January is an exciting month here at The Willows Nest! We welcome improvising vocalists Gabriel Dharmoo and Chris Tonelli for a workshop on choral improvisation on January 13th. They’ll lead participants in an engaging and participatory voice workshop introducing choral conduction for freely improvising voices. Later that week, on Wednesday January 16, they’ll collaborate on an evening celebrating 65 years of extranormal singing and free jazz in singing. Dr. Tonelli will read excerpts from his forthcoming book Voices Found: Free Jazz and Singing and we will hear performances by several of the vocalists featured in the book, including Berlin-based vocalists David Moss, Tomomi Adachi and Ute Wasserman. Set your voice free in the new year at The Willows Nest!
Solstice Dreaming
CALLING ALL DREAMERS This Friday, December 21, 2018
Join composer and sound artist Michael Reiley McDermott and The Willows Nest for an all-night immersive dreaming sound bath to mark the turning of the seasons. We will open with dream incubations from Listening in Dreams, by Ione, as well as a short Yoga Nidra meditation to bring on our dreaming consciousness. Music will begin right at solstice 23:23 – and last until morning!
Dreaming new communities
from strength to strength…
Since inaugurating our new space, this Autumn has brought so many beautiful performances to The Willows Nest. From sound artists to singer-songwriters, composers and light artists to instrument builders and finders – all have captivated audiences and shared their considerable magic at The Nest.
Meanwhile, week participants are gathering for Yoga Nidra meditation, to refresh body and soul through this mindfulness practice. Nourishing one another through the increasing darkness has become a mainstay of life here at The Willows Nest. If you’ve been thinking of joining – now is a great time! We are hoping to add new sessions each week as we grow, and we want to design the schedule around new participants. ?
In December, we want to highlight our Deep Listening™ workshops – Sundays from 16:00 to 19:00 we will gather to explore the sonic meditations of Pauline Oliveros and other practitioners. This will complement upcoming Dreaming concerts (see events page for more details), and overnight events!
Also staring in December, we are forming a weekly dreaming workshop, designed for everyone interested in connecting more with their dreams. We will explore dream incubation, techniques for recalling and documenting dreams – even lucid dreaming and waking dreams. Join us on this journey of discovery! See the announcement on our Facebook page, or read all about them on our events page.
Dreaming ourselves, dreaming our community, dreaming a new Berlin – all are welcome.
The place we wanted didn’t exist… so we made it.
The artists at Improvised Alchemy are drawn from both academia and professional careers around the globe. We came together over the past decade to sustain unique collaborations across borders, genres and disciplines. While we specialize now in transmedia performance and installation as a whole, we practice and teach a host of disciplines. We wanted a casual, intimate space where we could build a community around collaborative artists sharing their work. A place where the line between performer and audience could be consistently blurred. We wanted a space to present some of the finest new artists along side seasoned professionals and artists from Berlin collaborating with the best of international performers. We wanted to dream a new kind of community, where creativity in all its forms could be encouraged, and new dreams could be inspired.
Die Künstler von Improvised Alchemy kommen aus der akademischen und beruflichen Praxis rund um den Globus. Wir haben uns im letzten Jahrzehnt zusammengeschlossen, um einzigartige Kooperationen über Grenzen, Genres und Disziplinen hinweg zu fördern. Obwohl wir uns heute auf die transmediale Performance und Installation als Ganzes spezialisiert haben, üben und lehren wir eine Vielzahl von Disziplinen. Wir wollten einen ungezwungenen, intimen Raum, in dem wir eine Gemeinschaft um kollaborative Künstler aufbauen konnten, die ihre Arbeit teilen. Ein Ort, an dem die Grenze zwischen Performer und Publikum immer wieder verwischt werden kann. Wir wollten einen Raum, um einige der besten neuen Künstler zusammen mit erfahrenen Profis und Künstlern aus Berlin zu präsentieren, die mit den besten internationalen Künstlern zusammenarbeiten. Wir wollten eine neue Art von Gemeinschaft träumen, in der Kreativität in all ihren Formen gefördert und neue Träume inspiriert werden können.
Thus The Willows Nest was born: the brainchild of Improvised Alchemy founder Renée T. Coulombe. The space is a light filled attic apartment with incredible acoustics and space to create. Home to ongoing workshops in free improvisation, Sonic Meditation,™ music composition, and sound art, the space also features master classes with guest artists, workshops in many kinds of music making and performance, dream work, and movement for artists. We feature a lively weekly roster of house concerts, where you can experience performance in an environment that invites engagement with the performers. Audience members can bring wine, enjoy food served by the host, and sprawl on comfortable pillows and furniture to open up the mind for artistic mastery.
So entstand The Willows Nest: die Idee von Renée T. Coulombe, der Gründerin der Improvised Alchemy. Der Veranstaltungsort ist eine lichtdurchflutete Dachgeschosswohnung mit unglaublicher Akustik und viel Platz zum Schaffen. Der Raum beherbergt laufende Workshops in freier Improvisation, Sonic Meditation, ™ Musikkomposition und Klangkunst und bietet auch Meisterkurse mit Gastkünstlern, Workshops in vielen Bereichen des Musizierens und der Performance, Traumarbeit und Bewegung für Künstler. Wir bieten eine lebhafte wöchentliche Liste von Hauskonzerten, bei denen Sie Auftritte in einer Umgebung erleben können, die zur Auseinandersetzung mit den Künstlern einlädt. Das Publikum kann Wein mitbringen, vom Gastgeber serviertes Essen genießen und sich auf bequemen Kissen und Möbeln ausbreiten, um den Geist für künstlerische Meisterschaft zu öffnen.
As a private home when we are not open for concerts or classes, we are not open. We ask that everyone considering attending any event at the Willow’s Nest RSVP through the website for admittance before attending, as places for every class and concert will be strictly limited. The small space guarantees intimacy, but sells out quickly. We aim to keep our classes, workshops and concerts accessible to the community, so those with limited means can contact us about scholarships and volunteer opportunities. We encourage any and all artists, regardless of style, genre or discipline, reach out about presenting at The Willows Nest – as a space by, for and about the artistic community -we are a space where all are safe and welcome, exploration and encounter are sacred, and the way that cannot be spoken is most definitely the way.