The Westerlies, 2022 Bravo! Vail Chamber Musicians in Residence

The Westerlies, “an arty quartet…mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk” (New York Times) are a New York-based brass quartet comprised of childhood friends from Seattle: Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch on trombone. Equally at home in concert halls and living rooms, The Westerlies navigate a wide array of venues and projects with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along. Formed in 2011, the self-described “accidental brass quartet” takes its name from the prevailing winds that travel from the West to the East. “Skilled interpreters who are also adept improvisers” (NPR’s Fresh Air), The Westerlies explore jazz, roots, and chamber music influences to create the rarest of hybrids: music that is both "folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music).

The Westerlies’ upcoming engagements include performances at Bay Chamber Concerts, Southern Exposure New Music Series (University of South Carolina), and Michigan State University, and among others. Recent performances include New Music at the Nasher, Noe Valley Chamber Music, Earshot Jazz Festival, the Norton Center for the Arts, the Moore Theatre, Shenandoah University, Purdue Convocations, the Oxford Performing Arts Center, Luther College, the Schubert Club, St. John’s University, and the University of Washington. The ensemble was also featured with Fleet Foxes at Coachella, the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theatre Berkeley, Red Rocks, the Newport Folk Festival, Merriweather Post Pavilion, the Santa Fe Opera, Outside Lands in San Francisco, Panorama New York City, and the Pitchfork Music Festival.

The ensemble has produced numerous critically acclaimed albums of genre-defying music. In May 2021, The Westerlies released Bricolage (Westerlies Records), a collaborative album of improvisations with pianist/composer Conrad Tao. 2021 also saw the release of This Land, the ensemble’s collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated vocalist Theo Bleckmann. The Westerlies have produced three albums of quartet music:  their 2014 debut, Wish the Children Would Come on Home: The Music of Wayne Horvitz, (Songlines), a 2016 double-CD of primarily original compositions, The Westerlies (Songlines), and their 2020 release, Wherein Lies the Good (Westerlies Records). Sought-after collaborators, The Westerlies are also featured on recordings by Fleet Foxes (Nonesuch), Vieux Farka Touré (Six Degrees Records), Common (Lakeshore) and Dave Douglas (Greenleaf).

Education and community engagement are core elements of The Westerlies' mission. Starting in Fall 2021, The Westerlies will be the first small ensemble-in-residence at the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at The New School. The Westerlies produce an annual music festival in Seattle called Westerlies Fest, which combines evening performances featuring numerous guest artists, an all-day open-to-the-public creative music jamboree, and workshops in local public schools. The festival’s educational programming reaches over 1,000 students in Seattle and surrounding underserved areas every year. The Westerlies have engaged students of all ages and abilities around the country with their innovative assemblies and masterclasses, promoting the values of cooperation and inclusion through music. They have completed educational residencies with Clefworks (Montgomery, AL), Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival (Orcas Island, WA), the School District of Osceola County (Osceola County, Florida), and Highline Public Schools (Burien, WA), among others. They have also taught masterclasses at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Yale School of Music, The Colburn School, and a variety of other colleges and universities. 

As a 501(c)(3) organization, The Westerlies are on a mission to amplify unheard voices, paint new sonic landscapes, and cultivate a global community. The Westerlies are committed to dismantling racism, sexism, and economic inequality in their field, and aim to reflect their values of diversity and inclusion in the music they make and the spaces they occupy.

Riley Mulkerhar, trumpet

Riley Mulkerhar has been recognized as a “smart young trumpet player” by The New York Times, praised by The Wall Street Journal as a “youngster to keep an eye on,” and is a 2020 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award for his work as “an original bandleader, composer, arranger, educator, community activist and advocate for jazz and the arts.”

Riley works with a number of leading artists of our time, including Wynton Marsalis, Anna Deavere Smith, and Alan Cumming, and is a founding member of The Westerlies, a new music brass quartet that creates the rarest of hybrids: music that is both “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music). Riley also serves as Artistic Director for Jazz at Joye in Aiken, bringing leading young talent to the historic city of Aiken, South Carolina.

Born and raised in Seattle, Riley moved to New York in 2010 to study at The Juilliard School, where he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in 2014 and his Master’s in 2015. In 2014, he was the first recipient of the Laurie Frink Career Grant at the Festival of New Trumpet Music.

