Past Workshops

The Third Colour
Wednesday. February 23rd - 6:30 to 9 pm 
Studio 4 - Maritime Conservatory of Music
Chebucto Rd - West off Windsor St in Halifax

 The Third Colour
A clinic by veteran British jazz composer Graham Collier on jazz and jazz composition where he discusses the third colour which can be achieved by combining what’s composed with what is improvised. How this works and how a jazz composition can and should change from performance to performance will be demonstrated using the musicians in the audience.
All players should bring their instruments and be prepared to play. No previous jazz experience is necessary but the ability to read music would be a bonus, although not absolutely essential. 

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Sunday, January 9^th
10 am–James Dunn Theatre - free admission
Conduction Workshop with composer Jerome Blais, conductor Bernard Gueller, the musicians of Symphony Nova Scotia, includ. reading of a new work by Dalhousie student Sophie Dupuis.
2 pm– MacAloney Room - free admission
Upstream/Dalhousie Workshop  JAM. U/DO is a cross-generational collaboration of Upstream Music musicians and Dalhousie students and faculty, utilizing short scores,  conduction and free improvisation to achieve exciting results with composer/performers rotating as conductors.

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 open your ears - explore new sounds - channel your inner salmon
August 3rd to 7th , 2010  in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
 
We invite vocalists and players of winds, strings and percussion  to take some chances in a non-judgmental atmosphere and explore the tricky (and hugely rewarding) terrain of improvisation. Play with Upstream’s facilitators as they guide you through refreshing  concepts of improvising drawn from jazz, world music, contemporary classical  and  beyond .  The intention is to build a contemporary improvising orchestra together with the instruments at hand. Musicians of all ages who have experience in  performing, are interested in improvisation and being a part of an ensemble are welcome to enroll in Upstream’s 5 day intensive retreat led by  master composer-improvisers: Paul Cram, Geordie Haley, Adam Linson, Rick waychesko
The “hands-on” sessions will take place at the Citizen’s Band Hall in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia commencing July 8th, 2008 and culminating with a public performance at 8 p.m., Saturday August 7th. Workshop hours are: 10 am to 4 pm daily (evening jam sessions TBA).
 
The program will focus on work-shopping and rehearsing facilitators’ original compositions; incorporating techniques of free, rhythmic and  textural improvisation, modern compositional and notational strategies including concepts of arranging, orchestration, and “conduction” used in contemporary creative music.
 
Registration information:
www.thehall.ca

Upstream Music Association is a non-profit organization based in Nova Scotia, Canada that facilitates and promotes productions of  pan-genre orchestral music for ensembles of all sizes. The central shared vision of the Upstream is to produce and present concerts of the utmost intensity that sharpen our wits and increase our awareness of truth. We accomplish this “ecstatic equilibrium” most consistently through the precise articulation of relevant musical work that leaves room for the music of the moment to emerge, surprise and inform. Upstream empowers open-minded musicians coming from classical, jazz and world music orchestral traditions to absorb themselves completely in the music and together  achieve the highest levels of excitement in performance.

Upstream Music Association is pleased to collaborate with the Parrsboro Band Association in the development of a Cultural Campus for Atlantic Canada.  Special thanks to the Nova Scotia  Department of  Tourism and Culture.

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AUGUST 2009
Parrsboro Citizen’s Band Association, Parrsboro, Nova ScotiaUpstream Music Association, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
present The Parrsboro Upstream Jazz Sessions

AUGUST 25th to 29th, 2009
Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, Canada

All ages and voice/instruments are welcome.
Good sight reading and some improvisational skill necessary.
Space is limited and applicants will be chosen based on experience, enthusiasm and instrumentation. Please e-mail a letter of interest and experience including instrument played and contact information to: Rob Bentley – Sessions Administrator: 902-254-4669, [email protected] or mail to:
The Treasurer, Parrsboro Band Assoc. Cultural Campus P.O. Box 712,
Parrsboro, NS B0M 1S0
44 King St Parrsboro, Nova Scotia www.thehall.ca
Registration Fee for complete  program is $150 Cdn and
$50 per section

All Sessions will take place at The Hall: 44 King St, Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Syllabus, Schedule and Faculty
Welcome to a new concept of summer music fun. This year’s Parrsboro Upstream Sessions will take participants down roads less traveled by the jazz industry to tap well-springs of creativity. The New Jazz Orchestra, The Funk Ensemble and Silent Film Orchestra represent distinct points of departure where experienced musicians of all ages can discover new directions to take home with them for lifelong study. “Like Columbus discovering America…. well, it was already there” Al Neil – be-bop pianist, artist and author - from Changes © 1989. We invite you to join with this year’s faculty and go where no bands have been before……

