Bobby Previte

Online Improvisation Workshop Student Showcase

June 2020



On June 17-20, 2020, percussionist and composer Bobby Previte led a four-day intensive workshop exploring music making through “free” (no written music) improvisatione. Participants focused on density, form, dynamics, tempo, silence, register, and orchestration to create coherent works. At the conclusion of the course, each participant created their own “score” for improvisation which was performed by other participants! Click on the composer below to view their original score.


ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:

Bradford Ray Bailey


Bradford Ray Bailey, from Charlotte, NC, is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and one of the pioneering faces of the Hybrid Guitar (which combines electric bass and guitar into one instrument, allowing him to perform both tones and roles simultaneously). 

Bradford has toured with 5-time Grammy-winning Jazz artist Victor Wooten, and recorded with producer Dr. Dre and K-Pop star Kim Jaejoong. 

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYRR8Juq1xI&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE

David A. DeWitt


Hailing from Upstate NY, David A. DeWitt was a 35 year veteran Teacher in both Rochester and Buffalo City Schools. He attended Nazareth College (BS in Music ED), University of Buffalo (Masters in Trombone Performance) and the Eastman School of Music. He has studied with Dr, Harold Reynolds, Donald Knaub, David Atwater, Kai Winding, Al Grey and Ashley Alexander. David is a Low Brass specialist, performing on Alto, Tenor & Bass Trombones, Euphonium, Tuba, Conch Shells and Flute. Having performed with Lawrence “Butch” Morris, Roscoe Mitchell, Elliot Sharp, Gino Vanelli, Frankie Valli, Fred Wesley and Wayne Newton to name a few.

David has written and recorded with Russell Thompkins (of the Stylistics), Jay Proctor (of Jay and the Techniques), The Legendary Dukes (whom he wrote and performed with for 16 years and recorded three CDs), Roosevelt Dean and the Spellbinders (performed with and wrote five years, and recorded two CDs), Rey Scott`s Unusually Different (a Sun Ra influenced ensemble) Dr Pocket, and many artists on the Forevermore Record label over 20 years.

Having retired from teaching on 2016, He now lives in Sarasota with his lovely wife Tanya and has no intention of ever moving back to the frozen north.

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wADk_UHOA9Y&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=10

Carlos Durán


Based in New York, Colombian guitarist and composer Carlos Alberto Durán writes music that incorporates an eclectic style synthesizing elements from the classical cannon and popular music. Deeply influenced by theatre and film, his music seeks to the understanding of dramatic narratives and the experience of time while exploring the potential of texture within mixed and acoustic settings.

Durán holds a master’s in composition from Mannes School of Music, studied with Joan La Barbara, Huang Ruo, Katherine Balch, and Lisa Bielawa. A holder of the Republic Bank of Colombia’s fellowship for young talented artists, First Prize in composition by Bogota Philharmonic, and two-time winner of the National Young Symphonic Composers competition by Caldas Symphony.

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtH0CA-kWB0&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=7

Gui Duvignau


Gui Duvignau is a bass player and composer born in France and raised in Brazil. His multi-cultural background has led to a life of traveling and musical exploration. A jazz musician in essence, he also draws inspiration from his experiences performing Rock, Brazilian and ‘World’ music, and from his studies in contemporary music.

His first album, Porto, in collaboration with singer Sofia Ribeiro was released in 2010 with the support of Portuguese radio station, Antena 2. His second album Fissura was released in 2016 on the Parisian label Onze Heures Onzes and selected among the best of the year by the French magazine JazzNews.

