Improviser-in-Residence Program
Welcome to our 2026 Improviser-in-Residence, Sarmen Almond!
The International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI) and Musagetes are thrilled to host the acclaimed Mexican vocal performer, artist, and educator Sarmen Almond in Guelph this autumn. In addition to developing her personal creative practice and giving masterclasses during her two-week tenure as the 2026 IICSI Improviser-in-Residence, Almond will give an artist talk and engage in collaborative improvised co-creation with local artists across a series of sessions.
Titled “Expecting the Unexpected: Three Sessions of Spontaneity, Structure, and Collaborative Art-Making with Sarmen Almond,” collaborative sessions with local artists (students are welcome and encouraged to register) will take place over the course of three evenings in ImprovLab: Wednesday, October 7; Wednesday, October 14; and Thursday, October 15 (all from 6:00 – 8:30 PM). You can sign up to participate through this link!
Almond will also be giving an artist talk at Musagetes (6 Dublin Street South, in Guelph) on Thursday, October 8 at 7 PM. Titled “Alquimia Vocal: The Transformative Power of Voice,” the talk will draw from her background in the Roy Hart tradition, Sonic Arts, free improvisation, and somatic work. Almond will share stories, questions, and experiences that have shaped her journey as an artist and educator.
Finally, join us on Friday, October 16 for a cumulative free performance by Almond in the Arboretum (200 Arboretum Road, Guelph), followed by a solo performance in ImprovLab (MacKinnon Building Room 108 at the University of Guelph).
For full info about 2026’s Improviser-in-Residence program, visit this page.
For more history about the Improviser-in-Residence program, read on!
Each year, IICSI and Musagetes invite an improvising performer to spend time in Guelph and develop an improvisational community project. Since 2011, the Improviser-in-Residence program has welcomed improvising artists of all disciplines (including jazz, hip-hop, and rock musicians; sound artists; poets; and installation artists) from across Canada, the United States, and around the world. As of 2026, our organizations have hosted 13 iterations of the Improviser-in-Residence (IIR) program, enriching Guelph’s artistic fabric while also providing radical opportunities for community-building through improvisational activities. The 2026 Improviser-in-Residence is Mexican vocal performer, intermedia artist, and voice teacher Sarmen Almond.
Kade L. Twist, 2017’s IIR
Each iteration of the IIR program is different. Each IIR creates the residency according to their artistic specializations, research interests, and community engagement experience, leading to unique and meaningful fusions of their work with Guelph communities. Through this program, improvisers have filled parks and public spaces with spontaneous music and art; led large community ensembles in performances at iconic Guelph locations like the Basilica of Our Lady and the River Run Centre; and created new site-specific and community-informed works, whether this meant capturing and sharing the sounds of our alleys, bridges, and trails or working with local Indigenous groups to workshop and create a score for a collaborative vocal performance.
Performance photo of IIR 2019 Marianne Trudel at the River Run Centre
IIRs typically conduct multiple community facing events, such as performances, keynote talks, and public interviews, to encourage broader community engagement with the Improviser-in-Residence’s work. The residency requires flexible collaboration between the improviser, IICSI, Musagetes, and relevant community partners; all parties work together through collaborative decision-making, thereby co-creating the residency.
The residency often culminates in a public event, bring together community members, partners, and participants. These have ranged widely: from Douglas Ewart’s Crepuscule, a large-scale community arts intervention in the University of Guelph Arboretum; to Marilyn Crispell’s performance at ImprovLab with the sprawling, newly-formed Creative Music Orchestra; to Dong Won Kim’s cumulative performance featuring large-scale group improvisations, traditional storytelling (in both English and Korean), intercultural musical forms, dance interludes, and audience participation.
Crepescule, a large community intervention led by 2016 IIR Douglas Ewart
In addition to the thousands of community members who have benefitted from this program over the years, the results of this residency program extend far beyond the improviser’s time in Guelph. Outputs from this program have included multiple book publications and CD releases; academic articles; exhibitions in Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo; and innumerable lasting collaborations between past IIRs and members of the Guelph community.
You can learn more about previous editions of the Improviser-in-Residence program below.
Past Improvisers-in-Residence
Marilyn Crispell (2025)
Jimmy Weinstein and Lilly Santon (2024)
Marianne Trudel (2019-2020)
Jen Reimer & Max Stein (2018)
Kade L. Twist (2017)
Kid Koala (2016)
Douglas R. Ewart (2015)
Dong-Won Kim (2014)
Rich Marsella (2013)
Miya Masaoka (2012)
Scott Thomson and Susanna Hood (2012)
Jane Bunnett (2011)