Session 1
Upstream Jazz Orchestra (UJO)
10 am to 12 pm Tuesday to Friday.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Paul Cram, UJO will start with basic listening and playing exercises, where players reveal their originality through rapid responses in the moment. From there strategies will be developed to organize sounds and effectively harness the forces at hand. The sessions will utilize “conduction”, an approach to conducting that channels the energies of the players into improvisations that can have us charging over grooves with shouting vamps to storms, waves, fire and brimstone. In contrast the sessions will delve into more abstract expressionist solo, duo, trio and free improvisations along with serial compositional methods: One page scores with graphic notation will be developed, played through and analyzed to show what works. Students are encouraged to contribute to a collective composition. We will play, organize and rehearse this work along with faculty compositions into a UJO Concert on Saturday night.

Session 2
Parrsboro Upstream Funk Ensemble
2 PM to 4 pm Tuesday to Friday.
This ensemble will be led by Rick Waychesko , who has extensive knowledge of the fusion jazz funk songbook. The Ensemble will learn the music of Mike Stern and other luminaries of the genre. In contrast to the more freewheeling UJO, the emphasis here will be on precision and getting the music tight. Everyone will be encouraged to participate, although the funk ensemble session could inevitably divide into groups according to experience and skills.

Session 3
Parrsboro Upstream Silent Film Orchestra
8 pm to 10 pm Tuesday to Friday.
There is a school of thought that says that jazz came out of silent movies. If you have never experienced the vertigo and panic of playing to a relentlessly changing medium, this is for you. Even if you have experienced the terror it’s a compelling challenge that never goes away. We will be working primarily with Buster Keaton’s classic 1928 film Steamboat Bill Jr. The score is a “short” written for the film by Upstream’s Paul Cram. The score has lots of thematic material to play but leaves room for improvisation and “Micky Mousing*” with the characters.
*Mickey Mousing: where music follows on-screen movement.

Saturday will be a day for dress rehearsals and sound-checks: Schedule TBA
Concert at the Band Hall
Saturday, August 25th, 8 pm

Faculty Ensemble Bios
Paul Cram (bandleader/artistic director) - saxophone/clarinet/composer/conductor
Tenor saxophonist/clarinetist/composer Paul Cram played in R&B bands before earning a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia. Over the years, he has toured Canada extensively and co-founded several cutting-edge orchestras including the New Orchestra Workshop of Vancouver, Hemispheres of Toronto and his own Paul Cram Orchestra. In addition to winning the prestigious FIPA D’OR (France) for his work in film he has been nominated several times for Juno and National Jazz Awards. He now writes for television, film, theatre, dance and concerts and leads the Guerrilla Vacation Octet. He is Artistic Director of the Upstream Music Association, an organization that produces collaborative concerts in Halifax of local, national and international artists who share passion and commitment to exploration. His latest CD “Live in Lisbon” had rave reviews. www.paulcram.com

Rick Waychesko – (Tower of Power alumni) - trumpet/funk specialist
Rick Waychesko has been a professional musician for many years. Initially based in Toronto, He has played for extended periods with the Tommy Dorsey Band, Tower of Power, Lighthouse, the Moscow Circus, and the Philosopher Kings. As a busy session man he has performed on many movie soundtracks and albums. He has also backed shows with artists such as the Rolling Stones, Heart, Boz Scaggs, Herbie Hancock, Eartha Kitt, Junior Walker and many more. Since moving to Nova Scotia Rick has performed with many Maritime artists like Dave James, Barrett’s Big Band, and Paul Cram Quintet/Tentet as well as his own fusion groups. He has also become popular with young musicians as a first rate instructor of jazz-fusion ensembles.

Geordie Haley – (composer/improvisor/educator) - guitar/electronics
Originally from Fredricton, New Brunswick, Geordie studied jazz history, composition and improvisation at St FX and guitar with Oliver Gannon, Bill Frisell and Ted Dunbar. He has won several Awards: The Exclaim Magazine Best Improvised album of the Year, Louis Applebaum. Jazz composition Award Nominee, and numerous grants from Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and New Brunswick Arts Council. His recorded output is prolific: Geordie Haley: Sculptures (solo prepared guitar studio album with Jean Martin) and Seas of Song Trio, East Delta Trio, Rhys Chatham guitar trio, Geordie Haley Trio, Geordie Haley’s Everytime band: The Green Suite and Other Stories, and many more. www.myspace.com/geordiehaley

Adam Linson (USA/Berlin) – contrabass/electronics
Adam Linson is a double bassist, improviser, composer, and developer of real-time interactive systems for live performance. Born in Los Angeles, he has been active on the double bass and with computer technology since age 11. For the past decade, he has been based in Berlin, Germany, working around Europe with innovators in the fields of improvisation and interactive electronics. He has performed, recorded, and been heard on the radio on both sides of the Atlantic, as a soloist and with groups such as the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble and the John Butcher Octet. Numerous recent collaborations include a quartet with Evan Parker, trumpeter Peter Evans, and composer-performer Richard Barrett, a duet with Lawrence Casserley, and Systems Quartet with Axel Doerner, Paul Lytton, and Rudi Mahall. Before moving to Berlin, he earned a BA in Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, where he also studied music with George Lewis and Bertram Turetzky.

