The Berlin Improvisers Orchestra can already look back on 15 years of creative collaboration. The ensemble of around 20 musicians regularly invites international guests to enrich the musical dialogue – including musicians from the London Improvisers Orchestra, the Wuppertaler Improvisationsorchester and the Tokyo Improvisers Orchestra. This time, saxophonist Raymond MacDonald, an outstanding representative of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, will be a guest.
With a multi-faceted repertoire that ranges from free jazz to improvised and contemporary music to sonic echoes of circus atmospheres, the ensemble never ceases to delight and surprise its audiences. The concerts combine conducted and free improvisation to create unique soundscapes that move between expressiveness, playfulness and sometimes grotesque humour.
Raymond MacDonald is a Scottish saxophonist, composer and music psychologist, known for his work in the field of free improvisation. He is co-founder of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and has collaborated with numerous prominent artists including Marilyn Crispell, Evan Parker and Günter ‘Baby’ Sommer. He has released over 60 albums and performed worldwide. In addition to his musical career, he is Professor of Music Psychology and Improvisation at the University of Edinburgh, where he also conducts interdisciplinary research into music communication and improvisation.
He will also be giving a public workshop at the exploratorium on Sunday, May 4th, entitled Exploring Musical Identities in Improvisation.
He will also be a guest at the Denkraum on Sunday evening for a talk on his improvisation research: key_concepts #9: Improvisation – The Art of Becoming
