The New Improvisers Studio

Jun 24 — 28, 2024
Field:

Rehearsal, Workshop

 Location:

Grand Luxe Hall, Western Front

 Time:

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Description:

Western Front, in partnership with Coastal Jazz, presented the inaugural edition of The New Improvisers Studio—a free, weeklong educational program for emerging musicians aged 17 to 24, offered as part of the 2024 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. The New Improvisers Studio supported collaborative exploration in musical improvisation, guided by a leading international artist featured in the festival and hosted in residence at Western Front. 

It was led by multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, with guest facilitators Sakina Abdou, Matthew Ariaratnam, Meredith Bates, Claire Devlin, Aviva Endean, Mili Hong, Sunny Kim, and Peggy Lee. 

The program participants were Alejandro Bryce (guitar), Seraphina Crema Black (vocals), Kit Colajacomo (trumpet), Mika Elkuf-Warthe (vocals), Emma Engdahl (guitar), Ruben Gregg (guitar), Olivier Hart (guitar), Harmeet Kaur Virdee (bass), Jack Lee (trumpet), Quinn McDonald (vibraphone), Sebastian Tulai (bass), and Matt Udry (cello).

They worked within the tradition of Butch Morris’s “conduction,” a type of structured free improvisation in which players in an improvising ensemble are directed by a series of hand and baton gestures from a conductor. Ismaily held space for each member’s personal approach to improvisation and composition and guided them to expand their musical language as an ensemble.

A daily three-hour workshop took place in the Grand Luxe Hall. It culminated on June 28, 2026, with an open rehearsal presented as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and featured guest musicians Peter Knight and Dylan van der Schyff. For the first hour of the open rehearsal, the public was invited to watch the ensemble practice the shared vocabulary they developed together over the course of the week. Following a lunch break, the ensemble performed durational conducted improvisation.

Presented in partnership with Coastal Jazz with the support of the Deux Mille Foundation, the Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation, the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation at the University of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, and SOCAN Foundation.
A group of young musicians sit in a semicircle in the Grand Luxe Hall, facing a bald instructor who stands with his back to the camera. The group features string, woodwind, and brass musicians.
A group of young musicians sit in a row, facing a bald instructor wearing all black. The group features several string instrumentalists and a brass musician. The instructor gestures at the musicians with one hand, stepping towards the group.
Several musicians, including vocalists and a bassist, sit in a row. In the foreground, a person with long, braided hair, a colorful, patterned top, and large hoop earrings smiles as they hold a microphone. The rest of the figures are slightly blurred, but all seem to be in a deeply attentive state.
A group of around ten musicians sit in a semicircle in the Grand Luxe Hall. The group features string, woodwind, and brass musicians. The camera is focused on the side profiles of three young guitarists.
A young person with short-cropped brown hair stands with one arm raised to the ceiling, facing a row of musicians. They wear black pants and a brown long-sleeve shirt. The group features several guitarists, a pianist, and a brass musician.
A group of musicians sit in a semicircle in the Grand Luxe Hall. The group features string, brass, and woodwind instrumentalists. Roughly half of the musicians sit with their backs to the camera. To the far end of the semicircle, a person wearing a striped sweater sits on the ground, addressing the rest of the group.
A group of musicians sit in a circle in the Grand Luxe Hall, facing a bald instructor wearing all black. The instructor stands in the middle of the circle, scratching his chin. The group features string, woodwind, drum, and percussion musicians.
A person wearing a blue knit hat and a navy jacket stands as they play the xylophone. In front of them, a group of musicians are seated in a semicircle, mostly out of focus. The group features brass, percussion, and string instrumentalists.
A bald conductor stands in the Grand Luxe Hall, surrounded by a group of musicians seated in a circle around him. The conductor wears all black, smiling as he waves his baton. The group features percussion, brass, and string instrumentalists.
A young person dressed in all black stands in the center of the Grand Luxe Hall, holding a conducting baton in one hand and holding the other up to the sky. Around them sit a circle of various musicians, including a drummer and multiple string instrumentalists.
A group of musicians sit in a semicircle, with a drummer at the farthest end. Next to the drummer sits a cellist who holds their hands up as they address the group. The rest of the instrumentalists pay careful attention to the cellist’s words.
A group of diverse musicians stand in the Grand Luxe Hall, posing for a group photo. Some stand with their instruments while others pose with their hands clutched together or wrapped around their bandmates’ backs.
On the left side of the stage in the Grand Luxe Hall, five musicians play their instruments. A few look down, while others look towards Susie Ibarra, who conducts from the right side. Ibarra’s raised arm is out of focus in the foreground.

Captions:

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.

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