Mondays at 7 p.m. PST
January 11 - February 15, 2021
A New Music-Making Initiative from Amateur Music Network
We all know we can’t play standard repertoire together online. The latency and lag means that rhythm just isn’t simultaneous. But we can still listen to one another and make music together! The online tools are getting better and we’re getting used to working around the limitations of being apart. That’s why Amateur Music Network is partnering with composer, bassist, and ensemble leader Lisa Mezzacappa to create an Online Music Laboratory, and we’re looking for a core group of musicians to launch it. We’re going to start by focusing on Bach chorales and other music that can be satisfying to play with a looser sense of pulse and more attention to the harmonic unity we can create together, even over the internet.
We are looking for 8 musicians who are interested in joining us to try this out. We’ll meet on six Monday nights, January 11 through February 15. We are going to experiment with various styles of playing, including group improvisation. We want to discover what works and what’s fun, and where we might take this in the future. Participants will be encouraged to suggest repertoire or create pieces for the online ensemble to explore.
Instrumentalists and singers are welcome, and we’ll be working with repertoire that isn’t instrument-specific, so you should be prepared to just be assigned a part when we get together. Everyone should open to a lot of group interaction and experimentation.
Event Logistics
Each session will start with a tech check-in at 7pm.
Music starts at 7:30.
You must be registered to attend. Registration is by invitation. Cost is $50 for the series.
The following technology is required:
- a good internet connection (at least 50mbps download). Check your speed at https://www.speedtest.net/
- an ethernet cable physically connecting your computer to your internet router (these are inexpensive; you may also need an adaptor to plug the cable into the USB port of your computer)
- an external microphone connected to core audio (either a USB mic or a traditional mic plugged into an audio interface such as the Focusrite Scarlett Solo)
- good, wired headphones (not Bluetooth)
- Jamulus software installed on your computer (free download from https://jamulus.io/)
- a relatively quiet place to be set up to play
To apply: submit this form. Deadline to apply is Monday, December 28.
If you are selected you will be notified by email and we will send a link to the registration page.
Lisa Mezzacappa is a San Francisco Bay Area-based composer, bassist, bandleader, and producer. Called “one of the most imaginative figures on the Bay Area creative jazz scene” by The Mercury News and “a Bay Area treasure” by KQED public radio, she has been an active part of California’s vibrant music community for nearly 20 years. Mezzacappa’s activities as a composer and bandleader include ethereal chamber music, electro-acoustic works, avant-garde jazz, music for groups from duo to large ensemble, and collaborations with film, dance and visual art.
Recent projects include Cosmicomics, a series of compositions inspired by Italo Calvino's stories about the origins of the universe; avantNOIR, a suite for sextet rooted in noir fiction; Organelle, a chamber suite for improvisers grounded in scientific processes on micro and cosmic scales; Glorious Ravage, an evening-length song cycle for large ensemble and films drawn from the writings of Victorian lady adventurers; and Touch Bass, a collaboration with choreographer Risa Jaroslow for three dancers and three bassists. Current projects include the duo B. Experimental Band which performs original compositions for improvisers bimonthly in Oakland, CA; and premiering in 2020, The Electronic Lover, an opera podcast created in collaboration with writer Beth Lisick.
If you have questions
Please email us at info@amateurmusic.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
