Doyle Armbrust

@doylearmbrust.bsky.social

457 Followers 742 Following

Founding violist for both the multi-GRAMMY-nominated Spektral Quartet and the Grossman Ensemble. Oh, and fuck AI.

LEGO Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook build being held by two sets of hands with the very same scene playing on the tv in the background.
Rush on stage at United Center…with Alex Lifeson on the screen
Front cover of “The King in the Golden Mask” featuring a vintage photo with the face distorted by ash.
A very green GM ferverishly consults a copy of “Sailors on the Starless Sea,” written by Harley Stroh with art by Doug Kovacs. Spindrifts and NA beers litter the table…
The Body, on stage absolutely gobsmacking the Empty Bottle last night in Chicago.
Lincoln plaque with a burnished schnoz at Starved Rock State Park
Promo photo of the Arditti Quartet standing in front of a red backdrop with Irvine doing his best b-boy stance.
Exterior shot of the Cook County Criminal Court building on California, displaying Pride, Chicago, American, POW-MIA, et al flags
Group photo of the musicians of Tallgrass Music Festival in Pitosi, WI following a concert of Adams, Corigliano, Bach, et al at the performance space: an 1840’s hay barn.
Still from 2026’s Masters of the Universe…a movie that somehow gives me the feeling I am playing with the toys again…
150 Media Stream video installation at 150 N Riverside in downtown Chicago. Pretty sweet that they do collaborative art projects throughout the year, all wrangled by a resident curator.
Movie theater shot of Breadwinners…one of the most embarrassingly retrograde movies I have seen since the literal 80s.
Alyssa Milano from the “Who’s the Boss” era
Riot Fest 2026 lineup poster
Sexy sax guy still from Lost Boys
The outdoor stage at Salt Shed: The Jesus and a Mary Chain at “Warm Love Cool Dreams” fest.
Middle-aged man losing his shit for the Pixel Grip set at Salt Shed’s “Warm Love Cool Dreams” festival
Composer Rand Steiger and a violist wearing a rattlesnake bolo tie backstage at the Logan Center for the Arts
Two goblin guards stand watch over the Kreator set
Photo of star-struck violist with saxophone legend Ernie Watts backstage at the Acorn Theater in Three Oaks, MI.
Shot of all the new-music knuckleheads of Grossman Ensemble at the dress rehearsal for our Library of Congress debut in Coolidge Auditorium. Pieces by Augusta Read Thomas, Sean Shepherd, and Sir George Benjamin.
Cover art for Fire-Toolz 2026 album “Lavender Networks”
Middle-aged NASA nerd standing before Neil Armstrong’s flight suit from Apollo 11.
Bird flipped at the crucible of evil, The Heritage Foundation
Middle-aged dingus mugging in front of a tower comprised of his truest love, La Croix
Selfie with world-class soprano Michelle Areyzaga following her recital at Nova Linea Musica with phenom mezzo-soprano Heather Johnson and dexterous pianist Jason Wirth.
Photo of the stage featuring fairy doom trio Faetooth
A clarinet quintet (feat. yours truly and made up of New World Symphony musicians) with Michael Tilson Thomas and others holding umbrellas during an outdoor performance in Perugia, Italy.
Photo of middle-aged man in Bela Bartok tee standing next to composers Michael Daugherty and Marc Mellits following the performance of all twenty piano etudes by Philip Glass at UMS…and the final Society of Disobedient Listeners pre-concert conversations for 25/26
Selfie with writer Forrest Aguirre in front of the Salt Shed stage
B&W crowd shot of the audience at Salt Shed
“Live Laugh Love” wall art perched atop a changing table in a public bathroom.
Selfie with composer Dr. Shawn Okpebholo at Grossman Ensemble rehearsal
Selfie at the Goodman Games booth on the final day of Gary Con 2026.
Selfie with “I Voted!” sticker; art in the background by Daniel Danger.
Portrait of composer Bernard Rands
Looking professorial with the incredible Hannah Edgar
Selfie in front of the Gygax family home in Lake Geneva, WI
Ilia Malinin at the 2026 Winter Olympics
DCCRPG modules with three plastic flies atop them
Falcor from The Neverending Story
Phishing email offering to buy UMS (University Musical Society) on the University of Michigan campus.
Event poster for the Mexican Bass Clarinet Association in Mexico City
Muggin’ at a Lucha Libre match in Mexico City
Photo with Burmese python and bff in Xochimilco
Music stand majestically set before toilet
Santa singing “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (lyrics on-screen) with Chicago icon Dennis Scott on organ, onstage at the Music Box Theatre
Two hardcover copies of John Darnielle’s new book, “This Year”
Society of Disobedient Listeners with Asbjørn and Albert
Danish String Quartet taking a bow after their 11/22/25 UMS performance
Cover shot of Stranger Things and D&D comic book featuring dragon and main characters as a D&D party
Me dressed as Eddie Munson, being stabbed by the baby-faced killer from Happy Death Day.
Shot of television screen reading “Directory of Photography Dick Bush”
Selfie with violist and all-around all-star human Ayane Kozasa at Owls performance on the Nova Linea Musica series at Guarneri Hall.
Photo of Yob on stage at Thalia Hall in Chicago (10/28/2025)
A seated mannequin wearing a poodle mask with a severed toe in its mouth. You know, the usual.
Selfie with writer/GM/mensch Jim Zub at Gamehole Con 2025
Selfie wearing “Protect Trans Kids” t-shirt at Gamehole Con 2025
Selfie with four gaming friends; our GM for the evening holds a copy of 10 Candles and three candles are lit on the table in the foreground.
Selfie with Traveller game designer Marc Miller