Collective Improvisation – Ways of Sounding Together
Join our musician in residence Conor McAuley for this free improvisation workshop suitable for all musicians (any instrument/any level). It will be 90 minutes long and will have a max of 25 participants. Participants just need to bring their instruments, their amplification if their instrument requires it, and some pen and paper just in case.
Prebooking is essential for this one as we want to know your instruments in advance so we can ensure the workshop runs smoothly on the day.
About Conor McAuley
Conor McAuley is a drummer and composer from Belfast. He works in the seams of free improvisation, post-punk music, Irish traditional music, and human-computer interaction.
His trio ‘mcauley/mckeown/mccullagh’ skirt the borders of free improv, electronics, and Irish traditional music. Part of a vanguard reshaping the sounds of Ireland, the trinity sweep the lines of contemporary practice, foregrounding fiddle and guitar with transcendent electronics in a percussive bath of sound. Their work, championed by Scottish fiddler Aidan O’Rourke, has been featured in festivals alongside the likes of William Parker and Evelyn Glennie, and is known for ‘subverting audiences expectations of traditional music’ (Music Matters, BBC Radio 3), noted as being ‘absolutely special and totally unusual’ (Blas Ceoil, BBC Radio Ulster).
He is co-director of the long-standing improvising ensemble QUBe, at Queen’s University, where he is also a PHD researcher, assistant lecturer, and performance tutor. His activities at the Sonic Arts Research Centre have led to his work being presented across numerous academic institutes, including the Orpheus Institute, Belgium. His regular collaborations have led him to book improvised music nights at independent venues throughout Belfast. The nights feature travelling international artists alongside local improvisers and serve as a way of (co)creating a diverse community of improvisers across the scene, something that is key to the growth and sustainability of experimentation and creativity across the island.
Conor is our latest artist in residence with the Improvised Music Company‘s NAVIGATOR programme. Find out more here.
