"The Go: Organic Orchestra sounded unbelievable.
But it was believable because we were listening to it." - Yusef Lateef
Go: Organic Orchestra is a 21st century vision of a "future orchestra". Artistic director Adam Rudolph's prototypical approach to composing and improvisational conducting embraces music forms and cosmologies from around the world.
Using a non-linear score with his unique approach to rhythm as the seed material, Rudolph improvisationally conducts the musicians in concert. This creates spontaneous orchestrations which serve as both context and inspiration for the musicians improvisational dialogue.
Over the past two decades Rudolph has taught and conducted hundreds of musicians in the Go: Organic Orchestra concept in throughout North America and Europe. Over the years he has performed on multiple occasions with Go: Organic Orchestra ensembles in New York, Los Angeles and Austin Naples, Palermo and Istanbul. Click here to view a list of performance residencies.
The multicultural dynamic of Go: Organic Orchestra itself expresses a creative vision of our shared humanity. It is a realization of creative community in a world without boundaries; of culture as the vessel for understanding, empathy and sharing.
"Using new creative processes and instrumental combinations. I hope to create a music that has not been heard before while expressing heartfelt thoughts and feelings."
- Adam Rudolph
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PERFORMANCE - RESIDENCY - WORKSHOP
HOW IT WORKS
Adam Rudolph spends between 3 and 10 days in residence teaching the Go: Organic Orchestra concept and developing the unique sound of that combination of musicians. This culminates in a concert presentation. The ensemble usually has between 15 and 60 musicians participating. Separate workshops are also offered for singers and in Rudolph's rhythm concept.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE
Professionals and/or students from any and all musical backgrounds are welcome. European classical, jazz, R & B, avant improvisors, rock, electronic and laptop players, as well as musicians from and with experience in music cultures from anywhere in the world are invited to participate. The orchestration itself is open to include any and all instruments, invented or traditional, from any culture on the planet. Participation by a mix of ages and musical experience is encouraged.
PREPARATION
Two weeks before of the scheduled concert date, Rudolph sends the score and hand signals along with instructions as to how the musicians can best prepare. Advance study of these materials not only prepares the musicians for the Go: Organic Orchestra experience, but will improve their ability to improvise in any musical context. Experience shows that continued investigation and practice of these materials over months and even years will enhance a persons overall creative musicianship, well beyond their participation in Go: Organic Orchestra.
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photo: Adrien H. Tillmann
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THE SCORE
The score consists of three pages consisting of what Rudolph describes as "de-composed" essence of music elements. These elements serve as a kind of musical DNA from which the improvisations and orchestrations are spontaneously created.
Pages one and two of the score consist of 10 Matrices and Cosmograms, each based on different interval systems and patterns. These include triple diminished, clustonic and symetric hexatonic patterns as well as traditional scales, modes, ragas and melodic gestures. Page three consists of 10 of Ostinatos of Circularity, which provide the musical link between the interval patterns and the rhythms. |
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When the musicians understand the ins and outs of the design of one of these Matrices or Cosmograms, and when they can also connect and tune into the Rasa (emotional coloration) implied within it, then they can enter to a new place of creative freedom.
THE CONDUCTING
Rudolph has created his own prototypical approach to improvisational conducting. With the non-linear score as seed material, he uses 21 simple hand signals in various combinations to conduct the orchestra. As the music unfolds in the moment he creates a spontaneous orchestral context in an improvisational dialogue with the musicians.
THE RHYTHM CONCEPT
In preparation for the concerts Rudolph offers rhythm workshops. The musicians learn Rudolph's concept of Cyclic Verticalism which combines additive rhythms (such as those used in North Indian music) with polyrhythms (such as those used in West and Central African music). Using time tested techniques of singing and walking exercises the musicians viscerally learn Rudolph's fundamental Signal Rhythms. These are then applied to playing the Ostinatos of Circularity on their instruments.
THROUGH COMPOSED PIECES
Rudolph has composed dozens of through composed solos, duets, trios and quartets for use in Go: Organic Orchestra concerts. Upon request he composes new pieces for the musicians. In concert, these short pieces are performed when cued and conducted by Rudolph as he weaves them into the context of the spontaneous orchestration and improvisational dialogue.
