Rewilding music : improvisation, wilderness, and the global musician

Abstract

This research investigates how being in the wilderness affects group improvisation and in which ways the wilderness can be a potential learning environment in the education of global musicians. It starts by constructing a theoretical framework around improvisation, the wilderness as a place, mindfulness, and what a global musician is, and uses a case study to connect artists' experiences to the theoretical framework. Looking at place and at artists as emplaced beings is a starting point for a discussion of the wilderness environment and how it is qualitatively different to an urban environment. A short interlude on mindfulness, in relation to improvisation and to the wilderness, is followed by an overview and analysis of Immersive Listening, an artistic research project with six improvising artists (three musicians, three dancers). The participants spent three days near a wilderness location in late summer 2015 and returned to Helsinki for a performance and open discussion. An analysis of the participants' discussions, reflective diaries, and performance documentation connects insights from the project to the previously constructed theoretical framework. Main insights concern participants' listening, presence, and acceptance of difference, as they relate to cosmopolitan listening. A discussion of the case study shows that experiences in a natural environment can have a positive impact on the interaction of urban performers from different artistic and cultural backgrounds. In fostering key qualities fundamental in cosmopolitan listening in qualitatively different ways than in urban contexts, the wilderness can potentially be a valuable resource in global musicians' education.