Eugene Friesen's Vermont Improv Intensive
Bellows Falls, Vermont
July 21-24, 2016

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Improvisation, Instruction, and Inspiration for Classical Musicians

  The Vermont Improv Intensive

with

Eugene Friesen

July 21-24, 2016
Improvisation for Classical Musicians: Strategies for Creativity and Expression


Remember the feeling of uplift from a great performance? Have you wondered how to practice – not only your instrument but your LIFE – in order to channel that special feeling into your music and to your listeners?

Creativity and inspiration need nurturing, and the mindset that understands a challenge is rarely the mindset with the solution. For us musicians, improvisation is a way we access “the zone” where creativity, artistry and innovation live.

Through improvisation we can also experience mastery - no matter what our technical level may be.

In Vermont you’ll find a relaxed and lively context for exploring pathways to creativity while engaging in surprising music-making, participatory classes, rhythmic exercises, conversation, performances, networking, an inspiring environment, and lots of good food!

Join the scores of previous participants who have infused their playing and teaching with renewed creativity, and crafted lives of musical innovation and service to their communities by heeding their inner musical voices.

Enrollment is limited to fifteen participants, please register early to reserve your space!

This is a workshop for players with a background in classical music interested in exploring personal creativity through improvisation. (If you have questions about whether your instrument, background or proficiency level will be a good fit, please contact us.)

From Eugene Friesen:
"The twenty-first century calls for a new breed of musician. 
Whatever the players’ background – classical, bluegrass, jazz, Celtic or Old Time – 
contemporary culture demands musicians who are first and foremost creative
and collaborative.

"Since we each have a unique life story, there’s unique music in all of us.
With a balance between technique and free association, work and play, the goal is to reveal the music in YOU."

The Vermont Improv Intensive includes class and private instruction in an 
historic setting, introduction to contemporary practice technologies, custom study materials, performance opportunities,
jam sessions, and ensemble work.

Classes, meals and performances will take place in the historic Immanuel Episcopal Church (Stone Church) in the heart of Bellows Falls, Vermont. The church campus includes the Immanuel Retreat Center, air-conditioned accommodations and classroom, and the sanctuary is a magnificent space with warm acoustics and 9-foot Steinway grand piano.

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Eugene Friesen

Vermont Improv Intensive director, cellist Eugene Friesen, “…takes the cello beyond its traditional home of the classical ensemble, opening the door to a new era for the soulful instrument" (Digital Audio).  Through his unbridled improvisations, original compositions, and international workshops, Eugene Friesen has blazed new trails for classically trained musicians intent on discovering their creative musical voices. The recipient of four Grammy Awards as a member of the Paul Winter Consort, Friesen is a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.
(More about Eugene here.)

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Preliminary Schedule

Thursday, July 21
5-7 pm – Registration/Orientation/Dinner
7PM – Introduction: Four Simple Rules of Free Improvisation

Friday, July 22
8:30-10 am – private lessons
10:00 am - 12:00 noon – Modal Improvisation - Diatonics: Keys, Chords, Scales & Arpeggios
12 noon –  Lunch
1–3:45 pm  –  Hocketing (sharing the rhythm role) and Pentatonics
4–5 pm – Guest Masterclass: TBA
5-7 pm – Dinner/soundchecks/jamming/rehearsing
7:30 pm – Concert: Eugene with Guest Artist TBA

Saturday, July 23
8:30-10 am – private lessons
10:30 am–12 noon – Odd Meters/Polyrhythm/Africa
12 noon – lunch
1-2 pm - Private lessons
2:15–4:15 pm – Music of Brazil: Bossas and Choros
4:30–5 pm – Transposing/Transcribing
5-7 pm – Dinner/rehearsals/jams
7:30 pm – Free Open Concert: Student solos, duets, trios and quartets.

Sunday, July 24
8:30-10 pm – Private Lessons
10:15 am–12 noon  The Art of Creative Collaboration
12 noon – lunch
1– 2 pm -  Closing Circle & Conversation

About Bellows Falls, Vermont

(From the Boston Globe) "Overlooking the Connecticut River on the Vermont-New Hampshire border, Bellows Falls feels like a step back in time. Once one of the largest papermaking centers in the world, the town is replete with grand homes built by titans of the pulp, paint, canal, and railroad companies that operated there more than a century ago. Most of its diminutive downtown - a cluster of red brick buildings, including a multistory clock tower above Town Hall - is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Water has been the most valuable amenity in Bellows Falls, first making the area a prized Native American fishing spot (ancient Abenaki petroglyphs are carved in rocks by the riverbed), and later spurring the construction of mills, a bridge, and a canal system that turned the town into a hub of transportation and manufacturing. But Bellows Falls had a familiar post-industrial trajectory: By the mid-1900s most local industry had collapsed and the town fell on hard times. In more recent years, economic redevelopment and historic preservation efforts have injected new life into the community. Many of those gorgeous old homes have been restored, and a smattering of art galleries, modest restaurants, cute shops, and cozy inns makes Bellows Falls a quaint destination. "

Bellows Falls is served by Amtrak. The nearest airport is Bradley International in Hartford, Connecticut (please contact us regarding transportation to/from the airport and Bellows Falls).

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From Past Participants ...

"Eugene's String Academy was the best pure music-making I have experienced in many years.  His openness,
depth of knowledge, and mastery of the cello led everyone to unlock doors to personal expression
that will stay open for a long time.  This weekend was a gift." 
--  Crispin Campbell, Cellist / Educator, Interlochen Arts Academy, Michigan

"A spa for your musicianship as well as your mind and soul."
-- Jeff O'Neil, cellist / music educator, Massachusetts

"Oh, I see how this works.  Yesterday you couldn't get me to play a solo,
and today you can't get me to stop!"
--  Janet Haarvig, Cellist and Composer, Montana

"The inspiration from camp has stayed with me,
and I have even discovered a new part of myself that had been suppressed for a long time. 
The workshop was the perfect environment for me to discover, be supported, and to explore
my uninhibited musical personality. It has changed my life forever. THANK YOU!!!"
--  Cindi Kornhaus, New Jersey

"Eugene ... thank you so much for sharing your phenomenal artistry!
I think all of the workshop participants came away with new and renewed spirits
and affection for our instruments and for pursuing our own voices. Brilliant modeling,
great practice tools, strong guidance and encouragement for personal reflection,
helpful feedback ... WOW!"
-- Beth Youngblood, Montana

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Registration

Full tuition, including dinner each day, is $575. A nonrefundable deposit of $100 will reserve your space.
Info/registration: Please fill out the contact form below:

Click "Buy Now" to submit a $100 Workshop Deposit