New Website and Blog

All new posts from now on will be on my website > new areas for audio downloads and extra materials.

SoundArt

We presented a piece today at University using composer and performer indeterminacy.





Casey, Tom and I created the score, then interpreted it (freely and using instruments in unconventional ways). Although “easy” at first glance, there are a whole range of problems to be dealt with in coming up with “chance music”, not dissimilar to the problems encountered composing in general. Questions of structure, balance, interpretation, sound, communication, and hardest of all for (us square!) musicians - making the dramatic elements work.



We attracted a good little crowd of passers by, and the cleanup was assisted greatly by the rain. Our tutor was a bit concerned about my stipulating that the score may not be reused (i.e., any future performances must include the creation process all over again), but maybe one could open it up to an audience auction at the end. To cover the cost of materials, or donate to “cultural causes”.

Funkin' it!

• Maranatha Christian School (Endeavour Hills, Victoria) Year 7
Click here (or right click to save) to hear the work (mp3 file/3:02/2.8MB)


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Dream With A Train

Cool new groove from the MegaSoundOperators featuring artists from Bethal Primary School!!


Click here (or right click to save) to hear the work (mp3 file/2:40/2.5MB)




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Sound Operators #1 and #2

Note: these posts will be soon be migrated to a new blog dedicated to this material alone. New links, including detailed information about the project, photographs, as well as a greater capacity to interact and contribute will be made public very soon. Stay tuned!


We are a team of 5 musicians working for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's Education and Community Outreach Program.
Our aim is to encourage expression and creativity through music experimentation, listening, and recording.

Here are the results of the first two “MSO Pledge” school workshops:

• Maranatha Christian School (Endeavour Hills, Victoria) Year 9-11
Click here (or right click to save) to hear the work (mp3 file/5:03/4.7MB)

• Hillsmeade Primary School (Narre Warren South, Victoria) “Music Masters”
Click here (or right click to save) to hear the work (mp3 file/2:33/2.4MB)


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Ellingtonian

The closing credits music from the soundtrack (by Mark Isham) of Cool World (1992)
The drumming by Terry Bozzio is extraordinary.
I was lucky enough to play on this session (in Munich); the film might not have done so well but the music is excellent.

Sportsmanship

silence = violence

Went down to the playground near the beach yesterday and happened to see a bit of junior cricket (under-14s?) at the oval.

I saw two dismissals. The first boy came off the field and threw his bat 3 metres, swearing, and ripped his pads and helmet off. The second (soon after) smashed the stumps over with his bat, and did the same performance off the field. Nobody did or said anything - not the umpires, coaches, parents, nor team mates.

I never saw anything like it in 6 years of junior cricket playing.

Are these little fellows copying their professional counterparts? Or their parents? Why didn't anybody at least approach the second little batsman, as he sat alone for the following 20 minutes with his head in his hands?

The parents and coaches evidently think the violent displays are normal and need no comment. They do not have the skills to comfort or talk when it is most needed. I imagine them saying to one another:
- he'll be right
- let him work it out on his own
- he's a bit upset, leave him alone

Silence is the greatest form of violence - and these young people are not learning to express themselves; to communicate how they are feeling. These gatherings show what an aggressive society we are. You see the cowardice, the inability to communicate, the uncontrolled angry outburts, then the internalization of pain. The playing didn't exhibit any characteristics of togetherness, teamwork, mentorship, or respect that are so often espoused as being benefits of sport.

Internet matters

This isn't directly related to the "noise, sound, music" debate, but is worth passing on.

I recently changed internet providers, because despite not changing browsing habits, my uploads (which are metered with Telstra) started sky-rocketing. In a day of normal internet use, we were racking up 300 - 500MB of uploads! Doing nothing much except checking/sending email, and the odd youtube clip. No file sharing.

I completely overhauled security - modem and wireless and account and computer (including scans for malicious cookies). No discernible difference.

Moved to Internode - excellent company / highly recommended.
Filled in the online fast transfer on 30th December; got an SMS from Internode at 6pm on the 31st saying it was all ready to go.

Our suburb still has an old steam-driven telephone exchange (pre-war copper wires?), so I'm not able to take advantage of the speed of ADSL2+ Extreme, but the standard plan (here's a list) is behaving very well. They don't count uploads in the monthly quota, but the usage monitor still shows them if you're interested. The levels have returned to normal.

