Loyola University is pleased to present an intimate night of genre-bending jazz with the acclaimed string trio 9 Horses, on Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m., in  Nunemaker Auditorium. 

The trio, led by mandolinist Joseph Brent, bassist Andrew Ryan and violinist Sara  Caswell, is known for its exquisite blend of chamber music sophistication, jazz improvisation and cinematic warmth. The concert is part of Loyola’s Jazz Underground  series. 

For the first time in several years, Loyola’s String Area is hosting a resident artist – 9  Horses – for a week of activities as part of its inaugural Loyola Bayou Orchestra  Festival. As part of its residency, 9 Horses will perform a second, free concert with the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra and the Loyola Symphony Orchestra, on Nov. 15, at 7  p.m., in the Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall. 

“We are doing something historically important, as well as moving with the times,” said  Kate Duncan, director of the School of Music and Theatre Professions and the Conrad  N. Hilton Chair in Music Industry Studies at Loyola. “Loyola has not played host to a  week-long, artist-in-residence, let alone a festival featuring the string orchestra, in many  decades.” 

Featuring Brent’s original compositions and the incendiary, genre-hopping virtuosity of  all three members, the trio represents their vision of a musical future with no barriers  between “folk art” and “fine art,” and as an ensemble are capable of communicating this  idea through musical canvases both great and small. 

Brent (formerly of Regina Spektor’s band) plays acoustic and electric mandolin; Ryan (Kaia Kater) will be on the bass; and, Caswell (Esperanza Spalding), a 2018 Grammy  nominee, plays violin and Hardanger d’amore.

In addition to playing the two concerts, the three members of 9 Horses will be working with Loyola students, offering masterclasses in jazz, string orchestra, cello and more, as  well as meeting with local high school orchestra students. 

“We want to spark our students’ imagination with what is creatively possible through  groups like 9 Horses,” Duncan said. “Genres no longer serve as exclusionary  boundaries, but are now a call to create and build something very new and all one’s  own, a credo of Loyola’s School of Music and Theatre Professions.” 

Both concerts runs 90 minutes. Tickets to the Thursday night concert featuring 9 Horses  only are free for Loyola students with an ID; $9 for non-Loyola students with an ID; $16  for senior citizens, and Loyola faculty and staff with an ID; and, $21 for adults. 

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://cmm.loyno.edu/events/nov-13- 2025_loyola-presents-jazz-underground-featuring-9-horses.