pc: Luke Awtry Photography
thèriot.
Building on his strong body of work as leader of the Awakening Orchestra – music heralded by DownBeat as “a Great American Songbook of another order” – composer Kyle Saulnier returns under the mononym thèriot., The shift is both a nod to his Acadian heritage, and a recognition that the artist he was is no longer the artist he is. Deeply personal and brutally vulnerable, the Other. is a collection of music centered around grief, depression, and the masks we wear while pretending everything is okay.
thèriot. fronts a hybrid ensemble of New York City heavies including Nadje Noordhuis (Maria Schneider, Darcy James Argue, Anat Cohen), Andrew Gutauskas (Brass Against, Miho Hazama), and Samuel Quiggins (the Heartstrings Project), alongside leading members of Vermont’s creative music scene: Michael Chorney (Hadestown orchestrator, Freeway Clyde, Viperhouse), Matthew LaRocca (Freeway Clyde, soft rocks, Vermont Symphony Orchestra), Brooke Quiggins (Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Osso String Quartet, Jukebox String Quartet), Jane Boxall (Freeway Clyde, Tinkerbullet), and Daniel Ryan (the Dan Ryan Express, Madaila, Saturn People’s Sound Collective).
theriot. - the Other (2026)
releasing 09.18.2026 on BandCamp and all streaming services (except Sp*tify)
Paris-Move
“Nothing seems permanently fixed. Every element can become something else, and the listener is continually asked to reconsider what seemed familiar only moments earlier… genres cease to function as borders and become materials… Pain becomes tension, doubt becomes displacement, memory becomes repetition, fragility becomes silence, and instability becomes a compositional principle. The personal remains present, but it is transformed into something that can be experienced rather than simply explained.”
PAN M 360
“The orchestral arrangements are superb… the Other is a high-quality album that builds superb instrumental backdrops at the intersection of jazz and cinematic music.“
Jazz Journal
“Building on the acclaimed work of the Awakening Orchestra, Vermont composer Kyle Saulnier returns under the mononym thèriot. with the Other., a deeply personal chamber jazz recording exploring grief, depression, identity, and resilience. Blending contemporary jazz, orchestral writing, and cinematic textures, the album features an exceptional ensemble of New York and Vermont musicians. Emotionally fearless and sonically expansive, the Other. marks the beginning of a bold new artistic chapter.”
Udite Udite!
“In the Other, this experience flows into a lucid and layered writing, capable of combining strength and delicacy, orchestral complexity and emotional immediacy. The music doesn't seek to hide the wounds, but rather observes them closely, allowing them to become sonic matter and a shared narrative… thèriot. doesn't offer simple answers, but opens an authentic space in which to acknowledge pain, abandon appearances, and accept what often remains hidden behind the reassuring fiction that everything is fine.”