Karl Ove Knausgård &
Glenn Kotche: Historia

Welcome from the Executive Director

Welcome to another extraordinary season of dance and music at Northrop—a season we are proud to offer, inspired by your curiosity, energy, and commitment to making the arts a central part of life.

Rooted in the belief that the arts are essential to the human experience, Northrop is committed to cultivating intersections between performing arts and education—for all participants, now and for generations to come. This season, those intersections will be more vibrant than ever. We have curated performances that stretch boundaries, inspire reflection, and celebrate both innovation and tradition in equal measure.

You’ll see in this season’s lineup a range of world-class artists and ensembles—some of whom we know well, others who bring voices and perspectives new to our stage. Each program is selected not only for its artistic excellence, but also for its ability to provoke thought, open dialogue, and offer learning opportunities beyond the stage: workshops, pre-show discussions, community gatherings, and more. These elements are meant to deepen your experience, helping to illuminate context, process, and the living, breathing nature of creative work.

As part of the University’s teaching, research, and service mission, Northrop strives to be a catalyst—igniting transformation in each individual, inspiring positive change in our world. Through the rhythm of dance, the textures of music, and the shared moments among us in the audience, we hope you will find something that moves you, surprises you, and invites you to see the world just a little differently.

I invite you to join us not just as spectators, but as participants. Ask questions. Bring friends. Explore more. Share what you experience. We are honored to present this season, and even more honored to share it with a community that values what the arts offer—beauty, challenge, joy, connection.

Thank you for being here and supporting Northrop. Together, let us make Northrop’s 97th season remarkable.

With gratitude,
Kari Schloner
Executive Director

Welcome from the Advisory Board Chair

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the Northrop Advisory Board, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to Northrop, the University of Minnesota’s historic home for the performing arts. For almost a century, Northrop has been a place where artistry, learning, and community converge—a stage not only for extraordinary performances but also for dialogue, discovery, and inspiration.

Each season, Northrop presents world-class dance, music, and other performances, and serves as a gathering place for students, faculty, and community members alike. These experiences enrich our campus and our state, fostering the creativity, curiosity, and cultural understanding that are so vital in today’s world.

Your presence here affirms the importance of the arts in higher education and in civic life. We invite you to be more than an audience member—become an advocate for the arts. Share your experiences, bring new friends to Northrop, and help us amplify the voices of artists and thinkers who inspire us to see the world anew.

We also ask you to consider a gift to Northrop. Your financial support ensures that future generations can access the transformative power of the arts, that students can encounter artists in their classrooms as well as on our stage, and that our community can continue to gather here for moments that move and unite us.

Thank you for being part of Northrop’s story. Together, we can sustain this remarkable institution and secure its role as a cultural cornerstone for decades to come.

With gratitude,
Kelly McQueen, Chair, Northrop Advisory Board

Program Notes
 

by Glenn Kotche 

A writer and a drummer, not the most common pairing, which is exactly why we found the idea so intriguing. I've found Karl Ove Knausgård's writing highly inspiring—from my very first exposure with his My Struggle series. It's brave, thought-provoking, honest, and his talent for description is captivating—it was unlike anything I'd read. I started to think about how I could incorporate some of these engaging characteristics into my composing and performance and was excited by the prospects that the influence of his words and thoughts could have on my music. We eventually met and hung out and generally hit it off. So when Wilco bassist John Stirratt floated the idea at a dinner party that Karl Ove and I should do some kind of show together, the seed of tonight's collaboration was sown. Luckily Kate Nordstrum (artistic director, Liquid Music) was also present that night and followed up with me—eventually putting all of the pieces together. When I proposed the idea to Karl Ove, to my delight he agreed immediately and made Historia a reality.

As a long-time member of a band and someone who's spent most my life playing with other people, I'm very used to co-creating—so much so that I continue to write and perform solo works for myself just to have a little bit of solitary artistic balance in my life. One of my first solo investigations was an expanded drumkit version of the Balinese Monkey Chant (or Ketjak) which you'll hear tonight. Originally a performance artwork by a group (ranging from a dozen to upwards of hundreds) of actors, singers and dancers, set to a portion of the Hindu epic, Ramayana; my version borrows some of the most distinctive musical characteristics in a retelling of that tale—solely through percussion. I do this by assigning specific sounds on the drumkit and the prepared snare drum to play the roles of the main characters that they personify. The interactions of the sounds and sequence of events then mirror the narrative to impressionistically tell the story. This became one of my first examples of creating and realizing a long-form solo work.