In São Paulo, Brazil, Gui led his own groups and performed frequently with trio Improvisado and the Carlos Ezequiel Trio – including performances with George Garzone and Leitieres Leite, and the recording of the trio’s album Circular with guests David Binney and Lage Lund.
https://cargocollective.com/guiduvignau

Tatiana Kahvegian (video artist/designer) is a visual artist and set designer from Brazil based in NYC. instagram: @tatianakahvegian

Leonor Falcon


Violinist and violist Leonor Falcon performs around New York City in ensembles that are dedicated to jazz, avant-garde, Latin and classical music. Some collaborations and performances include Willie Colon’s band, Akua Dixon’s Quartette Indigo, Sirius Quartet, Camila Meza and the Nectar Orchestra, Arturo O’Farrill Latin Jazz Orchestra, Maelo and the Latinoexperimental Project, Karl Berger Improvisers Orchestra, OKwarteto, Mimi Jones and the Black Madonna, Linda Oh’s Aventurine, Pablo Vergara, Michael Leonhart, Sarah Bernstein’s Veer Quartet, among others. 

Recent projects are Peach and Tomato, an improvising strings duo with violinist Sana Nagano, releasing a debut album The Ultimate Pairing on 2019, her solo debut album Imaga Mondo on 2017 (both on her label FalconGumba Records), and CHAMA, a trio of jazz and avant-rock with a first record released on 2016.Leonor has been teaching in NYC for the last 10 years students of all ages, mostly using the O’Connor Method, for which she’s a certified teacher, and part of the faculty at their summer camp since 2016. For more information: www.leonorfalcon.com. Leonor is endorsed by REMIC Microphones since 2019.

Watch her performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-o2TpWPHH0&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=14

Justin Geyer



Justin is passionate about exploring the connections between music, movement, mind-body skills, flow states and healing. As an improviser, he seeks to hone his access to the present moment and engage in democratic co-creation with the space around him and the people who exist within it. As a composer, he aims to create guidance for this creation. He is inspired by natural, psychic and mathematical patterns, as well as his own sense of spirituality.

In addition to making music, Justin is currently pursuing training in Music Therapy and the teaching of Mind-Body skills as a method of healing trauma, and is teaching music in the Berkshire and Hudson Valley areas. For the remainder of the pandemic, he will be exploring ways to increase his presence online and you may also be able to find him playing music (incidentally) in local parks in Kingston and the greater Hudson Valley area.

Niko Hasapopoulos


Niko Hasapopoulos is a musician from Minnesota who works in many different modes. He developed an early interest in heavy music, turning formative experiences in the School of Rock program into a burgeoning presence in his local music scene. Since entering college, he has taken many steps to develop himself as a composer and improviser, working in numerous new music ensembles in modes ranging from electroacoustic improvisation to rhythmically complex noise rock. At present, he plays bass in the mathy shoegaze band Semaphore, and guitars in the power trios Life Negative and Den Bosch. Additionally, through his independent label, New Sexuality Records, he continues to develop his compositional style as he works toward blending the popular and the avant-garde.

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SvZYznc26Q&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=11

Ethan Joseph Helm


New York-based saxophonist and composer Ethan Joseph Helm works in contemporary jazz, classical, and other genres. He leads the genre-hopping Cowboys & Frenchmen, releasing two albums on the Outside in Music record label that garnered frequent radio play and a four-star review in Downbeat Magazine, as well as three U.S. tours. His latest project, jazz-classical crossover quintet Wet Electric, released its first album in November 2018.

Helm composes for jazz ensembles (Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Air Forces in Europe Band), orchestras (American Composers Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s), dance, and film. He has performed at the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and throughout the United States and Canada.

Ethan grew up in a musical family in Southern California, holds degrees from Eastman School of Music (BM) and New York University (MM), and is a PhD candidate and in jazz performance and composition as well as a Steinhardt Fellow at NYU.

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-88PcHro3iA&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=12

Bobby Previte

Bobby Previte is a composer and performer whose work explores the nexus between notated and improvised music. One of the seminal figures of the 1980s New York ‘Downtown’ scene, Previte has received multiple awards for music composition including the 2015 Greenfield Prize for Music and a 2012 Guggenheim. His original compositions have been recorded and released by Sony, Elektra, Rykodisc, New World, Cantaloupe and Rarenoise. He leads a plethora of ensembles around the world from his instrument, the drums. Work: BLUEPRINTS, projected/conducted historical fragments (current), RHAPSODY, acoustic song cycle on migration (2018), MASS, metal + medieval + Messiaen (2017), TERMINALS, concertos for improvising soloists, with So Percussion, (2014).  