Riley is actively engaged in educational outreach, directing the Summer Advanced Institute at Seattle JazzEd, and serving as an ambassador for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Jazz for Young People” program in New York and St. Louis from 2016 – 2018. Riley is an Edwards Artist and performs on Edwards trumpets.

Chloe Rowlands, trumpet

Chloe Rowlands is a trumpet player, composer, and music educator living in New York City. Born in Seattle and raised in Phoenix, Chloe moved to NYC in 2010 to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. She enjoys performing a wide variety of styles and can be found in various musical settings such as leading the brass section in the orchestra for Loft Opera productions, playing flugelhorn, synthesizer, and singing background vocals in the Indie-Rock band Cape Francis, and composing and producing music for film and media. Chloe is the newest member of The Westerlies, a new music brass quartet.

She has shared the stage with many notable musicians including Wynton Marsalis, Charli Persip, Marcus Printup, Arturo Sandoval, Wayne Bergeron, Donny McCaslin, Terell Stafford, Brian Lynch, Paquito D’Rivera, and has played in bands such as Fleet Foxes and Frances Cone. Chloe has performed across the world at various festivals and venues such as the Monterey Jazz Festival, Voodoo Music Festival, South by Southwest, Marian’s Jazz Room and the Bern International Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Jarasum International Jazz Festival in South Korea, and the Java International Jazz Festival in Indonesia.

She is the 2nd place winner of the International Trumpet Guild’s Jazz Trumpet Competition, and a recipient of the Theresa Perez Directors Award and the Eubie Blake Scholarship award.

Andy Clausen, trombone

Andy Clausen is a New York-based trombonist, composer, educator, and graduate of The Juilliard School. He is Artistic Director for Jazz at New York Youth Symphony and co-founder of acclaimed new music brass quartet, The Westerlies. An active collaborator across genres, Clausen has toured and/or recorded with Fleet Foxes, Common, Theo Bleckmann, Vieux Farke Toure, John Zorn, Dave Douglas, and The American Brass Quintet.

Recent performance highlights include Newport Jazz Festival, Newport Folk Festival, Coachella, Panorama, The Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Jazz At Lincoln Center, SF Jazz, Radio City Music Hall, and Celebrate Brooklyn. The New York Times has described his work as “sleek, dynamic large-group jazz, a whirl of dark-hued harmony and billowing rhythm...The intelligent sheen of Mr. Clausen’s writing was as striking as the composure of his peers...It was impressive, and not just by the yardstick of their age.”

His compositions have been performed by The Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony Jazz Band, The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, The Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, and Seattle Chamber Players. An active composer for film and television with numerous feature films to his credit, Clausen has been commissioned by The New York Times, Bloomberg TV, Carnegie Corporation, Dell, The Whitney Museum, and Freedom House and his scores appeared at the DocNYC Festival, Austin Film Festival, Reykjavik International Film Festival, and LA Shorts Fest.

Willem de Koch, trombone

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Willem de Koch is a trombonist, composer, and educator. He is co-founder of The Westerlies, the brass quartet whose music “occupies a lively territory between jazz, Stephen Foster-styled folk and chamber music with bracing melodies and, crucially, an undeniable sense of fun” (Chris Barton, LA Times).

In addition to his work with The Westerlies, Willem has performed with a wide variety of artists including improvisational-music luminaries Wayne Horvitz and Bill Frisell, electronic music duo Odesza, indie-rock songstress Feist, and jazz legends Wycliffe Gordon and George Duke, among others. Willem has performed in a wide variety of venues, from the world-renowned Carnegie Hall and Hollywood Bowl, to hole-in-the-wall jazz clubs and living rooms. He strives to bring people together to build strong communities through music, and seeks to break down the barriers of genre to create a more integrated and inclusive musical landscape.

Willem places a high value on music education as a means for self-empowerment and a tool for social justice. He has served as a teaching artist in public schools across the country, including with Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Jazz for Young People, Seattle Youth Symphony’s Endangered Instruments Program, and Bridge Arts Ensemble in upstate New York. Willem has given masterclasses with The Westerlies at various colleges and universities including The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Yale School of Music, and others. Willem moved to New York in 2011, and received his Bachelor’s Degree from Manhattan School of Music in 2015. He is currently pursuing his MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship at The New School (2019). He lives in Brooklyn.