Núria Andorrà
- Wed-Fri 1200-1300 lead ensemble 12, session 2
- Thu 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up)
Tilo Augsten
- Wed-Sat, Mon 1030-1145 lead ensemble 1, session 1
- Sat 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up)
Christoph Baumann
- Wed-Sat, Mon 1030-1145 lead ensemble 2, session 1
- Sat 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up)
Nicolaas Cottenie
Present Time Composition Friday 1400-1600 (sign-up)
Since improvisation has such different meanings in different musical cultures, it is impossible to teach “improvisation in general”: the concept requires a context to become meaningful. In this class we’ll take a specific approach to improvisation as a kind of composition in present time, whose materials are the most basic parameters of music. These include pitch, dynamic, timbre, and duration, as well as higher-order musical objects such as motif, gesture, idea, phrase, melody, interval, chord, and so on. Eventually we will be dealing with still higher-order formal levels that describe relationships between voices, players, sections, and musical processes.
This approach to improvisation rests on two pillars. The first one is: listening. We will spend a lot of time listening and becoming conscious of what we hear. Improvising with other musicians rests on musical communication, and musical communication is only possible because we can listen, share an understanding of what we hear, and respond. The second pillar is this: in the moment, we think of ourselves as real-time composers first, and players second. The ongoing question is: “As composer of this piece, do I need my instrument to play right now and if so, what?” That means that this approach to improvisation is not primarily about self-expression, but demands a lot of consciousness as well as free-flowing feeling and aural impulses.
The practical result of this class will be that you will hear and play and understand music differently. It may lead you to explore this kind of improvisation more deeply, or to other improvisation practices, or you may stay with written music instead. But the work will change you, if you do it. And you’ll like the difference.
Karst de Jong
- Wed-Sat, Mon 1200-1300 lead ensemble 8, session 2
- Fri 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up) with Bert Mooiman
Paul Dinneweth
- Thur 0930-1000 warm-up
- Sat 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up)
- warming up for improvisation
- Mon 1700-1800 lecture – Teaching Improvisation in the Music Therapy Department at LUCA, Leuven
David Dolan
- Wed-Sat, Mon 1200-1300 lead ensemble 9, session 2
- Mon 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up) with John Kenny and Bert Mooiman
- Thu 1700-1745 research presentation ‘Improvisational State of Mind and State of Flow – from Neuroscience perspective’
- Fri 1400-1600 – Wrong Notes: Friend or Foe?
Agustí Fernández
- Wed-Sat & Mon 1030-1145 lead ensemble 2, sessions 1
Peter Gotterbarm
- Fri 1700-1800 research presentation
John Kenny
- Mon 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up) with David Dolan and Bert Mooiman?
Frank Liebscher
- Wed-Sat & Mon 1200-1300 lead ensemble 10, session 2
Alistair MacDonald
- Wed-Sat & Mon 1400-1600 lead workshop 3 – Live Electronics
Una MacGlone
- Wed-Sat, Mon 1200-1300 lead ensemble 13, session 2
- Wed 1400-1600 take workshop (sign-up) content tbc
- Mon 1700-1800 research presentation
Urban Mäder
- Fri 0930-1000 warm-up
- Wed-Sat & Mon 1030-1145 lead ensemble 5, sessions 1
Arnas Mikalkėnas
- Fri-Sat 1030-1145 lead ensemble 6, session 1 (cover for Liudas)
Liudas Mockūnas
- Wed-Thu & Mon 1030-1145 lead ensemble 6, session 1
Bert Mooiman
- Fri 1400-1600 take workshop (sign-up) with Karst de Jong
- Mon 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up) with David Dolan and John Kenny
- Wed 4 Research Presentation ‘Style-oriented Improvsation and Music Theory’
Libero Mureddu
- Thu and Fri 1030-1145 lead ensemble 7 with dancers
Anto Pett
- Mon 0930-1000 warm-up
- Wed, Sat & Mon 1030-1145 lead ensemble 7, session 1
- Mon 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up)
Anne-Liis Poll
- Thu 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up)
- Wed-Sat & Mon 1200-1300 ensemble 14 (voices)
Santiago Quintans
- Wed-Fri, Mon 1200-1300 lead ensemble 11, session 2
Yves Senden
- Mon 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up) ‘Workshop on improvisation: how to structure? how to tell a story?’
Jaak Sikk
- Wed-Sat & Mon 1030-1145 lead ensemble 4, session 1
- Mon 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up) content
Johan Stern
- Thu 1630-1800 ‘Preparing String Instruments’
Max Tabell
- Wed 1400-1600 workshop (sign-up) ‘Rhythmic Approach to Improvisation’
J Simon van der Walt
Improvising with gamelan Thursday 1400-1600 (sign-up)
The Javanese gamelan affords a space for musical improvisation unencumbered by instrumental technique or the lack of it, and potentially free from the constraints of genre. The instruments are easy to play, and – unless you happen to be a gamelan musicain! – there are no rules as to what not to play. This session will start with a brief induction to ensure that everyone knows how to approach the gamelan without damaging it. After that, we will explore together. If time permits, there are some improvisatory practices that have been used in community work in the UK that can be looked at, and/or we could learn a traditional Central Javanese tune to get a sense of the (limited) improvisatory space that exists within that tradition.
Livecoding (whenever)
~snip.("wotis")
'Livecoding' is a practice where creative artists who work with computer code perform live, often producing music and/or visuals, with the audience able to watch the evolution of the code on a projected screen. 'Algorave' is a subgenre where the aim is to produce beat-driven music – and sometimes visuals – for dancing.
… and, this is essentially an *improvisatory* practice. If anyone is interested in coming on the journey with me, I would like to spend some time this week exploring whether, as a livecoder, I can succussfully perform with, alongside, or in opposition to, live improvisations by human beings.
