Open Panel Discussion chaired by Chats Devroop

Sunday, 12 February 2012
14.00h

Musicologist and performer Chats Devroop chairs an open panel discussion on the art of improvisation in music. He will be joined by performing musicians, composers, scholars and educators to discuss this theme through several questions which include, amongst others:

What is improvisation and how does this art manifest itself within the context of different music genres and styles? How do musicians and audiences perceive of improvisation in other cultures? Why has it been a problematic theme for scholars to investigate? What makes the phenomenon improvisation so significant in the South African musical landscape? What is the relationship between interpretation and improvisation? Does improvisation constitute or articulate a mode of knowledge transfer (aural or oral), particularly so in autodidactic cultures or communities? Is improvisation a creative hub or a comfort-zone for communities with a lack of music literacy? By contrast, is improvisation a lost art in academic frameworks? Where are the anomalies between improvisation as manifested in music performance as opposed to the shortcomings of the education system? What possibilities of music expression can improvisation help realize (e.g., in extracting and re-creating musical materials towards new performance contexts)?