improvisation

Name: Thinking Spaces: Alex Chesney and Dr. Nathan TeBokkel—Storied Social Practice: Improvisation in Farming and Food
Start: 2026-02-04T13:30:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-04T15:00:00-05:00
Location: ImprovLab

October 2024
“Singing in the Circle,” with the GCVI Chamber Choir, Carey West, and Joe Sorbara

October 22, 2024 @ 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm

"How to Draw a Tree" Wellness Circle Johnson Green, Gordon Street, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Please join us on Tuesday, October 22 at 12:15 PM(ET) for “Singing in the Circle,” with the GCVI Chamber Choir, Carey West, and Joe Sorbara. This concert will take place at the "How To Draw A Tree" Wellness Circle, at the SW corner of Johnson Green, University of Guelph Campus (across from the Reynolds Building near Gordon Street). The event is free and open to all students and community.

Don't miss the GCVI Chamber Choir (directed by: Lane Osborne) improvising with vocalist Carey West and percussionist Joe Sorbara in a special collaboration with the IICSI!

Free
SOAN and IICSI Present: “Deference Rituals and Creative Buzz: Theorizing the Creative Trajectories of Songs and Songwriters” with Taylor Price.

October 23, 2024 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

MCKN 621 87 Trent Lane, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Taylor Price will dive into the dynamics of culture creation in songwriting teams, exploring how cognition, interaction, and relationships shape the creative process. Drawing from his ethnographic observations in music studios and interviews with music producers, he will discuss the social interactions that drive both the linear and nonlinear paths of creativity.

Free
“SAVE THE DATE!” A Creative Community Concert with Jimmy Weinstein and Lilly Santon

October 24, 2024 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

After an inspiring series of six “Open Sessions” workshops, IICSI’s 2024 Improvisers-in-Residence are thrilled to invite you to a two-part evening of creativity and surprise:

“SAVE THE DATE! A Creative Community Concert with Jimmy Weinstein and Lilly Santon”

Free
November 2024
Thinking Spaces: Phil Mullen, “Ways Into Improvisation”

November 15, 2024 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

*** Rescheduled to 12:00 PM (ET) ***

In this participatory workshop, Dr Mullen will look at three approaches to group improvising—1) improvising with pulse and rhythm, 2) using stimuli such as text, visuals and thematic starting points, and 3) the Search and Reflect methodology as pioneered by Phil's mentor John Stevens, a key figure in European Free Group Improvisation. Please bring an instrument if possible.

Free
Thinking Spaces: Priya Zalis, “Clinical Improvisation in Music Psychotherapy”

November 22, 2024 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

*** Rescheduled to 12:00 PM (ET) ***

In this workshop, Priya will introduce her approach to music psychotherapy in the context of adult mental health, inviting attendees to participate in exploring the role that clinical improvisation can play in accessing and processing emotions, building social connection, and developing personal insights and growth.

Free
February 2025
Sam Newsome—The Popeye Effect: Unlocking the Artist’s Power to Transcend (talk + solo concert)

February 9, 2025 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Silence 46 Essex Street, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

In this masterclass, we explore the importance of moving beyond our earthly selves to reach our true creative potential when improvising. As artists, our improvisational journeys can take us from the explainable to the unexplainable, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Using the iconic cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man as a metaphor, we will discuss what true transcendence looks like in the creative process. We will also delve into how to employ extended techniques and instrument preparations as methods of transcendence, pushing the boundaries of traditional performance. Active participation from fellow musicians is highly encouraged.

$20
[Cancelled due to Inclement Weather] | hakosalo_tuohino: “How a Sound Follows Another” (Talk @ ImprovLab)

February 13, 2025 @ 10:00 am - 11:30 am

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Cancelled due to inclement weather |
In this discussion, we'll shed light on the art-theoretical approaches of the hakosalo_tuhino duo. Our improvised music comes from the archaic kantele playing tradition, where you are in the music instead of making it. Drawing from the deep listening method, our sonic expression is a spatial and temporal experience that cannot be recorded and repeated.

Free
May 2025
the space between (Guelph Dance Festival—In the Lab)

May 31, 2025 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

the space between is a research-based creation that explores the intersection between sacred geometry (the transcultural belief that the universe is based on geometric principles such as the Golden Mean and double helix) and our relationship to the embodiment of the unseen and ‘déjà là’ (‘already there’).

$15 – $25
June 2025
LITHOPHONICA | CD Release, Concert/Discussion

June 12, 2025 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Please join us on Thursday, June 12 at 7:00 PM (ET) to celebrate the release of the marvellous, eccentric Lithophonica I & II (Bedrock Resonances) by Gayle Young and James Harley on the Farpoint Recordings label in Dublin.

This CD Release, Concert, and Discussion event will take place in person at ImprovLab, MCKN 108 at the University of Guelph. Admission is FREE and open to everybody!

More About LITHOPHONICA

Stones, the instruments featured on this album, are joined by sounds of bells, sticks and Young’s stringed instruments as Harley expands their resonance, shaping sounds through granulation, layering, transposition, delays, and spatialization.

Young’s collection of resonant stones from the shores of Newfoundland, resonant sticks from abandoned beaver lodges in Ontario, played with bells and assorted hardware, are combined with stringed instruments she designed and built.

As hex-bolts are rolled over stones resting on strings, their vibrations cause the strings to sound. Bells resonate with stones, stones rock on strings, and resonant sticks bounce on strings.

Signal processing simultaneously expands the depth and frequency range, adding complexity through layering and subtle shifts over time.

Additional details to follow

Free
October 2025
Thinking Spaces: Lucy Rupert, Lisa Hirmer, and Christina Kingsbury “Interdisciplinary Improvisation & Ultrasonic Moth Songs”

October 7, 2025 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

In August 2024, dancer Lucy Rupert, musician Ben Finley, as well as artists Christina Kingsbury and Lisa Hirmer, collaborated on the interdisciplinary performance Ultra-sonic Moth Songs. Audiences present that magical summer evening experienced improvised music and movement among the moths at the Moth Garden! Join us to watch some of the beautiful archival video of the event and talk about the process of creating this environmentally inspired, multi-disciplinary improvised performance.

Free
Sharon D. Engbrecht: “World-Building: Improvisation and Narrativity” Public Lecture

October 27, 2025 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

We are pleased to announce that IICSI Postdoctoral Fellow Sharon D. Engbrecht will be delivering a public lecture in ImprovLab at 10 AM on October 27. This event is free and open to all! Dr. Engbrecht's lecture will explore the dynamic between improvisation and narrativity. Both share elements of world-building or of negotiating how the…

Free
February 2026
Thinking Spaces: Alex Chesney and Dr. Nathan TeBokkel—Storied Social Practice: Improvisation in Farming and Food

February 4 @ 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

ImprovLab MacKinnon Room 108, 87 Trent Lane, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Growing and making food are ancient practices yet also scientifically advanced, necessary for everyday living yet often inaccessible but to experts, interdisciplinary yet highly specialized. Considering the role of improvisation in farming and cooking, especially in our chosen subfields of beekeeping and dietetics, fruitfully foregrounds these tensions. With improvisation as our watchword, we bring to…

Free

October 2024

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October 2025

February 2026

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