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McGill Colloquium 2008

2008 Suoni Per Il Popolo Colloquium: Text, Media, and Improvisation

On June 21-22, 2008 the Sala Rossa hosted the first ever McGill-Suoni per il Popolo Improvisation Colloquium, as part of the ongoing Improvisation, Community, and Social Practice Research Project. This international event brought together scholars, musicians, and critics to address the ways in which improvised music is composed, recorded, stored, and disseminated. The speakers discussed a variety of topics related to the theme: "Text, Media, and Improvisation." Speakers at the colloquium included composer, improviser, and educator Roscoe Mitchell (AACM, AEC, CAC); scholar, improviser, and former Montreal native Charity Chan (Finaison trio); and scholar and improviser Georgina Born (FIG, Henry Cow). Papers were presented from morning until late afternoon (please see “Schedule” for more information), followed by performances in the evening, and culminated on Sunday evening June 22nd with a rare Roscoe Mitchell solo performance at the Sala Rossa.

Concerts:

  • Murray Street Band, with Steve Baczkowski/Ravi Padmanabha duo, Paul Flaherty 9pm Saturday June 21st ($8/$10 Casa del Popolo)
  • Roscoe Mitchell - 8:30pm Sunday June 22nd ($23/$25 Sala Rossa)

There is a curious yet enormously fruitful duality in the way that improvisation plays on our expectations and perspectives.

– Tracey Nicholls