Eckart Derschimidt/submitted Cellist Okkyung Lee will perform Thursday at the Mansion at Strathmore as part of Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music.

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From soundtracks created by vintage record players to noise created by luggage, weird is wonderful at the Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music.

Featuring cutting-edge music that celebrates the art of audio, the four-day festival in Silver Spring and North Bethesda features contemporary composition, electronic sounds, free jazz and all things noisy.

Director Jeff Surak attributes the success of the festival that has been held for more than a decade to the open-minded attendees the festival appeals to.

“People are very well-rounded and educated with this type of music and yet they are very surprised by it,” Surak says.

The sights and sounds of this year’s festival will feature everything from a rolling sound sculpture made out of junk to boundary-pushing improvisations on traditional instruments such as cello and saxophone. Performances will be held this year at AFI Silver Theatre, Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center and Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring and The Mansion at Strathmore in North Bethesda.

The goal is not only to challenge listeners to confront their own expectations of what music is, but for the audience and performers to share ideas that span countries and cultures, Surak says.

But the experience isn’t for everyone.

“Sometimes we get the extremes where people get very upset and they storm out of the venue,” he says.

Usually the people leave if they can’t get onboard with the concept or if they are confronted with something that upsets them, he explains.

“Normally people are totally enthralled with [the performances]. People really get into it,” Surak says.

In addition to the annual festival, Sonic Circuits presents programming throughout the year, often in neighborhood venues such as the Pyramid Atlantic, but also in high-profile locales such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Unlike other music festivals that may focus on just one type of music, the Sonic Circuits festival always features shocking and surprising material that keeps people coming back year after year, Surak says.

“It’s never boring and it’s never the same thing twice,” he says.

Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music will feature performances Wednesday through Sunday. Admission can be paid at the door or online at www.dc-soniccircuits.org. A festival pass is available for $50 or $40 for students with ID. Events are open to all ages, but parental discretion is advised for content.

Wednesday

STYLUS will present live soundtracks to two experimental silent films (James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber's “Lot In Sodom” and Man Ray's “Emak-Bakia.”) on 10 vintage record players and two cellos.

8 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road , $12

Thursday

Okkyung Lee

Annette Krebs+Violet

Unmediated: Movement + Sound - Sharon Mansur & Daniel Burkholder (dance) with Cory O'Brien, Luke Stewart, Paul Neidhardt (music)

Music from the Film

8 p.m., The Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, $12

Friday

The Haters

Les Rhinocéros

Valentina Vuksic

Infant Factory

Rind (Doug Stailey & Beau Finley)

8:30 p.m., Pyramid Atlantic, 8230 Georgia Avenue, $12

Saturday

Anthony Pirog conducts Terry Riley's "In C"

Performers:

Jocelyn Frank - Oboe

Aaron Martin Jr. - Alto Sax

Rob Muncy - Tenor Sax

Rebecca Steele - Viola

Erin Flynn - Viola

Janel Leppin - Cello

Leo Svirsky - synth

Anthony Pirog - Guitar

Larry Ferguson - Vibraphone

Carrie Ferguson - Glockenspiel

John Steel - Acoustic Bass

Kevin Pace- Acoustic Bass

Daniel Barbiero - Acoustic Bass

Kenny Pirog - Pitched Rhythm

5 p.m., Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring, free

Saturday

Sudden Infant

N Ensemble

Prehistoric Horse

Rinus Van Alebeek

Exramo

Nine_Strings_Trio + Movement

Jack Hurwittz

Safe, Fast & Effective

7 p.m., Pyramid Atlantic, 8230 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, $15

Sunday

The public is invited to help create a rolling sound sculpture by bringing resonant objects such as fishing line, scrap wood and rubber bands.

3 p.m., Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring, free

The Voltage Spooks (Keith Rowe, Rick Reed, Mike Haleta)

John Butcher

Janel Leppin, Samita Singha & Julia Ulehla

Jesse Kudler & Ian Fraser

Barn Owl

7 p.m. Pyramid Atlantic, 8230 Georgia Ave., $15

For artist descriptions, visit www.dc-soniccircuits.org/festival/2011

ccalamaio@gazette.net