November 2020 to March 2021

for 15 players & 10 observers

 

Our workshops are for improvisers of all levels of ability and ranges of experience, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, race or religion. Content may be exercises, games and etudes that represent the philosophies and practices of the facilitator and respond to the participants. Workshops are participation based rather than in the style of performative clinics or academic lectures. Focus is upon trust, openness and responsiveness, upon egalitarian participation and instantaneous creation that is experienced rather than commodified or owned. Ample opportunities are provided to participants to play their instruments and speak about their experiences.

 

NOW workshops are FREE with a (yearly) NOW Membership, please purchase your membership here. Additional Donations are gratefully accepted. Please Register for every workshop you want to attend. These in-house workshops accommodate up to 15 participants and 10 observers and will be presented online in a Zoom meeting (they will not be recorded) with a different facilitator each week.

 

Please consider these online meetings as entering into a very special place. We protect privacy in our workshops and adopt the We Have Voice Collective Code of Conduct. NOW workshops are not documented in any form by the Society staff, the Facilitator or any of the participants. This includes audio and visual recordings, photographs and screen shots. Read more about NOW workshop policies here.

 

Workshop pacing

 

• The technical assistant with Zoom set up and initiates a brief sound check.
• The workshop moderator presents or invites a Land Acknowledgement.
• The moderator invites everyone present to introduce themselves.
• The moderator discusses NOW Society workshop policies, upcoming events and introduces the facilitator.
• The remainder of the workshop is led by our guest facilitator.
• The technical assistant and the moderator are available throughout the workshop, by private messaging in the Chat. Participants can request a meeting in a break our room for discussion, or may be invited to a break out room to assist with technical difficulties.
• Any safety concerns can be addressed in private discussion in the break out rooms or following a workshop, or by emailing safety@nowsocieyt.org.

 

 

Our Facilitators

This series was curated by Lisa Cay Miller

Nov. 28  James Meger

Despite working and studying primarily in the fields of jazz and improvised music, JAMES MEGER’s experience on the bass spans many different areas of music. Born and raised in B.C. James is an active bassist in the local jazz and creative music communities.

 

Dec. 5 Douglas R. Ewart

Perhaps best known as a composer, improviser, sculptor and maker of masks and instruments, DOUGLAS R. EWART (born in Kingston, Jamaica and currently living in Minneapolis, MI) is also an educator, lecturer, arts organization consultant and all around visionary. Mr. Ewart encourages and celebrates--as an antidote to the divisions and compartmentalization afflicting modern life-the wholeness of individuals in culturally active communities.

 

Dec. 12 Ava Mendoza

AVA MENDOZA is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Born in 1983, she started performing her own music, and as a sidewoman and collaborator in many different projects, as soon as she was legally allowed into venues. As a guitarist, Mendoza has received acclaim for her technique and viscerality.

 

Dec. 19 Vicky Chow

With her expressive and nuanced interpretations of contemporary works, Canadian pianist VICKY CHOW has been captivating audiences around the world with her expansive repertoire and musical prowess, she enjoys a diverse career collaborating with many of the world’s most renowned composers and ensembles.

 

Jan. 2 Cole Schmidt

Composer, band leader and organizer of community projects, COLE SCHMIDT plays in a sonic eclectic style that has made him a collaborator with other like-minded musicians in Vancouver and abroad.

 

Jan. 9 Viviane Houle

Photo by Donna Balma

Jan. 16 Luke Stewart

LUKE STEWART has become a ubiquitous presence in Washington, D.C. He plays electric or upright bass in one of nine bands; presents concerts through his efforts with CapitalBop; and hosts a weekly radio show on WPFW Pacifica. Then there’s the steady flow of new music.

 

Jan. 23 Dalannah Gail Bowen

DALANNAH GAIL BOWEN has many titles — artist, storyteller, singer, performer, musician, activist, elder. The 75-year-old singer, described as Canada's matriarch of the blues, has been singing professionally for more than half a century and is currently based in Vancouver.

 

Jan. 30 Lisa Harris

LISA E. HARRIS, Li, is an interdisciplinary artist, performer and composer from Houston Texas, USA. Li’s work focuses on the energetic relationships between body, land, spirit and place. She uses voice, theremin, movement, text and new media to explore healing in performance.

 

 

Feb. 6 Marina Hasselberg

Photo by Cristiano Saturno

Cellist MARINA HASSELBERG’s musical career led her from her birth country of Portugal across the world to Vancouver’s eclectic music scene. Starting as a chamber musician specializing in classical music, her passions have expanded to include baroque music, experimental music, and interdisciplinary works that cross genre boundaries.

 

Feb. 13 Janine Island

Photo by Destanne Lundquist

JANINE ISLAND is a Montreal-based developer, composer and advocate of acoustic experimentation dedicated to exploring non-heirarchical systems and autonomy through creative improvised music. Janine’s work on developing structures for Indigenous self-governance accentuates her approach to encouraging individual autonomy through decolonizing musical practices.

Feb. 20 Jesse Zubot

Vancouver Island based JESSE ZUBOT is one of those unique musicians/producers whose praxis spans multiple genres and transcends contextualization into an idiom. Between moments of impassioned, visceral outburst and quite emotive sensitivies, Zubot exposes the full range of affects through a pristine sonic architecture.

 

Feb. 27 Fay Victor

Photo by Kyra Kverno

Brooklyn, NY (USA) based sound artist/composer FAY VICTOR hones a unique vision for the vocalist’s role in jazz and improvised music. Victor encompasses a distinctive vocalizing, language and performing approach with the foundation of the jazz vocal idiom, now encompassing an “everything is everything” aesthetic bringing in references that span the globe.

 

Mar. 6 Lisa Cay Miller

Composer, leader and community organizer, LISA CAY MILLER creates music in Vancouver and on her travels, in collaboration with fellow improvisors. Currently the Executive Director of the NOW Society, Miller has curated this workshop series.