MoPOP’s Sound Off! gives up-and-coming artists mentorship from industry leaders, entrée into an artistic community invested in their growth, connections with peer musicians, and the chance to showcase their original music in MoPOP’s iconic Sky Church venue.

This years’ three live showcases — set for February 19, February 26, and March 5 — raise the bar for an all-ages show with a first-class experience at MoPOP for performers and the audience alike.

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Trevor Eulau is a composer and guitarist based in Seattle, Washington. He is equally at home in the classical, jazz, and pop realms, writing music for string quartets, voice, jazz combos, and rock/pop bands. Above all else, Trevor makes music that is visceral and that freely combines ideas from his disparate musical backgrounds.

We took some time to get to know Trevor Eulau ahead of the artist's Sound Off! 2022 performance on March 5 at MoPOP. Check out what they had to say!

• Follow Trevor Eulau on Instagram

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background as an artist!

Trevor Eulau: "I'm Trevor, I'm a composer and electric guitarist from Seattle. I got started playing guitar in rock and pop bands, sort of filtering through a bunch of those groups, and late into high school I got into classical music and into jazz from there. I'm just really interested in exploring the intersection of all those genres."

How did you hear about Sound Off! and what led you to apply for this year's program?

Trevor Eulau: "A friend invited me to [a past] Sound Off! show. I saw that and I had just moved back to Seattle, I was living in LA for a while. It just seemed like a really cool way to connect with the musical community here and just a cool opportunity. So I decided to apply."

What was your initial reaction when you found out you were going to be part of Sound Off! 2022?

Trevor Eulau: "I was pretty excited. The thing that strikes me is how many resources, how many people know, and how much time goes into this production. I was just really excited to see this final product and see myself in this professional setting. That's just very cool for me."

Trevor Eulau

How would you describe your sound?

Trevor Eulau: "I try to live between musical worlds and musical communities. So my music is performed by this string quartet, but I'm playing electric guitar with them. Or like I'm playing a song where I sing and I'm trying to infuse my music with these elements, from all these things I've learned from studying composition and studying jazz and trying to make something that is not one of any of those, but is a cool combination."

Why do you make music?

Trevor Eulau: "Really into this idea of music being one of the only things in society that serves not just for a utility value, but as something that is just kind of inherently beautiful. So like, if you look at a tree, a lot of people might look at it for its utility and how you can cut it down and use it for wood and build houses out of it. And that's cool, but also something amazing happens when you look at that tree and you realize that this is just something that is inherently beautiful without serving any kind of purpose, or without having any sort of utility to us. And I guess that's sort of why I think I make music is I want to make something beautiful that people can pause and look at and see some of that beauty in their own lives. It might make them reflect on that."

What are you hoping to achieve through your music?

Trevor Eulau: "I really want to make music that brings different communities of artists together. A lot of my music focuses on how you can have musicians from a certain tradition, like a jazz tradition or a popular music tradition, how you can have them functioning in this sort of different musical language. How you can have these musicians from different communities involved in the music and the way that they've learned how to create it. So in my music, I've had pop artists who are improvising or jazz musicians who are improvising alongside classical musicians who are reading. And I really want to embed that respect for these different communities of music into my music, like build it into the structure of it so that each person can really shine."

BEFORE YOU ARRIVE AT SOUND OFF! 2022...

We know you may be curious about health and safety protocols, so here are the extra steps we’re taking for these in-person Sound Off! showcases in our 140,000 square foot museum:

• Performers will be separated from the audience by a 20-foot buffer.
• All guests 12 years and older will be required to show proof of full vaccination or a negative PCR COVID test taken within 72 hours prior to the event.
• Masks are required for guests 3 years and older.
• Please only bring what you need as coat check is currently closed.
• There will be no concessions sold during Sound Off! events. Please come hydrated and consider eating before you arrive.
• Hand sanitizer dispensers are available throughout the museum.

More information about our COVID policies is available on our website.

Can't attend the live Sound Off! showcases this year? You can still support MoPOP's youth artist development programs by making a gift.

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Special thanks to our Sound Off! community partner KEXP.

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