By the way, Whirlpool is an extremely good source of information on all things internet related: modem security, plan choice, and much more.


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Noise

Here's a quote from a wonderful book I'm reading at the moment The Rest Is Noise by Alex Ross.

Schoenberg (around the time of his early atonal works) in a letter to Alma Mahler:

listen for "colours, noises, lights, sounds, movements, glances, gestures".




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Holiday

Posts will begin again with vigour in January.





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Carter 100

Elliott Carter is, I believe, the first "famous" composer who has composed a piece for his own centenary.

The Astra Chamber Music Society in Melbourne is putting on a concert a few days before his actual birthday featuring the Brass Quintet (Program Note - pdf download), written in 1974.

ECQ
Tristram Williams (trumpet)
Mark Skillington (trumpet)
Geoff Lierse (french horn)
Bob Collins (trombone)
Charles MacInnes (bass trombone)

We formed this ensemble in 2002 for the express purpose of learning and performing this demanding work. We gave several performances (for Astra, VCA, and at the MIFB), and are now doing it again in honour of the 100th!


To help us become familiar with the metric modulation of the work, I made a click track.
CLICK here to listen to (or RIGHT-CLICK to save) a low resolution MP3 (56 kbps/16'41") of this file (7MB) - caution - do not use this link if you want to hear any music; this is for learning purposes only!

Wry Practice

Practicing in a virtual world

I couldn't play for almost a week because of some unexpected neck problems (spasm of the sternocleidomastoid muscle). One of the host of doctors and physios I saw, who has dealt with musicians before, said that practice can be just as effectively continued without actually playing.

She said I was to stand or sit, use the metronome (or whatever props), and spend time hearing and visualizing myself playing beautiful music.

I did this. When I picked up my trombone this morning and played again I have to say that everything felt fine (except the neck!). I wasn't bothered by the usual "oh this is going to sound and feel shithouse" thoughts. Of course the muscles, the ears, the instincts still know what to do.

Who was it who told me that I have to do this certain amount of practice everyday? Is it self imposed control? The talking muscles still know how to talk after a vow of silence, surely? Not that I would know anything about this.

Some of the best musical lessons and insights come from non-musicians, or at least non-brass players. One of my uni trombone students was asked recently, while being coached on some Mahler Lieder by a repetiteur:
- Can you change between those two notes without moving the slide?
- It's not physically possible
- Do it anyway
He did it, and she said:
- That's the legato I'm talking about

I also remember doing a cruise ship gig with a chamber orchestra once, where Christian Lindberg came on as guest soloist. I was up at the pool caring for my Verve Clicquot aftershocks. He was next to me in the deck chair, "virtually" playing through the pieces he was learning for the following week's concert. Whistling, singing, playing the positions with all the attention and focus of a performance.

I'm not saying all this to advocate a downing of tools. But, I am beginning to realize that all the practice in the world is wasted if the underlying musical and expressive intention isn't there. And precisely this is best practiced away from the horn. It's musical meditation.

Lips and Tubes

Demonstration

Inspecting the horns

Jam #1

The girls


Jam #2

Close up #1

Blowing!

upcoming Workshop

SOUND with guests Michael Kieran Harvey and Kanako Okamoto
Tuesday 23rd September 12:00 - 1:30 in Room 113 VCA
First reading and discussion of new work for trombone, electric bass, and piano.
Charles MacInnes (trombone)
Jeremy Aslop (electric bass)
Michael Kieran Harvey (piano)
Kanako Okamoto (composer)

SOUND was formed in 2006 by Charles MacInnes (trombone) and Jeremy Alsop (electric bass guitar). We created the group as a vehicle for our own compositions, spontaneous playing, and explorations into, well, sound! The group recently received an Australia Council grant for the composition of a new work. Having performed in galleries and as guests at several universities we are now embarking on a series of collaborations with other musicians, visual artists, and writers.

On the 23rd we are presenting an open rehearsal with Japanese composer Kanako Okamoto, who has written a work for Michael, Jeremy, and myself.

We envisage this to be a valuable workshop experience for advanced student musicians and composers in their search for creating a new ensemble aesthetic that puts interaction and sound at the forefront.

