“To some extent I happily don’t know what I’m doing. I feel that it’s an artist’s responsibility to trust that.”
― David Byrne

Musicians and visual artists translate sound into images and images into sound. We, the musicians and artists, will inspire each other, engaging in a dialogue by listening and observing. During our improvisations, we will share our emotions, building a shared story through sound and image. We start with a blank slate. The less we try to execute something pre-planned, the more we react in the moment, increasing the chance of something magical. Experience it with us! Additionally, there is a workshop where visitors can participate, giving you the opportunity to visualize music through drawing or painting.

Program:

13:00 – 13:40: First session with musicians and artists
14:00 – 14:40: Second session with musicians and artists
15:00 – 15:40: Drawing and painting workshop with participants
16:00 – 16:45: Finale: All musicians improvise together under the direction of a conductor

Participating artists and musicians: 

Here is the list of participating artists and musicians:

Elke van der Brugge** (classical pianist and painter/installation artist)
Jascha Cavia** (brush and trumpet)
Hugo Costa** (saxophone)
Pepijn van Dorst** (saxophone)
Phillip Ernsting** (drums)
Jonathan Ho** (double bass)
Bert den Hoed** (piano)
Eveline Ketterings** (emotions)
Andrew Montero** (guitar)
Montie Middelkoop** (trumpet)
Lea von Terzi** (brush and clay)
Karin Voogd** (brush and ink)
Martijn ter Winkel** (markers and brush)

“It can often seem that those in power don’t want us to enjoy making things for ourselves – they’d prefer to establish a cultural hierarchy that devalues our amateur efforts and encourages consumption rather than creation.”
― David Byrne, How Music Works

Mark October 6th in your calendar! We will be hosting an improvisation festival featuring two short presentations and a free improvisation jam session. Also taking place at the Heilige Familiekerk. Bring your instrument! Duo’s, trio’s, and quartets will be randomly assigned for 5-minute improvisations.

This event is organized by the artists’ collective De Kerk and Northern Light Switch. We aim to engage Rotterdammers both passively and actively in improvisation. These improvisations encourage focused listening and observing one another. The beauty of our previous improvisation events has been the connection between different generations and cultures in the city. David Byrne, in his book *How Music Works*, describes how commercial interests and the invention of the gramophone have shifted our listening habits towards idolizing sellable figures, while people used to play music themselves. Our goal is to bridge the gap between experienced artists and beginners by bringing many Rotterdammers together through our events.

Come and experience the magic of music and visual art in improvisation!

“Creative work is more accurately a machine that digs down and finds stuff, emotional stuff that will someday be raw material that can be used to produce more stuff, stuff like itself – clay to be available for future use. ”
― David Byrne, Bicycle Diaries