Karl Ove on the other hand, besides some brief stints playing in bands, has largely seen the vast majority of his prolific artistic output as an individual with a singular vision on what to do and how to do it. Due to the fact that it required collaboration, he eagerly accepted the challenge to realize Historia—a testament to his willingness to traverse unfamiliar terrain. Sure, he bounces ideas and freshly written text off of trusted friends and colleagues, but he draws the entire artistic map of any of his novels and executes all aspects of bringing them to life independently.

When we had decided to do the show, he suggested that we should ask his friend, the film director and polymath Johan Renck, to add images to our words and sounds. Sound and vision is no unfamiliar terrain for Johan; he has made music videos for artists like David Bowie, Madonna, New Order, and Beyoncé, and for this project he masterfully brings to life the photos of the downtrodden, fringe characters and ominous scenery that are the subjects of the celebrated Swedish photographer Anders Petersen. They are coming towards us from somewhere out of this world—somewhere dark and sublime.

Tonight, then, is an evening of storytelling through both the individual lenses of words, sound and image as well as through the amalgamation of these mediums in a truly unique live performance setting—enjoy.
 

Johan Renck

The film The Left Shore is a meeting between filmmaker Johan Renck and renowned photographer Anders Petersen, in which Renck has curated a number of photographs from Petersen’s expansive career, and re-animated these into a dream-like video installation. The score is composed by Renck’s long-time collaborator Krister Linder. The installation is currently exhibited at the Stockholm National Museum.

The Artists

Knausgård’s first novel, Out of the World, was the first ever debut novel to win the Norwegian Critics’ Prize, and his second, A Time for Everything, was longlisted for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The My Struggle cycle of novels has been heralded as a masterpiece wherever it has appeared. His work is published in 35 languages. Knausgård’s newest novel, The School of Night, will be published by Penguin Press in Jan 2026.

Kotche has been the drummer of the groundbreaking rock band Wilco since 2001. With Wilco, he has toured extensively internationally and recorded ten studio albums—garnering a Grammy, seven Grammy nominations, and two RIAA certified gold records along the way. As a composer, he has released seven solo albums and has been commissioned by renowned ensembles and organizations including Kronos Quartet, Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Eighth Blackbird, So Percussion, Third Coast Percussion, Carnegie Hall, TROMP International Competition, Norway’s 1B1 Orchestra, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, Cross-linx Festival, and Roomful of Teeth—as well as several other soloists, ensembles, institutions and presenters.

Always exploring new possibilities for growth, Kotche has also done disparate, cross-disciplinary collaborations with the likes of choreographer Danielle Agami, actor Jon Hamm, chef Rick Bayless, WNYC’s Radiolab, Notre Dame’s Engineering Department, digital media company Thunderlab, and Delta Faucets. In 2015, Kotche commissioned composer John Luther Adams, resulting in the 50-minute solo tour de force, Ilimaq. He has also created several sound installations for institutions such as MASSMoCA, Artpark in New York and the Netherland’s Van Abbemuseum. 

Kotche has played on over 180 recordings by artists such as Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, KD Lang, Neko Case, Laura Viers, First Aid Kit, Radiohead’s Phil Selway and Ed O’Brien, Andrew Bird, Iron and Wine, On Fillmore, Jim O’Rourke, Loose Fur, Neil Finn, Low, and Beck. Since 1998, he’s been half of genre-bending duo, On Fillmore, along with Darin Gray. He is also a member of the bands Saccata Quartet and Loose Fur.

In 2020, Kotche started his weekly video post, the Drum Beat Project—a multi-year process piece that explores the compositional possibilities of drum beats. He resides in Chicago with his wife and their two children.

Renck has established himself as one of the most respected and sought after directors working today. He began his career directing music videos for top artists, most recently David Bowie’s final two videos Blackstar and Lazarus. His debut film Downloading Nancy premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, which he followed with acclaimed Swedish limited series The Fat And The Angry. Renck directed the pilots for Vikings, Bloodline, and Shut Eye as well as episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Halt and Catch Fire, and Bates Motel. He directed all episodes and co-produced BAFTA-nominated limited series The Last Panthers starring John Hurt and Samantha Morton. Renck’s latest is Chernobyl, the highest-rated TV show ever on IMDb, with 19 Emmy nominations and ten Emmy wins, including Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series and Outstanding Limited Series. Most recently, Renck directed the sci-fi feature film Spaceman, starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, and Paul Dano. The film debuted at number one on Netflix for two weeks running. Renck is currently in development on a range of projects across film and TV, with his new production company Sinestra, based in New York.