I would be delighted if you could pop in for some or all of this event, or indeed if you have any students who may be interested in hearing and talking to these musicians, please encourage them to attend.


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The White Nile

A Sudanese woman, Ajak Kwai, descendent of the Dinka Bor people from the south, graced the Mother of God Primary School in Ardeer with her presence courtesy of The Song Room. A singer and storyteller, she danced, laughed, lectured, drummed and sang the children far away, to a place where Kororoit Creek flows into the White Nile.

Some Sudanese mothers timidly watched as their children joined the chanting with pride (and giggles). Ajak explained to me in the staff room that many Sudanese women in Australia know nothing or very little about the music sung by their people or their culture in general, having sometimes spent twenty years or more in refugee camps in Kenya and other neighbouring countries of Sudan. That the rhythms Ajak teaches us can drum the Sudanese children back to their roots, or at least forget about Ardeer for a fraction of a second, makes today's performance a lesson in time travel. With great authority, wit and musicality, Ajak shared not only her skills, but something about what it means to settle and resettle, to lose and gain ground, with Mother of God Primary School Children who are all searching for ways to express similar sentiments. When it is time to leave and we have said our thanks to Ajak, Ardeer looks less dry and Sunshine a little brighter.

[links to some material recorded today are to follow]

Drawing Conclusions

Wasn't quite sure what to do with my young Song Room students the other day. I showed them some scores from Stockhausen, Wagner, Bach, and Ligeti. Talked a little bit about symbols which could indicate different musical parameters without going too much into specifics.

Then I played them 6 or 7 bits of music of all sorts of styles. They listened and drew.

After they had finished I went through the drawings, singing them to provide ideas about how to read and perform the new scores. We tried a few and they all got stuck in.

Note that all students listened to the same samples - I think you will be able to draw your own conclusions about the different reactions to music. In some cases the students who were used to "knowing all the facts" were stumped and didn't know how to begin. Some of the Sudanese children did extraordinary flowing charts that I had a great time singing.

Have a look at these:
[clicking this link will download a pdf consisting of 15 pictures - approx 4.4MB]

Cat

Workshop progress

Am four weeks into trying out my new "noise sound music" program. The school has 80-odd children all up. Things haven't been as easy as I thought, but there have been some successes.

Week 1 "Our Space" - lying on the floor, listening to all ambient noise, copying what we heard, recording everyone's name, sending them home with the task of listening out for interesting sounds.

Week 2 "Dream Orchestra" - finding all sorts of playable objects, classifying into categories of volume - pitch - length, following my hands to perform and record a (non rhythmical) piece.

Week 3 "Hymn" - singing clusters, copying all sorts of vocal samples (Ligeti, Kenyan, Bulgarian, Tibetan, Indian etc), thinking of words and singing them in a particular way, recording results.

Week 4 "Rhythm Machine" - what is rhythm?, copying patterns (I know I said no clapping games but...), keeping time, counting in groups doing threes fours fives simultaneously, marching and chanting, and dancing to my sampled drum grooves.

These children have had no music lessons, and 25% have not previously been to schools. I was not prepared for the "problem" children - behaviour that demands attention but then meek and shy when it is given. The staff are fixated with "developing strategies" for dealing with this, and I appreciate their help!

The singing exercise was the most difficult of all - one girl out of 80 managed to sing her word ("cat") in a way that was imaginative and interesting. The rhythm stuff went off beautifully - nothing like a march...!?

The material that I record is then listened to, cleaned up, and talked about etc with a smaller "target group" the following week. The names have been arranged in alphabetical order - like a sort of group audio photo. The Dream Orch stuff was dismissed as unusable rubbish until I took random slices and looped them - the collective jaws dropped and suddenly we were back in business.

I have to say this is some of the hardest work I've ever done - but they are wonderful little musicians and I'm eager to see how we go together for the next little while.

Crap Shooter

My main "blog writing" time has been occupied with theatre work (here's a clip) for the past few months.

In the gaps (and during the show!), I've been putting together workshop materials which I am going to begin presenting for The Song Room among others. I am working on 20+ different titles under the broad heading of "noise sound music".