Watch his performance here: https://youtu.be/BgcyVFBxtUk

Dan Relayer


Dan Relayer, multi-instrumentalist and composer from Chernihiv, Ukraine, searches for sounds that have not been played and songs that are yet to be sung. Blending various musical directions into one cohesive fused whole – Dan Relayer constructs a unique eclectic style, which traces its roots to a multitude of vastly different genres, be it progressive rock, new wave, jazz, post punk, ambient, or others. Dan’s new works can be heard on YouTube, Bandcamp, and SoundCloud.

With the first single – ‘Leap of Faith’ – released in February of 2020, there are plans to release the first EP by the end of the year.

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqdYsx44gUU&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=3

Lyle Rivera

Arty Sinal


Arty Sinal moved to the Hudson Valley after a decade in the Bay Area, where he was a frequent participant in Jacob Heule’s Doors That Open series. Prior to that he spent his time in Lower Manhattan, where he performed with Gary Lucas, David Murray, among others. His current focus is on toy electronics and vintage analog electric instruments.

Watch his performance here: https://youtu.be/NLYl_MMs2pg

Prawit Siriwat


Brooklyn based guitarist and composer, Prawit Siriwat, is dedicated to creating soundscapes that blur the lines between our senses. Whether it is through the simple yet natural beauty of acoustic strings or the bloopy-bloop filled electro-sonic worlds, he has a meditative approach to creating musical pallets. 

Siriwat’s new compositions and songs can be heard live at venues throughout New York as he leads groups of incredible musicians that help him to actualize his progressive jazz-rock creations.

Prawit’s unique approach to guitar has given him the opportunity to work with many songwriters and bands. He is currently a sideman for singer/songwriter Bianca Muniz and guitarist in the indie-alternative band, RVBY MY DEAR. His guitar playing and textural contributions can also be heard on Emanu’s debut indie/rock/soul EP, Sing Me a Song.

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvnXg10CPnk&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=4

Juanma Trujillo

Rick Warren


Originally from Kingston, Hudson-based Rick Warren has been deeply involved in the improvisational and experimental music scene fostered by renowned vibraphonist Karl Berger at his Creative Music Studio in Woodstock. It was Berger’s chance visit to a Rick’s high school music theory class that led him to become a regular participant in twice-yearly workshops held at CMS, an international hot bed of improvisational music performance and education founded in 1971 by Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman. Rick is best known for his soundscape compositions using his guitar and a variety of electronic sound sources, each one a new and different on-the-spot creation. Today, Warren is also involved with the Woodstock-based soundpainting ensemble Audiocanvas , led by bassist Steve Rust and captured on the 2019 disc Some Bad Western. Rick is also active with the Hudson-based Slink Moss and the Magic Stones, the improvisational duo The Warren-Ver Straeten Half Quartet and the popular acoustic folk duo, Rick and Marilyn, with songwriter Marilyn Miller.

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M02lvRtOzfI&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=5

Matt Wiley


Guitarist/Composer, Matt Wiley, uses elements of improvisation and classical composition to create thought provoking and emotional listening experiences. Born and raised on the cusp of the American south, “have guitar will travel,” has taken him from bluegrass to outer space as a musician in L.A., Austin, Nashville and Atlanta. TV/Film composition, song writing and improvisation have led to life in the studio and on the stage as an “in-town” and touring sideman from independent artists to major label work. Work is currently being completed for a “music journalism” series, which is an aural and visual commentary on the human experience. 

Watch his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E3bA9MFK0Y&list=PLpDMrMTcoOADKzj28Mbj-hdvO6R9eRkKE&index=8

Hudson Hall programs are supported, in part, by an award from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.