Creative Music Online

Creative Music Online is a two-week virtual program held from August 16th – 29th. The program is open to both amateur and professional musicians in any genre. Participants will be immersed in the creative process of making and performing music, exploring new approaches and developing individual and collaborative works as creative artists.

The program will be led by composer/pianist Michael Harrison and co-taught by Del Sol String Quartet, composer Reiko Fueting, composer/pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, vocalist Daisy Press, composer/percussionist/vocalist Payton MacDonald, and Arts Letters & Numbers founding director David Gersten, with special guest Terry Riley. They will each host weekly classes via Zoom, give one-on-one lessons (with the exception of Gersten and Riley who will be offering special sessions), as well as facilitating potential collaborations with co-participants and a wide range of artists affiliated with Arts Letters & Numbers.

Topics to be covered during group and private classes include composition; jazz and improvisation; performance practice and coaching; performance, recording and career strategies in the current environment; Indian classical ragas, rhythms and techniques; and developing interdisciplinary collaborations. 

At the conclusion of the program participants and visiting artists/teachers will present an online public performance. Participants will have the opportunity to compose a new work for a reading by Del Sol, Daisy, or Payton, who will select from these works which ones they will perform on the concert. Payton will also record and release a commercial recording of works that participants compose for him. Alternatively participants may perform or arrange for other musicians to perform their work. This concert and other events are opportunities to explore new performance practices and material in a safe and welcoming environment.