The challenges I have set myself:
(1) no music "theory" or crotchets/quavers
(2) no clapping games
(3) no (un)tuned percussion or recorders
(4) no nursery rhymes or kiddie/animal songs
(5) no music that isn't ours

Everything will be recorded (..some recorders allowed!). Workshop titles include: Our Space, Dream Orchestra, Lips and Tubes, The Trance, Noise Pollution, and Code Breaking.

I am reading R Murray Schafer and Keith Johnstone, and will begin posting summaries and follow ups of the workshops as they occur.
I would be very happy to hear feedback, ideas and experiences on (non-traditional / effective ways of) introducing music and sound to (young) people.

The Revised Scale and Chord Book

The revised version of the book is ready.

It includes the warm up, sample routine, advanced scale library in all keys, as well as the suggested reading list.

Coil bound copies printed on good quality paper are available. Contact me via the comments section for price and information about ordering.

Keys

Not once but twice....

Dropped everyone off at the St Kilda farmers' market, went back to the car to discover that the keys were in the ignition and all doors were locked. S borrowed some barbecue tongs from the Veg Out communal garden next door and managed to squeeze them through the partially open passenger side window.

Then I went to run some errands, came back an hour or so later. Parked in the Luna Park carpark and locked them in again. This time window closed.

Veg Out came good with a coat hanger and I tried for 45 minutes to pull the latch thingy up through the rubber seal, children eating lollypops to keep from going mad or getting run over. A passing locksmith finally did it in 45 seconds.

Bad day indeed.

Queen Victoria's Mash Up...

or the Susato Sandwich?

Have just returned from playing a 10-piece brass gig for the MSO which farewelled the Queen Victoria from the Melbourne wharf.

You know how certain club owners have to be asked a couple of times to switch the house music off because, like, the band is back on stage? Well, we had that on a large scale tonight. We were getting stuck into the hits of the English brass eighties with Susato Suite, Three (or Four) Brass Cats, and something by Ray Premru when the ship PA started blaring the hits of downunder out at the same time. Slim Dusty, Men At Work, Midnight Oil and some others I think.

Anyway, the client was nice enough to slop a bit of Yellowglen into our plastic cups and the band(s) played on, fought it out.

What did it sound like on deck? Was this Melbourne avant-garde at its best?

.....Bon Voyage

Delays with Practice Materials

Michael B and I are planning to put an entirely new book together incorporating all this scale stuff and more, and in greater detail. We plan to have this ready by halfway through the year.

In the meantime, I'll post slightly revised pages from last year's edition as soon as I can chop them up and save them for downloading etc. Please be patient - it's a slow job using a free blog, and a free fileserver....

Revolt Against The Pod: Part 1

Rediscover The Stereo

Bought a beautiful 1980s Luxman CD player at Savers for $17. Got the Harman/Kardon amplifier repaired, dusted off the Danish speakers, found the old Monster interlink and speaker cable.

Beautiful warmth, incredible clarity.

Conclusion:
Computer CD players sound bad, and MP3 should only be used if music merely serves as cheap sunglasses for the ears.

Flower Child

I've lost a dear friend and colleague through sudden and awful circumstances. The press are highlighting all the wrong things.
Thank you LE for everything you did for me in Hamburg. This is an end of an era. I'm glad your death was that of a rock star, though, and not a retiree.

Practice Materials #2 (Introductory Scales)

Here are the scales and chords! In this post you will find all keys in the introductory format.

Each key is a separate downloadable PDF file - and each consists of two A4 pages.
(note: they will be added progressively as I finish them. Treble clef versions coming soon. See subsequent post for advanced scales)

Enjoy them; work slowly and carefully. There's no hurry.
Any questions please let me know :-)

KEY AREA - click the relevant letter to download its file:
C
F
Bflat
Eflat
Aflat
Dflat

Brief Note

The mass of practice materials is heralding the beginning of a new teaching year. Getting off to a good solid organisational start!

Recommended Texts for Brass Students

Adam Routine, (unpublished)
This routine by trumpet teacher Bill Adam does not to my knowledge exist in formal published form, but is referred to and practised by many players. This, I believe, is the original source of the “fanning out long tone” exercise.

