July 20, 2019 - Emer Kinsella (Violin/Composer)
What do you know about emotions?
Many times we’re interacting with a group of people, but not everyone is feeling the same way.
That was the premise of an improv session led by Emer Kinsella. We adopted and used it the rest of the way.
Emer is not just a brilliant composer and violinist, but also an over-the-top concert producer. Her music is completely innovative and experiential.
The first video I saw of her work was a concert where each of the musicians was in a different window of a multi-story building. The audience watched from the courtyard.
I would help her later when she organized a handful of string players to perform at the Culver City overlook. It’s an outdoor amphitheater at the top of a hill surrounded by hiking paths. The concept was not to advertise the performance, but rather to let hikers stumble upon the music. But even more special, instrumentalists were scattered across the mountain pre-concert, all improvising on the same motifs.
A couple years later, Emer would produce a concert on the Culver City stairs, in downtown Culver City, across the plaza from the Culver City Hotel. Many artists are now following suit.
A string quintet was on a landing half way up with the audience on the stairs and lawns the rest of the way. Dancers performed throughout the audience, down the stairs, behind the musicians, through the huge plaza, on a balcony overlooking the stairs, and everywhere else you could imagine.
Emer is not just a composer and concert producer. She innovates with imagination.
The concept of her improv exercise for each student including herself was to select a different emotion that was written on folded up pieces of paper in a bowl.
The group had to perform a cohesive improvised piece of music, while each expressing their randomly drawn emotion.
This exercise was so brilliant. The kids came alive as they were given another way to think while they played. It elevated our Inception delivery.
I would like to make a side mention here, that we were off the first portion of July because of the LEAP gala. I had gotten so little sleep that there were stretches of this session where I am sure I was asleep on the couch.
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