Opitz is the director of bookstore partnerships at Bookshop.org. Formerly, she was the founding director of Wordplay at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and a visiting instructor at the University of Minnesota. She currently serves on committees for the National Book Foundation and the Authors Guild. She has curated literary events and festivals around the country—as the literary director of the Texas Book Festival, the fiction co-chair of the Brooklyn Book Festival, and on the programs team for the PEN World Voices Festival—and was the books reviewer for Marie Claire magazine.

Liquid Music Staff

Kate Nordstrum, artistic director
Chris Mode, associate producer
Katie Hare, communications manager
 

About Liquid Music 

Liquid Music is a leading producer of special projects in contemporary music, an internationally recognized laboratory for artists from across genre and disciplinary spectrums. This creative institution nurtures and realizes bold ideas from performers and composers, inspiring audiences to discover, learn and be transformed.

Founded at The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2012, Liquid Music became independent in 2020, owned and operated by artistic director Kate Nordstrum who has been widely praised for her programmatic vision, panoramic tastes and “storied matchmaking” (Minnesota Star Tribune). Through Liquid Music, Nordstrum has built a boundary-defying platform for collaboration and earned her reputation as “the most adventurous music curator in town” (MinnPost), “a presenter of rare initiative” (Star Tribune), and “Twin Cities’ curatorial powerhouse with international pull” (Minnesota Public Radio).
 

The Northrop Advisory Board is committed to the growth and awareness of Northrop’s mission, vision, and the continued future of presenting world-class dance and music in our community. If you would like more information about the advisory board and its work, please contact Cynthia Betz, Director of Development, at 612-626-7554 or betzx011@umn.edu.

With the restoration and reinstallation of Northrop’s Aeolian-Skinner Opus 892 organ, a group of dedicated volunteers now partner with Northrop for the awareness, success, and growth of organ programming and education. The Northrop Organ Committee features volunteers who are help with advocacy, network building, relationship development, and fundraising to help sustain and build Northrop’s Pipe Organ Music Series and other community events.

The Northrop Campus & Community Council acts as a resource for Northrop’s future success and growth, ensuring that Northrop builds relationships with and engages the communities where we live, learn, and work. This group of committed volunteers helps Northrop connect with new audiences and advises on programming that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

Making Legendary Performances Possible!

At Northrop, we believe in connecting great artists and ideas with our community and to a new generation of audiences. Your gift helps make memorable arts experiences possible by supporting extraordinary performances and new arts commissions, and helping ensure accessibility to everyone through live-streamed programming, outreach to diverse communities and subsidized student tickets. Our Friends are at the center of Northrop’s biggest ideas and brightest moments on stage.

Become a Friend of Northrop today! 

Learn More and Donate Online

Ways to Give:

• Annual Giving, a yearly gift amount of your choice.
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• Planned Giving, consider a legacy gift by including Northrop in your will or trust, or by designating Northrop as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy.
• Matching Gifts, double your gift through your company’s matching gift program.

To learn more about supporting Northrop please contact:
Cynthia Betz
betzx011@umn.edu or 612-626-7554 

Thank you to the generous donors who continue to support programming for Northrop’s beloved Aeolian-Skinner Organ. It is because of you that this magnificent instrument’s voice will be enjoyed by many for years to come.

A special thank you to our patrons whose generous support makes Northrop's transformative arts experiences possible. Make your mark on Northrop's future by becoming a Friend today, learn more by visiting Northrop's Give page.

We gratefully acknowledge the support from the Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, New England Foundation for the Arts, City of Minneapolis, hospitality partner the Graduate Hotel Minneapolis, and event sponsors PNC Bank and RBC Wealth Management.

The Heritage Society honors and celebrates donors who have made estate and other planned gifts for Northrop at the University of Minnesota. 

• Nancy Allen*
• Jerry Artz
• John Follows*
• Stephen Gordon and Pat Gavan-Gordon
• Gail and Stuart Hanson
• Charlie Johnson
• Peter Lund
• Darlene M. Sholtis

*Deceased

This season’s listing is current as of 10/23/25

Please contact Matthew Keefe at keefe175@umn.edu if you have any corrections or questions.

This Cultural Districts Arts Fund activation is funded, in part, by the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department.