The idea of improvising music is often scary for many of us, particularly if we have formal musical training. But improvisation is a natural act that we engage in on a daily basis in other areas of our lives. The challenge is to learn how to turn those natural improvisations into a spiritual practice in our music. This workshop will help participants determine what is preventing them from joyfully improvising music. We will “play” music in both senses of the word – making sounds and having fun doing it. We’ll explore improvisation from rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic lenses. We will celebrate what makes each of us wonderfully unique. Everyone is welcome – whatever your musical skill level and whatever instrument you choose to “play” (including voice).

Dr. Karen Rege earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in historical musicology, as well as a doctorate degree in educational leadership from the University of Delaware. She has taught music at all levels from workshops to college classes. Karen has performed with a wide variety of ensembles playing jazz, Latin, and world music, including her own ensembles: Pastiche and the Rege-Walker World Jazz Ensemble. In 2014, she released her first album of original compositions entitled The Girl in the Mirror and is currently working on her second album called The Griot’s Wife. Her new project, a fusion of contemporary jazz and traditional African music is a result of her work playing African drums with her husband, Pape Demba “Paco” Samb.