'Duo Unprepared' coming to WWU for concert, masterclass Oct. 6

Duo Unprepared will present a completely improvised concert spanning a multitude of musical vocabularies and features prepared piano and percussion instruments from around the world at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6 in the Performing Arts Center Choir Room (PA 16). The concert, hosted by the Music Department, is free and open to the public. A free masterclass is also open to the public that afternoon in the Band Room (PA 24).

Duo Unprepared began when Roger Braun and Andre Gribou, working together in a wide variety of performance settings since 2000 (including classical, jazz, and world music), found they had an unusual chemistry performing completely improvised music. As their affinity for performing improvised music together grew, they began to collaborate with other artists including world- renown improvisational dancers, Chris Aiken and Angie Hauser.

Duo Unprepared has appeared on numerous concert series including Washington D.C.’s Dance Place performance series, the University of Michigan, Ohio University, Oberlin College, and Denison University. They also create live improvised scores to film, including Chaplin’s Modern Times, Dali’s Destino, and Coppola’s, Apocalypse Now. As Trio Unprepared, with percussionist Anthony DiSanza, they recently performed in a tour Wisconsin Universities and at the International Society for Improvised Music Conference, in Chateau d’Oex, Switzerland.

Each concert performance by Duo Unprepared is unique. All musical decisions are made in the moment, providing audiences with a thrilling opportunity to experience music as it is being created. Any musical style is possible in their performances, with influences from classical, contemporary, jazz, rock, and world traditions present in the musical dialogue. Audiences are drawn into the creative process as well, deciding when to applaud (or not) as the improvised pieces unfold.

The instrumentation of Duo Unprepared is vast. Andre Gribou performs on two pianos, sometimes simultaneously. One piano is prepared, as developed by John Cage and further explored by other composers, and provides the inspiration for the group’s name and unique sound. Roger Braun performs on a huge array of percussion instruments, including prepared vibraphone, drum set, marimba, boombakini, gongs, drums, melodica, musical saw, and numerous idiophones from around the world.