Katie Patterson (Leeds University student) – drums
A Graduate of Cobequid Educational Centre in Truro, drummer Katie Patterson is currently studying for her BA Jazz Degree at the prestigious Leeds College of Music in Leeds, England. Katie has had experience teaching privately, as well as being on the faculty of Nova Scotia Honour Jazz and Acadia University Summer Jazz Camp. She has performed across Canada and in the United States and is very excited to be back in Nova Scotia for the summer.

Timi Levy (Calgary Symphony alumni) – violin, electric violin
Timi is a professional violinist originally from Budapest, Hungary. Prior to moving to Parrsboro in 2007, Timi had performed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, National Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Sarah Brightman and the Tea Party. While in Calgary, Timi also taught private violin to over 40 students at the Mount Royal College and her home. Prior to coming to Canada in 1998 to participate in master classes at the Banff Centre of the Arts, Timi had performed throughout Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. Timi’s education includes the Hungarian State Examination – Master’s equivalence, qualified artist, chamber and violin musician/instructor. Timi currently teaches and performs violin and fiddle here in Parrsboro, Amherst and surrounding areas. In addition to this Timi has been conducting the youth orchestra here in Parrsboro through the Band Hall Association

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The Parrsboro Cultural Campus of the Parrsboro Citizen’s Band
and Upstream Music Association Present
The Upstream Orchestra Workshop
open your ears - explore new sounds - channel your inner salmon

July 8th to 12th, 2008 in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia

We invite vocalists and players of winds, strings and percussion to take some chances in a non-judgmental atmosphere and explore the tricky (and hugely rewarding) terrain of improvisation. Play with Upstream’s facilitators as they guide you through refreshing concepts of improvising drawn from jazz, world music, contemporary classical and beyond . The intention is to build a contemporary improvising orchestra together with the instruments at hand. Musicians of all ages who have experience in performing, are interested in improvisation and being a part of an ensemble are welcome to enroll in Upstream’s 5 day intensive retreat led by three master composer-improvisers: Lisle Ellis – bass and circuitry (NYC), Pierre Tanguay - drums (Montreal) and Paul Cram – clarinet and saxophone (Halifax)

The “hands-on” sessions will take place at the Citizen’s Band Hall in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia commencing July 8th, 2008 and culminating with a public performance at 8 p.m., Saturday July 12th. Workshop hours are: 1 pm to 5 pm daily (evening jam sessions TBA).

The program will focus on work-shopping and rehearsing facilitators’ original compositions; incorporating techniques of free, rhythmic and textural improvisation, modern compositional and notational strategies including concepts of arranging, orchestration, and “conduction” used in contemporary creative music.

The cost for the workshop will be $200 for the week. Enrollment is limited. Please send motivational history and experience including instrument played with your address, phone number and e-mail to Upstream Music Association, Box 36040, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J2S9 or e-mail: [email protected] . Further information: (902) 461-1232. You will be notified of your acceptance and asked to confirm registration with a cheque to guarantee placement.

If you do not live in Parrsboro, there are a wide range of accommodations available including country inns, B&Bs, motels, camping and cottages. Book early. Billets can be arranged. Parrsboro is located on the beautiful north shore of the Minas Basin in Nova Scotia, Canada, 2.5 hours northwest from Halifax. Google: Parrsboro Accomodations or Parrsboro Info

Upstream Music Association is a non-profit organization based in Nova Scotia, Canada that facilitates and promotes productions of pan-genre orchestral music for ensembles of all sizes. The central shared vision of the Upstream is to produce and present concerts of the utmost intensity that sharpen our wits and increase our awareness of truth. We accomplish this “ecstatic equilibrium” most consistently through the precise articulation of relevant musical work that leaves room for the music of the moment to emerge, surprise and inform. Upstream empowers open-minded musicians coming from classical, jazz and world music orchestral traditions to absorb themselves completely in the music and together achieve the highest levels of excitement in performance.

Upstream Music Association is pleased to collaborate with the Parrsboro Band Association in the development of a Cultural Campus for Atlantic Canada. Special thanks to the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism and Culture.

www.upstreammusic.org www.thehall.ca

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Marilyn Crispell Workshop

7:30 - 9:30pm – Friday, April 10, 2009
Saint Mary's University Art Gallery
$20 adult/$15 student

Upstream Music and suddenlyLISTEN team up to present an improvisation workshop for all musicians led by Marilyn Crispell. Here is a great opportunity to get up close to the music making of Crispell, and get a chance to learn from a master! Bring your ears and your instrument. Contact sL or Upstream 461-1232 for more information.

