Presence in Sound

Gathering musicians with the intention of exploring new ways of approaching classical music in a safe space.

Improvisation is used as both a symptomatic technique from Deep Listening, as well as it's own entity. The improvisatory elements allow for a dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra.

Live Composition is the act of using Deep Listening and Creative Improvisation in a live performance to create a new piece in live-time.

"Deep Listening" is a compositional and performance technique developed by Pauline Oliveros to help people learn to listen versus hearing. This project is rooted in joy and community building by using related techniques to partially compose the piece in live time as an ensemble based on written instructions centered around a pre-written poem.

The process that I undertook of learning about Deep Listening and exploring Improvisation resources in order to compose the piece will be written up as a guiding document for other musicians to use as  a means to explore their own creativity.

The resulting composition written, performed, and premiered by Freya Downey in Boston, MA in 2026.