Acclimatising

Before I get going, a quick word about the idea behind this blog. Having not written one before, I wanted to start one now to best document my thoughts, feelings and ideas as they develop across the residency, and in so doing share them with you. I expect the blog’s content will range from reflections on myself, as an artist and as a person, to more critical discussion of composition including an open sharing of my process. At this stage – and given it’s been the first day – I am aware of not judging anything (remembering a workshop on mindfulness from last term) and of my desire to observe, not force, and to allow interactions, thoughts and experiences to take their own shape and significance in the mind. Whatever stays will stay because it should.

I am writing this on Saturday after a whirlwind Friday and long sleep. Contrary to all my time spent travelling, I did not do any writing yesterday. Instead, my senses spent all day absorbing all that this new place has – and it is overwhelming. Banff is a bewilderingly beautiful place.

Quick coda to Day 0: after checking in and unpacking in my room in Lloyd Hall, I found the Vistas restaurant for dinner, and met a composer, Simon Labelle, working with a Canadian theatre collective. Here are links to his music:
reservoir6b.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/cavernemagique

I’ll continue to feature the work of the artists I meet. As you’ll see further on, I’ve already met and heard some amazing ones.

Back to Day 1. I started by taking a tour of campus: library, food outlets, gym, music, theatre, visual and digital arts buildings. Everything is very close by and there are paintings and sculptures everywhere. I felt the dry cold enveloping my skin, the air less punishing, more coaxing and refreshing.

The guidebooks tell you to beware of elk, which will charge at you if they get the chance. There are also cougars and lynx in the surrounding forest! I keep a watch out (it seems you shouldn’t walk into the wild alone without making a lot of noise), and find it a bit ridiculous that I keep catching myself stopping when I see nearly life-size wooden models of elk, used to block paths that are too dangerous too walk on for the snow.

The library’s resources include recordings and videos of music theatre works, by composers like Kagel, that I’ve not been able to see yet. Most resident artists leave here on the 12th, while I stay until the 15th, so my final quiet days are likely to be spent studying repertoire.

I settled in the library to catch up on some emails. I am aware that I need to set times for those – it is too easy to get distracted by the bleep.

I wandered into town in search of postcards and a chapstick. En route a local helped me find my way – the snow making it hard to know which road is which although it is only a 10 minute walk. Everyone I’ve met has been so warm and welcoming. Here’s the last landscape photo for today!

In the afternoon I met Music administrative staff and chose my studio – the biggest of course! The rug and mirror will be ideal for working on movement ideas. I already have the idea to make a solo performance for myself (I’ve been wanting to push this side of my practice for a while). My desk is a handily large size for spreading A3 pages everywhere. I like how light the room is, for being in the corner of the building and having windows on two sides – also a reminder of connections to the outside world.

By this point I was desperate to get working. For my first session, I focused on emptying my head of certain thoughts on BRETHREN that I’ve had for a while. I now have clearer tasks for sessions to work separately on the piece’s themes and rehearsal / performance practicalities.

I’ve got free tickets to concert events, plus one film which I’m quite excited to see at Lux Cinema in town: a new drama by Zhang Yimou called Coming Home. Other schedule dates are Monday morning checking in and Tuesday evening circles/sharings for all Musicians in Residence. I have also arranged to meet and interview Canadian avant-garde poet Christian Bök, whose work I have admired since my undergraduate, when I stay in Calgary before flying home.

I also cleared my mind of other projects coming round the corner… I’ve not tapped into such strongly visual tools like these coloured pens for a long time, and already am sensing the benefit.

In the evening I met more of my fellow resident artists, at dinner then at the Musical Encounter gig in The Club venue, under the theatre complex. The Musical Encounter series is weekly, and features a visiting Faculty performer who performs some of their work, followed by work from resident artists. The Faculty performer stays for a week and residents are able to book time with them.

Tonight’s/this week’s Faculty artist was rock guitarist Tom Wilson. After his set of direct, wonderfully narrated songs, I got to see what my peers do. Resident performances came from solo songwriters Jonathan Churcher, Dana Sipos and AP Bergeron, and singer Cari Burdett, in styles ranging from folk to smokey jazz and electronic-ambient-rock fusion. A staggeringly subtle three-piece backing band of soft trumpet, string bass and drums accompanied Dana and Cari with mellow hues. Alex Bergeron had drums and trumpet behind his guitar and high falsetto voice, reaching to a visceral, trance-like music between euphoria and pain. The common thread was a sense of poetry and story, performed with honesty and from the heart.

Next week’s Faculty artist is pianist Jacob Greenberg. I will decide which solo piano piece I could workshop with him – I have made a few recently…

I had two ideas for a solo performance piece. One develops a short performance I did at Beacons Festival when I was in residency with Live Art Bistro’s Impossible Lecture tent. The other is new and requires experimentation to work out. The kind of idea where you start with a simple action or moment, then need to follow it freely to see what it could lead it, where it’s heart is. I will work on them this weekend and tell you more in another blog – this one is already long enough!

• Banff,
• BRETHREN,
• research,
• residency