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For Wylie Ferguson, musical improvisation, like you hear in modern jazz, is as easy to do as chatting with someone at the coffee shop.
Ferguson, 22, is a Squamish product and musician who facilitated a workshop at Howe Sound Secondary School at the end of May for students interested in the art of musical improvisation.
鈥淚 work for the NOW Orchestra in Vancouver, which is the New Orchestra Workshop Society,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a collective of professional musicians who鈥檝e been teaching these workshops for more than 20 years in the Lower Mainland.鈥�
Ferguson said kids are usually a little shy or timid when they first start learning an instrument, and are hesitant about musical improvisation.
鈥淚n the workshops we ask them if they鈥檝e ever had a spoken conversation,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 improvisational, so we show them that it鈥檚 the same thing, but we鈥檙e teaching them to talk with their instruments. It鈥檚 an exploration and learning experience.鈥�
Ferguson said he hopes to bring the NOW workshops back to Squamish in the new school year.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to start doing the workshops regularly at all the schools,鈥� he said. 鈥淎fter each workshop, the idea is to split the students up into different groups and have a concert where each group performs a short improvisation. We are hoping to start up sometime in September. The workshops are free for the students.鈥�
In addition to his work as a liaison for NOW, Ferguson is finishing a degree in musical composition at Capilano University, and also teaches guitar and music theory privately in town.
鈥淚鈥檇 also like to set up a monthly chamber orchestra,鈥� he said.
For more information on the NOW workshops, or to contact Ferguson, email him at [email protected].
