Classical music is often thought of as rigid and structured, but Nobrow Music Collective is bringing a new twist to the style. The collective, formed in the fall, will perform its first show tomorrow evening, featuring Terry Riley’s “In C.”
“We’ve got some composers in the group,” said Aaron Butler, director and percussionist for Nobrow. “It’s different every time we play, and we’ve got room to make it our own.”
Butler, a graduate student studying music history, has had the idea for a music collective for years.
“I had friends who have similar groups, but with sculpting or something,” Butler said. “I’ve wanted to do something like that with music for years, but I went to a small school and just didn’t have the resources.”
When he came to OU last fall, Butler started recruiting people almost immediately, and midway through Winter Quarter he had set a date for the group’s first performance. Currently, Nobrow has more than 35 musicians.
“It’s a pool of musicians,” Butler said, “and it changes week to week. We never know who’s going to have time to come that week. But I think that’s kind of the point because that way the music is always changing, too.”
While many music groups will either compose their own music or play existing pieces, Nobrow is a mix of the two.
“We’re doing existing pieces for this show,” Butler said, “but we’ve got so many composers in the group, and we’ve really got room to make these pieces our own.”
Alexander Burgoyne, a saxophone player in the collective, echoed Butler’s enthusiasm.
“The endless musical possibilities that come from a group of honest and talented musicians is almost overwhelming,” Burgoyne said. “The group doesn’t have just one ‘sound’ or direction, because it can be anything (Butler) or anyone else wants it to be.”
In lieu of the traditional pre-show talk on the featured piece, Butler invites audience members to bring instruments to the show to play a piece with Nobrow.
“We want to run through Riley’s ‘In C’ with the audience once,” Butler said. “The piece is really about building community, so that’s what we want to do with this show. Anyone can bring an acoustic instrument and play with us.”
In addition to fostering a sense of community, Butler said he hopes playing the piece will give audience members a new perspective when they listen to it later in the show.
“And you know, this way it’s not like we’re up on the stage, more important than you, and you should be watching us,” Butler added.
In the future, Butler hopes to dissolve the distinction between different art forms and have one group engaged in all types of art.
“I kind of want to drop the ‘music’ in Nobrow Music Collective,” Butler said. “I want to open it up to all art. We’ve got music; we’ve got dance. I’d like to get something going with sculpting too. I’d like to bring the art community together as a whole.”
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