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Marilyn Lerner IMPROVISATION WORKSHOP

3:30 pm to 6 pm, Wednesday, January 9th,

$15 participants/ $10 auditors/free for Dalhousie Music students

Room 121, Dalhousie Arts Centre

musicians at all levels and instruments welcome

Marilyn Lerner PIANO MASTERCLASS

Thursday, January 10th 11:30 am to 1:30 pm auditors $15/students $10 Dal Music students free

Dunn Theatre/Dal Arts Centre

STATE OF THE ART SYMPOSIUM

Saturday January 12th, 3 pm to 5 pm

MacAloney Room 406 , Dalhousie Arts Centre

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TROMBONE-A-RAMA CREATIVE ORCHESTRA WORKSHOP with Michael Vlatkovich/David Mott and Jonathan Golove         1:00 pm Bus Stop Theatre: $20/15

Bring instruments, music stand and enthusiasm

Free public recital at 3:30

[email protected] to register

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Upstream Music in Association with Jazzeast Rising
has presented:

Ongoing Composer/Performer Workshops
in Improvisation/Conduction/Arranging/Nujazz Composition

A Love Upstream Jazz Composers Workshop  as part of the 22nd Annual TD Canada Atlantic Jazz Festival. Bandleaders’ original music at 1313 Hollis Street - July 13th to 17th, 2008 5 bandleaders bring musicians from here and away together for the first time to play their original creations. Prepare on any given night to die screaming, laughing, crying, quietly or joyously.
Sunday, July 13th
Jeff Torbert – music for violin (Gina Burgess), contrabass (David Langstroth). electric guitar (Jeff Torbert), saxophone etc.(David Christensen) and trumpet (Matt Myer)
Monday, July 14th
Dawn Hatfield – music for trumpet (Rick Waychesko), tenor sax/clarinet, (Paul Cram) baritone sax (Dawn Hatfield),cello {Matt Brubeck (USA/Toronto)}, contrabass (Pete Johnson), drums {Pierre Tanguay (Montreal)}
Tuesday, July 15th
Matt Brubeck – music for sax/oorophones (Dani Oore) baritone sax (David Mott), cello (Matt Brubeck), contrabass (Lukas Pearse), drums (David Burton)
Wednesday, July 16th
Lukas Pearse – music for violin (Gina Burgess), cello (Matt Brubeck), piano/electronics (Tim Crofts), contrabass/electronics (Lukas Pearse), drums (Pierre Tanguay)
Thursday, July 17th
Lisle Ellis (NYC) - music for trumpet(Rick Waychesko), sax/oorophones (Dani Oore), tenor sax/clarinet (Paul Cram), bass and circuitry (Lisle Ellis), drums (Pierre Tanguay)

“A Love Supreme (John Coltrane Quartet/1965) was one of the greatest jazz records of all time. Part of its greatness lay in the fact that it was entirely the original music of the late great saxophone genius John Coltrane. It was a monument of the beat generation that predated and influenced psychedelic rock and everything else. It was actually featured on CBC’s Q with Jian Ghomeshi a few months ago; some guy was on who wrote a book about the “making” of A Love Supreme. In this critical period of civilization, we must support the Herculean efforts of our present generation of musicians to channel the spirit of the ancestors and fearlessly raise their inner voices to the heavens.” Paul Cram – Artistic Director/Upstream Music Association

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Upstream Music’s 5th Annual
SONIC COURAGE International FESTIVAL
of pan-genre orchestral music (2007)
presents
Fred Frithand friends sounds photos

Wednesday, June 20th
SONIC CREATIVITY WORKSHOPS
At the Dalhousie Arts Centre
Master-classes: - 11 am to 12:30 pm $20
Guitar Master-class: Room 121 – Fred Frith.
Percussion Master-class: Room 111 – Pierre Tanguay
Bass/circuitry Master-class: Room 409 – Lisle Ellis
Orchestral Improvisation Workshop: 2 pm to 4:30 pm $30
with Frith, Ellis, and Tanguay – Room 121
All day pass - $40
E-mail: [email protected] to register.

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2006 SONIC COURAGE FESTIVAL
IMPROVISATION/PERCUSSION WORKSHOP
W/ NEW YORK DRUMMER/COMPOSER HARRIS EISENSTADT
June 15th - 7 PM to 9 PM Buckley's Music Education Centre 6208 Quinpool Rd
$15 - All levels and instruments welcome. Limited enrollment. Call 461-1232 to sign up.