Crook, Hal. How to Improvise, Advance Music 1991
Improvisation teacher at Berklee College (Boston, Mass.) and trombonist Hal Crook’s book is a masterpiece of organization and ideas. Every player (improviser or not!) would benefit from reading his thoughts on practice and systematic approach to learning. Bursting with scale and chord exercises which are nothing short of ingenious.

Edlund, Lars. MODUS NOVUS Lärobok i fritonal melodiläsning, AB Nordiska Musikförlaget / Edition Wilhelm Hansen Stockholm, 1963
A collection of atonal sight singing (reading) exercises specially written as well as collected from the repertoire. This book is a standard text in many music faculties at universities, and goes through the various intervals. Excellent material for escaping the well worn “major/minor” paths - challenging and beneficial for aural and musical development.

Iyengar, B. K. S. Light on Yoga, Allen & Unwin, 1976
Many musicians have benefited from yoga. This book is helpful in teaching you all about the practice and philosophy of yoga, but can also encourage you to appreciate the similarities between yoga and mastering a musical instrument. The author’s clear and unequivocal instructions provide much comfort during the many hours in the practice room.

Levine, Mark. The Jazz Theory Book, Sher Music Co., 1995.
This is the most comprehensive resource for explaining intervals, chord and scale relationships, progressions, practice tactics and much more. Filled with musical examples and enlightening anecdotes, this book is a must for anybody interested in how harmony really works.

Mainous, Frank D. Melodies To Harmonize With, Prentice Hall, 1978.
400-odd melodies of all styles organized into 19 sections, which go progressively through the various chord types needed for harmonization. Uses chord symbols, but also traditional terminology. Extremely valuable collection for musicians to discover that advanced (e.g., altered and augmented) chords are by no means restricted to “jazz” or “modern music”.

Reeves, Scott D. Creative Jazz Improvisation, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, 1995.
Very useful book with chapter by chapter guide to each mode/chord. Includes thorough transcriptions of solos, patterns, and licks which add enormously to the understanding of how progressions work, and are extremely beneficial for developing the ear.

Schlossberg, Max. Daily Drills and Exercises for Trombone, Carl Fischer, (date unknown).
Classic routine book that contains an impressive collection of exercises, many of which have been incorporated into other standard routines. The interval studies, as well as ubiquitous exercise no. 17 alone make this book indispensable.

Slonimsky, Nicolas. Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns, Music Sales Corp, 1997.
An extraordinary book (first published in 1947) that contains a vast array of octave additions and divisions that spawn hundreds of “new” scales, chords, and other patterns. This is “Schoenberg meets Coltrane” in one volume, and is required reading for anybody looking for harmonic ideas.

Spence, Greg. The Only No Mystery Guide to Trumpet Mastery, Mystery to Mastery Publishing, 2006.
Commercial trumpeter Greg Spence has written a book which demystifies the whole business of air, chops, sound, and range. It takes you step by step up from low C (on the trumpet), introducing many original ideas, and teaches you to play properly and easily. Adaptable to trombone and highly recommended.

Vernon, Charles G. A Singing Approach to the Trombone & Other Brass Instruments, Atlanta Brass Society Press, 1995.
Essential text that collates and presents years of Edward Kleinhammer and Arnold Jacobs (former Chicago Symphony bass trombonist and tubist respectively) devotion. Excellent source of exercises covering flexibility, range, and smoothness.

Australia Day in Footscray

Paella on the barbie, and the old Xmas tree for fuel

Published by the "American Savings And Loan Association" in 1969, the Spanish Cookbook cost us about 50 cents at a garage sale somewhere.

Lit up a nice fire using an old Guardian, scraps of wood, and later some briquettes. We put a cast iron wok on the barbecue plate and browned about 8 drumsticks in olive oil. They came out and in went the onion puree, tomato, capsicum, chili, and arborio rice. Chicken back in, then calamari rings, king prawns, homemade fish stock, flake (shark) fillets, peas, mussels.

Let the whole thing bubble away for about 25 minutes.

Still seemed too sloppy when we put it on the table - but within 5 minutes the liquid disappeared into the rice. Fish and seafood done to perfection. Best dish ever.

Meanwhile Chinese New Year is being celebrated two blocks away. We countered the crackers and "Miss Wu" being first afraid then petrified on the Droop Street stage by burning the Christmas tree. Which caused some concern from AFM (3 years old) and many sparks.

