the new london drone orchestra is recruiting!

New London CT

Description

The New London Drone Orchestra is a collective that manifests sustained, layered, gradually evolving, timeless sound. We recently returned to gathering in person and are once again welcoming new folks to learn to play ambient drone improvisation and join us for performances already booked for this summer and planned for the fall. All are welcome. You don't need to know how to read music or have experience playing with a group before. Experienced musicians also get a lot out of playing with the group. Just bring an open mind and something that makes noise. Curious? Questions? Check out https://linktr.ee/nldroneorchestra to learn more about us, and click/tap "reply" for the scoop on how to get involved. Here's a testimonial from a member: The Drone Orchestra bears a membership which draws from an extraordinary range of musical backgrounds, from professional musicians to lifelong amateurs to members who have never studied music in any form. I believe this to be the ensemble's most important feature, as it shifts the focus of the group away from technical musicianship towards the development of a sonic dialogue; when the music cannot be judged on the basis of a performer's technical execution of notes written on a page, it must be judged on aesthetic grounds. Similarly, when participants cannot be judged on their technical virtuosity alone, they must make aesthetic choices which work towards the augmentation of the Orchestra's entire musical product. This is further emphasized in the ensemble's eschewal of traditional written music. Rather than specifying the rhythm and pitch of individual notes, the group's compositions are much more general, suggesting broad structures of moods and timbres. Because all of the sounds are improvised, there is no need to rely on traditional musical idioms and theories to make noises which are related and relevant to the rest of the group sound. The traditional theories of music and instrumental technique are instead equalized amongst every other means of thinking about and producing sounds as mere tools in the toolbox, so to speak. This has the effect of democratizing the ensemble's music as a whole — no longer must performers (and even more critically: listeners) understand the intricacies of music theory, composition, and instrumental technique to appreciate a performance. Instead, the product is one which communicates almost exclusively in the aesthetic realm. If the music *feels* good, that means it *is* good. As participants enter into the most level playing field one could possibly have, experience with musicmaking is no longer a prerequisite for finding enjoyment, success, and personal fulfillment in the Drone Orchestra's activities. In fact, the premise of the Drone Orchestra is left so wide open that participants and audiences may find in it just about anything they want to look for — whether one is looking for a meditative experience, an expression of spiritual exploration, a reason to pick up their old instrument again, a safe space to acclimate to performing for an audience, or even just an opportunity to meet new people who enjoy all kinds of sonic experiences, the Orchestra creates a space where all of this (and, as the saying goes, so much more) can happen. One's goals need not be musical, nor need they even have specific goals to begin with, in order to find some opportunity to grow with the community the Drone Orchestra has fostered. I came to the New London Drone Orchestra simply looking for ways to make new music with new people, and ended up finding way more than I expected. The Orchestra has challenged me both as a musician and as a person in all of the best ways: flipping a lifetime of technical training around and focusing purely on the aesthetics of my sound was only the start. Participating in the ensemble has facilitated my discovery and discussion of other participants' approaches to the music from their diversity of personal, spiritual, and musical perspectives, which has given me a much more robust ability to understand and appreciate the perspectives and stories of people I meet elsewhere in the world.