ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Creative Music Intensive is a two-week hybrid ( in-person & online ) program which will be held from July 15th – 30th at Arts Letters & Numbers in 2023. The program is open to musicians working 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.

This unique program will be directed and led by Michael Harrison (in person), Music Program Director and recurring Visiting Artist of Arts Letters & Numbers, and co-taught by Bergamot Quartet (in person), Aleksandra Vrebalov (in person), Elliot Cole (in person), Payton MacDonald (in person), and Arts Letters & Numbers founding director David Gersten (in person), with special guest Terry Riley (online). They will each host weekly classes on site and via Zoom, offer one-on-one private lessons, as well as facilitating potential collaborations with co-participants and local artists affiliated with Arts Letters & Numbers.

All residents must be willing to provide proof of vaccination or a negative covid test taken less than 48hrs before arrival.
There will be ALN affiliates around and we are always happy to engage and help out. Please know that during this time, we are low in numbers and we are also taking these months to recalibrate our operations and programs toward a future ALN. We will be around to check in on how things are going, and talk about any adjustments that need to be made as we are navigating these new waters together.
ALN Covid-19 Protocol
Public transportation is available through the Albany international airport or Albany/Rensselaer train station. We are happy to schedule a pickup and drop off from either location. Upon arrival you will be given a tour of the facilities by an ALN affiliate, a run through of the protocols of the facilities and covid guidelines.
Artists in residence are accommodated in the House on the Hill or the Twins both with shared kitchen, bathrooms and communal spaces. Although residents are responsible for their own meals, it is always encouraged that everyone in the house gathers to cook and share dinners together, or prepare dishes for the community events. Weekly grocery shopping runs for those without a car will be organized by the onsite ALN affiliate.
Arts Letters & Numbers facilities are a collection of buildings once part of the former textile complex Faith Mills along Burden Lake Road in Averill Park, NY: the House on the Hill, the Twins, the Barn, the Studios and the Shop. With a variety of different sized studio spaces (socially distanced areas in both large and smaller rooms), a wooden barn and the outdoor grounds, we welcome artists to think of these spaces at sites they can work with and within. We'll help you choose one that best suits your practice.
The Shop is equipped with basic woodworking tools and an assortment of power and hand tools. Additional equipment are digital media, musical instruments including a 9’ Baldwin concert grand piano, a 6’ Steinway grand and upright piano all available for artists to use.
Artists are expected to pursue their individual creative endeavor and many times this calls for leading a workshop, giving a lecture, sharing a film, partake in critique, exhibiting/performing work etc. These are optional but has proven to be an integral tool for artists to find inspiration and to allow others to experience the works in progress or previous works. The artist will be encouraged to propose any form of sharing suitable for their work.
Everyone staying at Arts Letters & Numbers is expected to treat the facilities with care and consideration as well as be mindful of each other’s space. Whether it’s in a living or working situation, everyone is responsible to clean up after themselves, and to lend a helping hand when needed. Arts Letters & Numbers is based on the value and reward derived from communal efforts.
Staying at ALN you will become part of an ecosystem. During this time you will be asked to follow the guidelines provided, and respect the integrity of the spaces, property and personal spaces.
There is a limited number of Scholarships available with partial reduction of the program fee. Scholarships are only considered for applicants for whom this is crucial for their participation in the program, and require a separate application. The scholarship application should be submitted once the program application has been submitted.

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

At the conclusion of the program, on July 29th, participants will present a public performance together (live onsite and online), in which they may perform or arrange for other musicians to perform their work. Participants will also have the opportunity to compose a new work for Bergamot Quartet, which will be premiered on their concert on July 28th. The participants’ concert, BQ’s concert and other events are opportunities to explore new performance practices and material in a safe and welcoming environment. In addition, the faculty will also offer two concerts during the program – please see details below.

