Welcome our IfCM summer intern, Alistair Duncain! First-Time Take on Blank Tape Series

Alistair Duncan

This blog introduces the IfCM’s summer intern, Alistair Duncan.  Alistair is an incoming senior at the Eastman School of Music, majoring in Jazz Studies with an emphasis in trombone performance.  We’re excited to have him on-board!

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When I was looking at possible internships for this summer, I attended an internship fair hosted by the Arts Leadership Program, part of Eastman's Institute for Music Leadership. It was there where I met with Chris and he first described the Blank Tape Series to me.

To me, my first experience at a BTS event epitomized what attracted me to the IfCM in the first place-- the meeting of improvised music and the community. While I was there ostensibly for my internship duties, I got to be an audience member/musical participant.

To begin the show, Mike Kaupa (on trumpet, flugelhorn, and miniature keyboard) and Chris (manipulating pre-recorded electronics) premiered a new piece by local composer Jeff Grinberg. It was a fitting beginning: a piece of fascinating timbral combinations and explorations in soundscapes. The variety of colors and emotions that Mike got from his two horns-- using mutes, making loops, playing with just the leadpipe, etc-- and the way he interacted with the swells and pulses of the electronics meant that I was totally immersed in the music from start to finish.

Mike enjoying a tasty beverage

Next, Matthew Golombisky's Tomorrow Music Orchestra took the stage. As the centerpiece of the Blank Tape Series, this performance really captured what made this event special. Rather than an element of "audience participation" that might be a simple, albeit humorous gimmick, the Tomorrow Music Orchestra uses the audience as an integral part of the performance. Each person receives a score that has clear graphic notation for the different groups. In the second piece, written specifically by Matthew for the BTS this year, there are 3 groups, consisting of higher instruments, lower instruments, and speaking parts. Matthew led everyone through the score, simultaneously giving instructions while also leaving room for the musical input of all involved. Improvisation of different kinds played an important role in the final product; while some sections had fully written parts that were conducted, other sections had pitch collections that were left to the discretion of the musicians. The second piece had a trumpet cadenza, entirely improvised. The overall effect was a piece in which every person both shaped and listened to the piece. While I am accustomed to both performing and listening on a very regular basis, this experience of total audience/performer integration was new to me.

Quintopus - Photo by Juge Fumagalli

The show closed with a short set from Quintopus, a band I've heard on a few other occasions. This music, again largely improvised, blends a huge variety of influences in a clever and artful manner. While I have really enjoyed hearing Quintopus in the past, I found this listening experience different, because dual role of audience member/performer that I had just played meant that I was really carefully tuned into the performance. I found that I focused and interacted with the music in a way that I normally only achieve when I perform. Simply put, the intervening experience of the Tomorrow Music Orchestra had intensified my listening and made the following music that much more enjoyable and relatable. As a performer of improvised music, I sometimes wonder what the average audience member thinks or feels about the improvisation -- how much is planned, how much is totally improvised, what the framework is, etc. Is it confusing? Does improvisation draw in the listener in general, or can it alienate them? I think involving the audience community in the way that the Tomorrow Music Orchestra did at this BTS event brings the audience into a bit of the performer's perspective in a way that benefits everyone.