Australian Improvisation Practicum 2: Tools For Collective Expression
Photo credit: Ruby Song
The Australian Improvisation Practicum is a three-day residency that delves into musical language unique to Australian improvised music, with a specific focus on exploring potential intersections with compositional frameworks.
Led by faculty from the Australian Art Orchestra, participants engage with systems of music creation that empower performers to contribute meaningfully to collaborative creative processes while preserving their distinct artistic voice. Through practical sessions and workshop-masterclasses, the practicum offers direct insight into the methods and philosophies that have shaped AAO practice for three decades.
Alongside artistic development, the practicum also considers broader questions of ethics in artistry, cultural context and Australia’s unique position within the global creative music ecosystem. The result is a holistic program that encourages participants to consider not only how Australian creative music is made, but what it is - and what it could become.
Australian Improvisation Practicum 2: Tools for Collective Expression builds outward from the foundation established in the inaugural practicum, with a focus on collaborative practices that enable adventurous ensemble music-making.
Across three days, Aaron Choulai, Roman MC, Scott Tinkler and Biddy Connor will share creative processes and techniques drawn directly from their own artistic practices, including:
Sono-Kinetic Conducting (SKC) as a spontaneous compositional framework for improvising ensembles
Rhythmic concepts - advanced grouping, subdivision, and the superimposition of rhythmic structures
Contemporary composition and performance-making
Developing a responsive creative practice for diverse artistic contexts
Building the flexibility, listening and adaptability required for collaborative music-making
The September practicum culminates in an informal staged realisation of To Kill A Magic We Got Used To by Aaron Choulai and Roman MC. Participants work through rehearsal and performance of a movement from this work, gaining first-hand insight into the process AAO employs in developing, premiering and remounting original repertoire.
Dates: 28-30 September 2026
Location: Brunswick, Victoria
Fee: $500 plus GST
Applications close: 25 August 2026, midnight
