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Improvisation As a Model For Social Change: Ajay Heble at TEDxGuelphU 2012

Ajay Heble

Published: 2012-11-24

Ted Talk presented by Dr. Ajay Heble at the University of Guelph on November 24, 2012.

Ajay Heble is Professor of English in the School of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph. He is the author or editor of several books and the Founder and Artistic Director of the Guelph Jazz Festival. Under his visionary leadership, the Festival—winner of the prestigious Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts (2010), and a three-time recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Award of the Arts (1997, 2000, 2001)—has achieved a rock-solid international reputation as one of the world's most inspired and provocative musical events. Dr. Heble is also the Project Director for Improvisation, Community, and Social Practice, a large-scale Major Collaborative Research Initiative, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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Improvisation is, simply put, being and living this very moment. No one can hide in music, and improvising in music is to be truly in this very moment and being completely yourself, with all your qualities and faults. It is probably the most honest state for a human being to be in.

– John McLaughlin in an interview with Daniel Fischlin.