This version of The Emergency String (X)tet currently features cellists Bob Marsh and Doug Carroll, violinists Angela Hsu, Adria Otte, and Jonathan Segel, and double bassist Tony Dryer. The ESX combines free improvisation and the use of graphic scores in their performance. The Emergency String (X)tet grew out of the ashes of Fred Longberg-Holms Phenomenal String Quartet in Chicago some fifteen years ago. After the dissolution of the Phenomenal Strings, ESX founder Bob Marsh created The Emergency String (X)tet. Originally taking the form of a more convention string quartet while engaging in a most non traditional improvisational approach to the music, it has expanded to be more inclusive of numbers of players and the type of instruments involved. Thus, the "(X)" refers not only to the unknown factor inherent in improvisation, but also to the number of players and instrumentation in any given performance creating exciting new, energetic and aural possibilities each time it performs.