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September 2007
September News 

Well it has been a very busy Summer in 2007. In August I was one of twelve musicians-in-residence at the Omi International Music Residency in New York. This was one of the most amazing and profound musical experiences ever! I was given the opportunity to work with fantastic musicians from all around the world: 

Everybody really tried to connect together and learn from each other, as well as find out about the different cultures and music backgrounds we all came from. As I was the only traditional musician there, I was a little intimidated at first, especially with my limited knowledge of music theory, but when it came down to it, it was just playing together which crossed the musical boundaries and needed no words.

For the first time in my life I really got into playing improvised music. I played with Sumiko Sato, a brilliant pianist from Japan, and with her, I was explore new musical lands with a good friend in tow! We performed together in the two concerts in New York, and there I experienced the challenges of attempting to do this improvised music in public! 

In fact I had a rehearsed piece which I composed for the concert, but at the last minute ventured into the unknown with an attempt at improvisation. Mad but satisfying! Watch this space for some excerpts of our work. 

There were so many fabulous composers on this residency: What a privilege it was to spend time on this residency with no other distractions, being able to think about music round the clock. And during the two and half weeks we spent together, we formed a strong bond, and I miss my OMI family now – but on the positive side, as well as having lots of new friends around the globe, I have lots of good memories and musical ideas inspired by my time there!