Duo Extempore interprets history, art, and space through music, while expanding the boundaries of what piano and bass can create. In this new edition of their Hidden Stories program, the duo turns its lens toward the rich, unlikely history of the Franklin Stage Company in celebration of FSC’s 30th Anniversary. Their program embraces the theatrical form and is created as a three-act “play” told through live music and narration; it spans FSC’s history as entwined with Chapel Hall’s origins as part of the Delaware Literary Institute to its 1996 rebirth as a professional theater sustained by community vision. The evening invites audiences to hear history unfold as living theater—where sound, story, and place converge.

The company explores every shape of music, through film, technology, performance, and beyond. Their distinct programs, ranging from museum concerts on period instruments to indie music films to performances with amplified plants, “capture many moods through considerable charm and creativity” (Jonathan Maney, writer).

Duo Extempore’s curated improvisations draw from classical and jazz virtuosity, and weave together storytelling, local history, architecture, and audience interaction. Evan and Nicole’s performance credits include Carnegie Hall (NYC), the Banff Centre of the Arts (Canada), Bellas Artes Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez (Mexico), the Blue Note (Germany), and the UniJazz Festival (Czech Republic).

Improvisers, Performers, Storytellers

By composing site-specific frameworks for improvisation with storytelling arcs, the performance space itself becomes the score for bold, inventive music, bringing stories of the past into the present-day imagination. Through this process, Evan Jagels (bass) and Nicole Brancato (piano) capture time and space in custom musical creations unique to the communities for which they are designed, creating “a new experience that leaves guests wanting more” (Colin Havener, Hyde Hall).

Awardees of both the New York Foundation for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, Duo Extempore’s debut album Ordinary Places positions field recordings collected by the duo as the third member of a trio, exalting the beauty in the everyday sounds around us. Recently, they premiered Otsego County, USA, a year-long documentation and recording project in NY county that resulted in a hybrid sound+media installation. And in 2023, Duo Extempore released The Search for Up, a music film using improvised music to explore human curiosity, our need for connection, and the great cosmos above us.

The year before, they released it’s nice to be on the island, a concert film celebrating the history of New York City’s Roosevelt Island. To shoot the film, they created a custom mobile stage, performing through the streets of New York City with a piano in tow. Another recent concert project, focusing on untold stories of the historic landmark Hyde Hall, incorporated innovative techniques, storytelling arcs, and contemporary improvisations on 19th-century instruments. Their 22’/23’ concert season included a collaboration with the acclaimed filmmaker Bill Morrison at the film festival Glimmerglass Film Days, and a performance that featured the biorhythms of plants live-translated into sound.

Educators & Collaborators

Avid educators and collaborators, Duo Extempore’s partnerships have included Columbia University, University of Southern Mississippi, SUNY Oneonta, and CUNY Hunter College in guest artist residencies and project partnerships.
As Artists in Residence at the University of Southern Mississippi, their concert incorporated history about local earthen ceremonial Mounds built by indigenous peoples, as well as stories about civil rights activist Ellie Dahmer and her role in the Freedom Summer of 1964. At Hartwick College, they combined stargazing and electronic music in a one-of-a-kind performance in the Wright Observatory. Teaming up with the college’s departments of physics, art, and music, they explored how the mysteries of the universe shape our lives.

To learn more, visit: https://duoextempore.com/

Nicole Brancato makes music to unlock wonder. Fascinated with contemporary expressions of our shared human experience, the NYC-based pianist merges curation, composition, and performance in collaborations across the arts. Described as “brilliant” and an “immense talent” (New York Magazine & Connect Savannah), Nicole is “redefining the very notion of classical music” (Atención San Miguel). Her credits range from the Guggenheim Museum (NYC), Rai Italia, and the Banff Centre (Canada), as well as Lincoln Center, Bellas Artes (Mexico), and HBO.

As an educator, Nicole’s extensive experience includes the Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg (Germany), Lunigiana International Music Festival (Italy), and dozens of universities across the US. Recognized by over 50 international honors and grants, she is an awardee of NYFA (multiple years), NYSCA (multiple years), Pure.Art Circle Italy (2024), IPaT at Georgia Tech (2024), and National Sawdust’s Hildegard Competition (2022 Finalist), and is Artistic Director of Seven Hills Chamber Music. Additionally, was a 2025 Artist in Residence with the NYC D.O.E, and is a Yamaha Artist and a voting member of The Recording Academy (GRAMMYS).

​​Evan Jagels is an accomplished improvisor, freelance bassist, solo artist, producer, and educator. He is cofounder and bassist of Duo Extempore, whose curated improvisations draw from classical and jazz virtuosity, weaving together storytelling, history, art, and architecture. Together with NYC-based pianist Nicole Brancato, Duo Extempore explores every shape of improvised music through film production, live scoring, technology, and performance.

He is also co-founder and bassist of Killdeer Trio and bassist for the reformation of the influential rock band Dazzling Killmen. He is an in-demand freelance jazz musician, having shared the stage with many jazz luminaries both in the US and Europe. He has a MA in Music Performance from Queens College, serves as Lecturer of Music at Hartwick College, and is a voting member of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYS). Jagels  has been invited to give lectures and presentations on his art at Columbia University, City University of New York at Hunter College, SUNY Oneonta, University of Southern Mississippi, and the National University of Music in Lima, Peru.