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Composition: An Overview & Discussion (Michael in discussion with Aleksandra, Elliot and Payton)
Interactive Composers Workshop and Online Concert (Terry)
Improvisation (Payton and Michael)
Writing for Percussion (Payton)
Interdisciplinary Interactions & Collaborations (David)
Introduction to Just Intonation (Michael) 90 minutes
Writing for String Quartet (Bergamot Quartet & Aleksandra)
BQ will lead a session on preferred ways of discussing and workshopping works-in-progress and will share excerpts of participant works.
Aleksandra will offer technical feedback on writing for strings as well as on elements of composition in participants' works rehearsed by BQ.
Intro to composing and performing in alternate tuning systems and just intonation (Michael and Bergamot Quartet)
Forging new approaches to composition and performance through tunings and structures that extend the ancient concept of just intonation, a form of pure tuning constructed from musical intervals of perfect mathematical proportions.
Singing Indian Ragas (Michael, Elliot, Payton) 10 sessions on all weekdays - 60 minutes each
In this series of classes Michael shares the Kirana lineage of Khayal singing that he learned from his Gurus, Pandit Pran Nath and Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, as well as Terry Riley and La Monte Young. Primary attention will be given to learning the basics of raga and improvisation, as well as syllables and structural principles. Elliot will assist in teaching the classes. Payton will offer one session on Dhrupad singing which he learned from Ramakant and Umakant Gundecha.
Writing Rounds (Elliot) 4 sessions - 60 minutes each
Writing a round is a great skill to have at your fingertips—a focused composition exercise that can be practiced on a plane or a train, executed quickly or puzzled over like a crossword for hours. It hones your counterpoint skills and produces beautiful songs to sing with your friends. We will review counterpoint fundamentals, practice various strategies, and sing and study rounds by ourselves and others.
Adventures in Polyphony (Elliot) 4 sessions - 60 minutes each
We’ll explore music from various polyphonic traditions, including Renaissance music, Georgian music, and Shape Note hymns. We’ll primarily sing it (or play it on instruments), developing our musicianship and giving us a direct experience of how it works from the inside. We’ll also analyze it, and participants will have opportunities to compose music inspired by our adventures.
Introduction to Ableton Live (Elliot) 4 sessions - 90 minutes each
The computer program Ableton Live is a powerful and easy-to-use tool for recording, composition, sound design, and live performance. My approach is to shortcut the technical and go straight to the playful, putting you right in creative situations where you can learn by doing. We’ll explore collage, MIDI composition, loop-based improvisation, and sound transformation. While this is a class primarily for beginners, I’ll also provide exercises and support for intermediate and advanced students.

CONTENT

Composition Workout (Elliot) 6 sessions - 75 minutes each
I think of composing like exercise — the more often you do it, the more ideas and confidence you’ll have when you sit down with the page. So get out your pencils! I’ll lead us through hands-on practice of the elements of writing music. We’ll start by writing lines of all different kinds (what makes a line ‘good’, anyway?), and then explore approaches to patterning, variation, rhythm, and harmony. Notation skills not strictly necessary - students more comfortable in a piano roll are welcome to work in their DAW.
Entrepreneurship as a 21st-Century Ensemble (Bergamot Quartet)
BQ will lead a conversation about ensemble practice as a sustainable business.
Co-writing a Piece (Bergamot Quartet)
An opportunity to co-create music as a group. BQ will share their co-written work Slow Movement.
Imagining and sketching a piece of music (Aleksandra)
one 60-minute intro session + one 90-minute hands on & discussion
Discover ways to start a piece of music with visual sketches. Express your ideas through drawings in color, and then engage in a collaborative group analysis of the images in relation to musical elements. Through this process, you'll develop the ability to visualize and articulate musical concepts, as well as to gain insight into your own creative process.
Working with text (Aleksandra) 90 minutes
Unlock the text by analyzing both its meaning and sound; explore its potential as a structural element in a piece of music. Bring in texts of your choice, including poetry, journals, short stories, newspaper articles, or scientific records. By examining the texts on the spot, we would extract valuable information for the compositional process.
Sonic Divide/Sonic Peaks Performance Art (Payton)
Payton shares his epic music/film/endurance sports performance art pieces Sonic Divide and Sonic Peaks. With Sonic Divide, Payton rode his mountain bike 2,500 miles from Mexico to Canada, while premiering 30 new pieces of music in the wilderness, all of which he captured with cameras and then created an award-winning film. With his follow-up project Sonic Peaks, Payton is climbing all 146 peaks in the Northeast U.S. that are above 3,500 feet, and creating original graphic scores for each climbing experience. We'll discuss each project, and all the aspects of interdisciplinary art.
Sonic Divide trailer: https://youtu.be/oYM5_BjUKzY
Sonic Peaks trailer: https://youtu.be/AXPOyi721qM
Listening Non-Critiques (David, Michael & Participants) 3 sessions - 120 minutes each
These are opportunities to share our works in a safe and supportive framework and engage in positive conversations about the works and the connections between them.
Beatles Sing-along Party! (Led by Elliot)
Come sing the album Help! with a live band of CMI faculty and participants on July 18. Lyrics and chord charts will be provided. Participants who play instruments are invited to learn their favorite songs ahead of time, and we'll rehearse as a band before the party. All instruments are welcomed.

