Founded in 2005 by saxophonist Michael Straus and bassoonist Dana Jessen, the EAR (Electro Acoustic Reed) Duo is dedicated to the performance of new, improvised and experimental electroacoustic music.  Recently praised by the Boston Music Intelligencer for performing "with conviction and authenticity," the duo can regularly be seen presenting a variety of works ranging from new commissions written specifically for them, to original arrangements of works by Terry Riley, Steve Reich and James Tenney.  Attempting to stretch the limits of duo performance, their concerts include aspects of theater coupled with visual and electronic media.  Aside from performing on their respective instruments, the duo's repertoire has recently expanded to incorporate Tibetan singing bowls, squeaky toys, reusable/recyclable objects and more.

Highlights from the EAR Duo's recent seasons include appearances at the University of Virginia's CCT Forum on Electroacoustic Improvisation, Belgium's Logos Foundation Tetrahedron Series, Chicago's Heaven Gallery of Art, U.K's Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Dartmouth College's Vaughan Recital Series, Amsterdam's Karnatic Lab and Washington D.C.'s Artomatic Festival.  They have presented lectures on contemporary performance techniques, working with video and electronics in performance, and experiences in collaborating with artists from various disciplines for students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Franklin Pierce College.  For their European debut, the duo teamed up in March of 2009 with visual artist Sarah Buckius, turntablist DJ Dubble8 and guitarist Vitor Rua for an evening-length collaborative concert at the Musicbox Nightclub in Lisbon, Portugal.

The EAR Duo is currently engaged in commissioning a series of interactive wind, string and percussion robots from EMMI (Expressive Machines Musical Instruments) for performances next year.  Formally educated, they hold graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, Peabody Conservatory of Music and were both recipients of Fulbright Fellowships to Amsterdam where they studied contemporary, electronic and improvised music.