2013 marks the 15th year for Knob Festival, a venue for new and avant-garde music in Wichita.

Inspiration for the Knob Festival came after WSU Bass Professor Mark Foley heard about contemporary music festivals popping up around the country. After performing as a guest soloist in a Florida festival, Foley felt driven to create his own festival in Wichita.

The Knob Festival of New Music was born, with thanks to art facility host Fisch Haus Studios.

“Fisch Haus is such an important part of music in Wichita. The venue itself is just phenomenal, and everyone is really supportive,” said Kendall Wohaska, WSU guitar student.

Over half of the music presented at the festival this year will be performed as world premiers. Experimental jazz, contemporary classical music, music for MIDI Controller and the avant-garde will all be heard throughout the festival. Wohaska will be making his debut with Knob Fest tonight as part of the Chris Reichmeier Jazz Group.

Foley said being able to perform for a visual arts type of crowd contributes to the success of the festival.

“The people that come to our concerts tend to be more open minded and interested in new things, kind of like the way they look at art,” Foley said. “They’re looking for new ideas, not necessarily the same thing they’ve already seen.”

One piece is performed via human interface. A performer will be holding coils with music running through them that make no noise by themselves. The performer moves the coils in varying proximity to an amplifier, where the sound will be picked up from the coil and amplified out.

“Knob Fest’s existence presents an opportunity, a reason to try new things,” Wohaska said.

For Wohaska, it’s cool to see one of his instructors working in this kind of setting. He said it’s interesting to see “somebody from the academic environment [who] is not so much invested in the traditional styles of academic music and open to all things.”

For Foley though, it’s a matter of relevancy. He said it is important for art and music to be relevant to society.

“Every great piece of music was new at one point, and that was part of its appeal,” Foley said. “It was reflective of the society it was created in.”

The Festival begins tonight and has performances Friday and Saturday, all starting at 8 p.m. at Fisch Haus Studios, 524 South Commerce St, just south of the Intrust Bank Arena. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and a donation of $5 is suggested.