Industrial Action in German Orchestras

"Die deutsche Orchestervereinigung streitet mit dem deutschen Bühnenverein um höhere
Gehälter - und droht mit Warnstreiks der mehr als hundert Kommunal- und Staatsorchester.
Musiker könnten Aufführungen verzögern - oder sogar die Bühne früher verlassen."

click here to download a pdf version of the whole article (Der Spiegel / deutsch)
or here to go to the original url (Der Spiegel / deutsch)

Mop and Bucket Technology

I’ve just bought a beautiful, expensive, wonderfully designed mop with matching sturdy plastic “clamping” foot operated bucket (despite being an obsessive cleaner, I don’t know the mop/bucket equipment jargon…yet).

Before the floor mopping operation there is a general sweep with a nice wide-headed-bristled yard broom. The treasures, once herded together into piles, are encouraged into the bin with the help of a sleek brush and pan, whereby the brush has a revolutionary rubber flap embedded in the bristles. This means that nothing escapes.

The mopping itself is a pleasure (recommended cleaning solution: Grön Såpa - click the picture to enlarge) and dries very quickly. Rinse mop well, and leave it to air outside.

The whole process involves little more sweat than a superficial vacuum, but the results are far superior. You can feel a clean floor with your feet.

When computers started getting fast enough to start doing "the music thing" properly, a friend and I in Germany spoke about whether to go down that track or not. The usual arguments and questions. It’s expensive, you have to keep upgrading, does it really save time?, the brass sounds are crap, etc.

Carol A introduced me to the Tools and Materials Metaphor, which I selfishly applied to justify my computer greed. I bought a Powerbook 3400. Ingolf B got a grand piano, wad of manuscript paper, and a nice sharpened lead pencil.

ArtPlay / MSO

The year is getting going with two days of workshops (2nd and 9th February) with ArtPlay/MSO. The participants are 8 to 13 year olds and the players for the year's ArtPlay ensemble will be drawn from these days.
Respective web details:
MSO Website
City of Melbourne Website
and here is wonderful information from an illustrious leader.

Equipment List

Boring

Instruments: Fuchs-Conn 70H / Conn 78H (both 1937) & Schilke 59 / 50

Microphone: AKG 414 B-ULS

Monitors: Genelec 1029A

Mixer: Mackie 1202-VLZ

MIDI Controllers: Behringer FCB1010 / Faderfox LC2

Software: Ableton Live, Pro Tools

Hardware: MacBook Pro 2.4GHz

Practice Materials #1

The basic daily warm up and technical routine (for trombone) is ready for download.
All students can use this routine, however the scale section (to follow) will be available separately and in two different formats (introductory / advanced).

The routine covers the following basic material, which is done in a different key each day:
Breath
Buzz
Pure Sound
(then comes "Scale=Chord" - posted separately)
Song

click here to download the routine [v4.2 /9 pages /110KB / .pdf]

SOUND (DUO)

formal information about my duo

Trombonist Charles MacInnes and bassist Jeremy Alsop formed the group “SOUND” in 2006 as an ensemble vehicle for their own composition and music creation. Their music has always been a matter of convergence of techniques and materials. It does not discriminate between improvised jazz, electronica and contemporary chamber music.

Alsop has extensive experience as a studio musician since the 1980s, having played on hundreds of TV commercials and with prominent jazz artists in Australia and the US. He is also a keenly sought music producer and recording engineer. MacInnes has played with orchestras and new music ensembles both in Australia and Germany, and is currently visiting lecturer in trombone at the Australian National University in Canberra. Both are gaining recognition as composers, with growing requests for works from musicians exploring music that overlaps the usual stylistic delineations.

SOUND explores the association between electronics and the human to create an aural space unique to the contemporary listener. While many of the pieces rely on the presence of the laptop, its role is anthropomorphic; in other words, it is always part of the orchestration and is never used gratuitously.

The program consists of one hour of music without breaks, and is ideally situated in an intimate to medium-sized venue. Program notes are made available, if appropriate. Recent performances have taken place in galleries, arthouse cinemas, universities and generally attract an artistic audience with a wide demographic. The group’s first CD is nearing completion and will be available in 2008.