Collaboration with Bergamot Quartet
Bergamot Quartet, an NYC-based string quartet specializing in contemporary music, will be working with participants on a first-come, first-serve basis to workshop new music during CMI and premiere it on July 28th. Participants from all backgrounds and notational traditions (or lack thereof) are welcome to submit work and proposals.
Participants writing for Bergamot Quartet should send scores or detailed proposals, whichever is relevant to the work’s format, to BQ ( Bergamotquartet@gmail.com ) by July 1st. The number of works will be capped at 15, and participants will be notified when that number has been reached. The suggested duration of proposed works is 5-10 minutes.

Private Lessons (for in-person participants)
CMI 2023 will offer each in-person participant a total of two 60-minute private lessons: one with Aleksandra Vrebalov, Elliot Cole, Payton MacDonald or Michael Harrison, and one with any members of Bergamot Quartet.
Participants must make the request to schedule private lessons at least one week in advance. The faculty’s email addresses will be sent out along with the class schedule on July 1st.
For additional one-on-one lessons with CMI faculty, please contact them directly to inquire about fees and scheduling.

Private Lessons Opportunities (for online participants)
CMI 2023 will not offer online participants private lessons. If participants want to have one-on-one lessons with any particular faculty, please contact them directly to inquire about fees and scheduling. The faculty’s email addresses will be sent out along with the class schedule on July 1st.

The class schedule will be sent out by July 1st.

Archival recordings of online workshops and performances will be made available for future reference or use in grant applications and career development:

SCHEDULE

Creative Music Intensive will run July 15th – 30th, 2023:

July 15th - Arrival, Welcome and Introductions

July 16th to 28th - In-person and online classes

July 29th - Participants’ Concert (onsite & online)

July 30th - Closing Session (post-performance) & Departure

The class calendar/schedule will be announced on July 1st.

Concerts/Performances during the program:

Date tbd - Online Concert from Terry Riley & Sara Miyamoto (online concert)

July 18th - Beatles Sing-along Party!

July 21st - 1. Faculty Concert from Michael Harrison, Elliot Cole & Ritvik Yaparpalvi + 2. Experimental percussion and marimba duo Nava Dunkelman & Payton MacDonald present new works and improvisations

July 23rd - Beyond Zero, film screening, Bill Morrison & Aleksandra Vrebalov

July 28th - Performance from Bergamot Quartet (including premieres by participants who created new works for them)

July 29th - Participants’ Concert (onsite & online)

Private lessons with Aleksandra | Composition
Individual lessons will explore necessary tools for a creative process - from sketching of initial ideas, to bringing a piece of music to a physical world. Depending on each composer’s needs, topics would cover:
- spiritual dimension of creativity - why and for whom we compose
- (awareness of) synthesis of emotion and intellect in the creative process
- predetermined form, content-defined form, and free form
- notation and attitude towards the score and performers as “translators” of coded messages
- text vs. underlying (programmatic) narratives
- choice of instruments and orchestration

Private lessons with members of Bergamot Quartet
Each member of BQ will be offering "new and old classical [violin, viola, cello] repertoire and technique". In addition, Ledah, violinist, can also offer Celtic/old-time fiddle, and composition for composer/performers; Amy, violist, can also offer viola for violinists.