Creative Music Studio to Hold Spring 2015 Workshop

Composer/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist and educator Amir al Saffar, composer/trumpeter/bandleader and CMS veteran Steven Bernstein, and percussion master Warren Smith join Creative Music Studio Artistic Directors/Co-founders Karl Berger and Ingrid Sertso as Guiding Artists for the CMS Spring 2015 Workshop intensive, June 8 - 12, at the ear-inspiring Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY. The CMS Fall Workshop is scheduled for October 5 - 9 featuring Rudresh Mahanthappa, Billy Martin, Peter Apfelbaum and others.

More information and registration is available at: http://www.creativemusicfoundation.org/cms-spring-2015-workshop.html.

Based on feedback from past workshops, CMS's Spring 2015 Workshop will feature a new format designed to create more opportunities for participants and Guiding Artists to interact directly, formally and informally. CMS tested this format in Fall 2014 and received excellent feedback from participants. This workshop, during long spring days and nights, features one Guiding Artist(s) working with participants in two workshops each day versus past CMS workshops that offered multiple workshops with three or more Guiding Artists each day. As in the past, there will be daily CMS basic practice (body movement, breath work, rhythm and vocal training), as well as 90 minutes each day with Karl Berger leading orchestra of improvisers. Additional Guiding Artists will be on hand to work with participants on a more personal level, informally coaching, playing and tutoring daily. These will be named soon.

"Surveys with workshop participants provide the insights we need to continually tweak the workshop format," said Rob Saffer, Creative Music Foundation's executive director. "We heard that both participants and Guiding Artists wanted to work deeper. By simplifying the format, we gave artists and participants a better chance to get to know each in both formal workshop settings and more intimate informal settings such as meals."

CMS Workshop Guiding Artists in 2013 and 2104 included: Vijay Iyer, Dave Douglas, John Medeski, Henry Threadgill, Joe Lovano, Marty Ehrlich, John Hollenbeck, Oliver Lake, Don Byron, Tyshawn Sorey, Peter Apfelbaum, Tony Malaby, Cyro Baptista, Marilyn Crispell, Steven Bernstein, Jason Hwang, Kirk Knuffke, Kenny Wessel, Steve Gorn, Mark Helias, Tom Rainey, Thomas Buckner, Judi Silvano, Harvey Sorgen, Tani Tabbal, Ken Filiano, Badal Roy, Omar Tamez, and John Menegon, in addition to Creative Music Foundation co-founders Karl Berger and Ingrid Sertso.

CMS Workshops feature four days of intensive workshops, master classes, intimate concerts and informal jam sessions that inspire active listening, personal expression, improvisation and musical exploration. Musicians of any instrument, including voice, are welcome as are non-musicians. Adults who played music earlier in their lives can benefit from this lifelong learning opportunity that offers participants a once-in-a-lifetime experience to learn from and play with music masters, and to simply spend time with them in an informal, personal setting. The non-traditional atmosphere of the Creative Music Studio Workshop encourages participants to experiment, push beyond limits, genres and categories, to take risks, and to develop their own deeply personal musical expression. "All our workshops have a different feel," said Karl Berger, CMF's artistic director. "This workshop promises to be both conceptual and practical. These artists are great alchemists and at the same time, will offer insights into the art and craft of making original, creative music."

A recap of all CMS Workshops, along with highlight videos, is at:
http://www.creativemusicfoundation.org/cms-workshops.html.

A typical day at the CMS Workshop is:
8:00 - 9:30 Breakfast
9:30 - 10:00 Body Awareness
10:15 - 11:00 Rhythm/Voice Awareness, including GaMaLa Taki rhythm practice
11:30 - 1:00 Master Class/Workshop with Guiding Artist
1:00 - 2:15 Lunch
2:30 - 5:00 All Instruments Workshop with Guiding Artist
5:15 - 6:30 Improvisers Orchestra with Karl Berger
6:30 - 7:00 Listening Meditation
7:00 - 8:15 Dinner
8:30 - 10:00 Concert performance with Guiding Artists
10:00 - ? Participant concerts and jams, unscheduled sessions

Late night consists of playing music, unscheduled sessions, conversations, bonfires, or simply stargazing at Full Moon's gorgeous location in the heart of the Catskill Mountains, with the historic Esopus Creek running through the expansive property.

CMS's parent nonprofit, the Creative Music Foundation, is fundraising in order to offer full and partial scholarships for the workshop. For more information and online registration, please call the Full Moon Resort, 845-254-8009, email: music@fullmoonresort.com, or click this link for more information and to register: http://www.creativemusicfoundation.org/cms-spring-2015-workshop.html.

The Creative Music Foundation, a 501C(3) nonprofit corporation, makes it possible to profoundly experience and express our deep connection with the transforming energies of music, our universal language. CMF programs focus on the common elements of all music, emphasizing keen awareness, personal expression, intensive listening and cross-cultural communication, and providing unique opportunities for musicians, students and listeners from different backgrounds and traditions to explore together, share, develop, and broaden their musical understanding and sensitivity. CMF pursues its mission through workshops, residencies, coaching, concerts, recordings and archival projects that engage both listeners and musicians in the USA and around the world.

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