Improvisation Group of Lawrence University
Director: Matt Turner
An ensemble dedicated to improvising in various styles including rock, 20th century classical, Arabic Taqasim, klezmer, jazz, electronic and Korean Sinawi music. As part of IGLU, you’ll transcend boundaries and draw from the innovation of specific composers and improvisational techniques. You’ll learn all music by ear, or be part of creating it yourself with fellow IGLU members. Learn from one of the country’s leading educators in improvisation as you have opportunities like collaborations with the opera program, improvising to a silent film, performing on invented instruments and found objects, and so much more.
Push boundaries and redefine performance with LUNME (Lawrence University New Music Ensemble). This flexible ensemble changes instrumentation for each concert in order to tackle the most exciting repertoire from the modern era. Students and faculty frequently work side-by-side to engage with music that stretches ears and technique and sparks creativity. LUNME musicians have: performed in the fields and flowerbeds of the Green Bay Botanical Garden, recorded Rzewski's monumental Coming Together over the internet, tackled Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, and represented the university in Houston, TX on the 2019 PRESTO! tour.
LUNME frequently overlaps with New Music @ Lawrence, the university's new music performing arts series. This relationship gives Lawrence University New Music Ensemble members the opportunity to engage directly with accomplished contemporary performers and composers from around the world.
Lawrence University Percussion Ensemble
Director: Jean Carlo Ureña González
Audition required, one concert every term
Lawrence University Percussion Ensemble (LUPÉ) is the award-winning classical percussion ensemble in which all percussion majors participate in. The repertoire includes large ensembles (10-15 players), chamber works (for 3-6 players), and works that feature student soloists.
Percussion Ensembles Subsets
Kinkaviwo (Ghanaian African drumming)
Kinkaviwo, meaning Children of Kinka, is the African drumming ensemble at Lawrence. You will primarily perform music of the Ewe people from the Volta region of Ghana. This style of music utilizes a call and response between the lead drum and the rest of the ensemble. All performances include singing, dancing, and drumming, and you are encouraged to learn and perform these different elements.
Sambistas (Brazilian drumming)
The Sambistas is a drumming ensemble that strives to create the experience of samba schools in Brazil. Rehearsals are rote, meaning you will learn passages by ear from a group leader. Perform grooves from traditional Rio de Janeiro Carnaval Samba to originals, transcriptions, and arrangements that include influences from Cuba and Salvador to Bahia and Indian Tabla drumming. A musical style that revolves around community and celebration, you will perform in LUPÉ concerts, campus events, and in schools around the Fox Cities.
Tambo Toké (Afro-Cuban percussion)
Tambo Toké is an award-winning percussion ensemble that focuses on studying and performing traditional Afro-Cuban music such as Rumba, Arara, and Bata. You will learn all music by ear, as is the tradition in Cuba.
Lawrence University’s Balinese student gamelan ensemble offers a unique and highly interactive cross-cultural and artistic learning experience. Enroll in MUEN 203: Balinese Gamelan Music to join the ensemble. No previous experience is required.
‘Gamelan’ refers to large ensembles of metallophones, gongs, drums, and bamboo flutes from Indonesia. You’ll study and perform with Lawrence’s set of bronze and jackfruit wood gamelan gong kebyar instruments, with front panels featuring scenes from the Hindu epic story Ramayana, commissioned from a highly sought-after gamelan maker in Bali.
Are you a Fox Cities community member and interested in Gamelan?
Join Gamelan Sekar Kemuda (ages 14-adult) or Gamelan Sekar Alit (ages 5-14)! These ensembles are open to the public. Contact Sonja Downing for more information.
Use dance as an art form to change spaces, shift perspectives, and challenge boundaries in this collectively driven dance ensemble. Sparked by experience with post-modern dance classes like Articulating the Solo Body, Contact Improvisation, Ensemble Thinking, Dance Collective Ensemble works together using movement and improvisation as foundation for weekly studio practice, building community, and creating performances across campus.
A musical life awaits. Take the next steps by applying and auditioning.
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