with these monthly experimental house shows and potlucks is in kindred spirit to what Ka Baird used to do in Madison before she moved to NYC. It is helping to rekindle a sense of community for the experimental and improvised community here in Madison. It’s something that’s been missing in our scene for years now, and I’m so glad it’s back!! It’s been really hard for Tim and me to schedule a month where I’d be around and available to perform, and we finally got one! Hope to see some of you tomorrow night!

I’ll be taking the new sounds that I’ve been creating for this updated version of the piece and working on a new album of prepared guzheng music for another label soon! More details to come in the coming months, but I’m very excited to release a new album of prepared guzheng sounds on the 10th anniversary of the original release of this concept!

From a performance of the piece at an outdoor festival back in 2014, photo by Audre Rae Photography
Picture of the setup from a recent performance of The Ideating Knell in Cleveland, OH at the Cleveland Institute of Art

🎶
“The Ideating Knell” composition for “prepared guzheng zither” ↘︎

🎶
“The Ideating Knell” (2014) full album on Signal Dreams label ↘︎


  1. 9/7-9/24 | Forward Theater’s THE GARBOLOGISTS runs at the Overture Center for the Arts (Madison, WI) w/ Designer’s Notes on Original Score Leave a reply
  2. Fri 6/2 | BlueStem Jazz presents Brennan Connors & Stray Passage at Garver Feed Mill Patio Leave a reply
  3. 5/12 – 5/28 | “I Carry Your Heart With Me” Opens at Third Avenue Playworks (Sturgeon Bay, WI) as part of the World Premiere Wisconsin Festival! Leave a reply