We are so grateful to regularly gather and make music together on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the
xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓wətaʔɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations and Peoples now known as Chinatown-Vancouver and Brentwood Burnaby. (What's this?)
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About
What is Improv Karaoke?
Improv Karaoke is an artist-run community event that started in December 2022 as a monthly series where improvising musicians of all genres and experience levels drop in, sign up, and play in new ensembles created from a freshly drawn pool of names. Improv Karaoke currently facilities two monthly series of musical gatherings at 8EAST in Chinatown-Vancouver and Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Brentwood Burnaby, totaling 20 gathering opportunities every year for music lovers alike.
Beginnings...
The first mention of Improv Karaoke happened in the summer of 2022 backstage at a Public Dreams concert. Having met improvising at John Korsrud’s Mixtophonics festival, Andrea Wong and Spencer Schoening had wistful conversations and ideas of backyard gatherings - places where all types of musicians played together with minimal curation and need for rehearsals - a space that effortlessly fostered spontaneous and collaborative playing with full artistic freedom.
Andrea and Spencer connected with Matthew Ariaratnam, a member of the 8EAST collective, who supported the idea and without whom the first Improv Karaoke at 8EAST event would not have happened. Spencer and Andrea later brought in Mike WT Allen with his experience hosting “The Monthly Hiphopalypse” jams prior to the pandemic. Coming out of the pandemic, this team of four with their passion for free improvisation set out on a mission to fuse musicians from different genres, practices, and experiences to further connect, support, and strengthen our local music community. From here, Improv Karaoke was born.
Coming up to the first Improv Karaoke in 2022, Andrea said to the other co-hosts: “worst-case scenario, no one wants to come and we’ll just get to jam together as a group of four”. Boy were they about to be surprised.
Community Building & Support
Improv Karaoke has since been attended by over 400 annual attendees, many of whom returning members, bringing new instruments to explore, making new friends, and even branching off with their own bands performing and gigging around town. Improv Karaoke currently is a Society-in-Residence with the NOW Society at 8EAST in Chinatown, Vancouver.
In 2023, Improv Karaoke received a $50 000 Sector Support, Innovation and Development grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to facilitate their monthly series and continue supporting local musicians. Since, they have been honoured and grateful to continue operating with the heart of many volunteers and donations from the community.
Improv Karaoke continually reached the venue capacity at our 8EAST monthly meetups with the enthusiasm of local Vancouver community members, and even a handful of international visitors! With the great support of the Brian Fraser and Noah Franche-Nolan, Improv Karaoke started their second monthly series in May 2024 at Burnaby’s Brentwood Presbyterian Church, reaching more folks residing outside the City of Vancouver.
A note from your founding organizer...
When Spencer and I first imagined this idea, we initially wanted to expand the diversity of the instrumentation with which we practiced and played (we practiced often with him on the drum kit and myself on the guzheng). Through this search for different timbres, textures, and musical possibilities, we repeatedly found among local musicians a shared interest for this type of intermingling improvised setting. Recognizing the immense flexibility and ubiquitous nature of improvisation between genres, I discovered that the act of musical improvisation can be the bridge that connects these peoples and practices. Improvisation is not only an exercise of imagination that is incorporated in various musical practices, but also a philosophy, perspective, and way of life that inspires many. It is in my most hopeful imagination that Improv Karaoke can contribute to a world that inclusively communicates and collaboratively adapts - a world that improvises - especially with its changes.
The ease, widespread relevance, and accessible nature of improvising is very exciting. It can be approached by musicians from any culture, any generation, and with any amount of experience, breaking down many practical and creative barriers to collaboration. Free improvisation additionally removes barriers to making music including any necessity for a particular instrumentation; shared knowledge-base such as Western music notation fluency; specific qualifications, merit, or credentials; or a pre-curated set-list of standards or repertoire selection. Musicians merely need to be open-minded to improvise with each other. With minimal preparation required, the flexible nature of improvising provides an excellent creative setting to focus on musical connection and innovation. By facilitating opportunities for our community to mindfully improvise together - a setting that practices adaptability and attentive listening - the desired outcome of this project is a stronger, more diverse and interconnected music ecosystem. Over the years, we have been able to experience making music with instruments not conventionally found in popular forms of instrumental arrangements including the Ukrainian balalaika, the Chinese erhu, the Vietnamese đàn tranh, the Irish Bodhran, Arabic and Turkish ouds, modular synths, dobros, beatboxers, rainsticks, accordions, oboes, banjos, microtonal keyboards, organs, many custom-made electronic instruments using software like MaxMSP and VCV Rack… The list is as exciting as it is massive. This project has constantly astounded me with the creative possibilities and awesome rewarding risks our music community members take after being told “there are no wrong sounds”.
Having organized and hosted Improv Karaoke events since 2022, I have had the privilege to learn from and meet so many beautifully unique people. Thank you for not only being vulnerable, brave, and open-minded in trying a strange way of collaborative music-making; but more importantly for being kind, caring, and embracing of everyone’s differences. I believe there is great strength when diverse groups of people feel permission to safely share their gifts, supporting and lifting each other up. I also believe music can be extremely powerful and transformative when that artistic expression is created with intention and reciprocity. It brings me tremendous joy that through Improv Karaoke, so many of our community members have met their closest friends, found joy playing a new instrument, started their own community initiatives, formed bands together, even shared new music and gigged around town(!!). Thank you to you all for taking on the responsibility to care for each other, supporting others’ endeavours, and sharing your talents with the greater community beyond Improv Karaoke. It is a beautiful thing for me as an organizer to witness.
I’ve always felt even if we removed music entirely from Improv Karaoke, we could be one more piece of proof that society has space for everyone and that curiosity and empathy are perhaps our greatest assets as human beings. I can't wait to see how this community continues to strengthen and pass on positive energy.
Your biggest fan,
Andrea Wong
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