Bill MacKay, a Chicago-based guitarist/composer/writer/ improviser, and Katinka Kleijn, a classical cellist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the International Contemporary Ensemble, team up regularly as an improvised music duo. It is at once an unlikely and perfect pairing as both musicians are known not only for their excellence, but for their curiosity and range. MacKay’s recent projects have centered on experimental-folk, avant-garde, free jazz, western blues, and Appalachian styles, while Kleijn's include an ambient-folk album, a prog-rock metal band, and regular performances in the free jazz scene - not to mention in the waters of Lake Michigan! Together they form a fluid, intuitive, dialogical, improvisational pair. MacKay and Kleijn will join us for both a performance and a conversation.