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ABOUT THE MUSIC RUDOLPH WRITES:
"The philosophical basis holds (seeming) opposites: the score and conducting serve to generate as much aesthetic and functional focus as possible in the music while at the same providing context and inspiration for the greatest expressive freedom to the performers. In concert, I conduct the musicians in a spontaneous way seeking to generate unusual relationships of sound against sound, form against form, and rhythm against rhythm in a non-linear, ever shifting kaleidoscope of music images: weaving what I call an "audio syncretic music fabric".
The music is "organic" in the sense that the compositions and conducting serve as inspiration and context for the musicians to express themselves in the moment by using their instruments as an amplifier for their inner voice. Through listening and imagination the conductor and performers inspire one another to create emotional colorations of sound. Rather than the score being a set of instructions of what, how and when to play, the non-linear semiotic (symbols) of the written music are an invitation to discover the potentialities of what can happen when transformed into syntax as expressed through the hands and breath of a group of virtuosic, imaginative, and soulful improvisers." |
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 photo: Adrien H. Tillmann
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| GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA CONCERT RESIDENCIES: |
2023
Sons D’hiver Festival, Paris France
David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center, Pocantico, NY
2022
Summer Stage, Central Park/World Music Institute, NYC
Bushnell Park, Hartford, CT.
Flynn Theatre, Burlington VT
Bowker Auditorium, UMass, Amherst,
MA Roulette Intermedium, NYC)
2021
Festival of Colors, Detroit (virtual concert)
2019
NYC, Live Sounds - Elebash Hall - NYC
Hudson, New York - Hudson Hall
Painted Bride, Philadelphia
2018
New York City, Rubin Museum of Art - with Brooklyn Raga Massive
Los Angeles, Disney Hall - Angel City Festival
New York City, Pioneer Works - with Brooklyn Raga Massive
Austin, Texas - Imagine Art
Toronto, Canada - Dastgah project with Persian musicians
2017
Izmir, Turkey - Rom Blue project with Turkish Gypsy musicians
Roulette Intermedium, New York
New York City, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
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2016
Helsinki, Finland - Arts Without Borders Sibelius Academy
Naples, Italy - Go: Organic Piano Orchestra
Budapest, Hungary - Fesztiváliroda Müpa Budapest
Basel, Switzerland - Ensemble Phoenix
Milan, Italy - Teatro Leonardo
Palermo, Sicily – Conservatorio Di Musicavincenzo Bellini Palermo
Venice, Italy - Spazio Aero
Toronto, Canada - The Music Gallery
Austin, Texas - The North Door
2015
Chicago, Illinois - Logan Center for the Arts, Univ. of Chicago
Austin, Texas - Blanton Museum of Art
Champagne Urbana - Center for Advanced Studies @ Univ. of Illinois
Los Angeles, California - Electric Lodge
San Diego, California - University of Southern California
New York - Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
2014
Copenhagen, Denmark - Danish Radio Orchestra
Aarhus, Denmark - Royal Danish Conservatory
Jyerdup Arts - Denmark
Merida, Mexico - Merida Symphony Orchestra
Austin, Texas - New Music Series
New York City - Shapeshifter Lab |
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2013
Champagne Urbana - University of Illinois
Hartford, Conn. - Atheneum Theatre / Real Artways
New York City - Roulette Intermedium
Los Angeles, California - Electric Lodge
2012
Naples, Italy - NaMusica Festival
Istanbul, Turkey – Eco Fest
Stockholm, Sweden - Moderna Museet
Aarhus, Denmark - Royal Danish Conservatory
California Institute of the Arts
Tampere, Finland - Tampere Jazz Festival
2011
Palermo, Sicily – Conservatorio Di Musicavincenzo Bellini Palermo
New York City - Columbia University
Los Angeles, California - Electric Lodge
Dartmouth University, New Hampshire
2010
Istanbul, Turkey – ISCMS
Naples, Italy - Ensemble Dissonanzen, Is Jazz ensemble
2009
Copenhagen, Denmark – New Jungle Orchestra
Kristiansand, Norway – Kristiansand Conservatory
Danish Jazz Summer Institute
2008
Tampere, Finland - Sibelius Academy |
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CONCERTOS
Adam Rudolph has conducted many guest artists with Go: Organic Orchestra in a concerto setting, and is open to new collaborations with master musicians from anywhere in the world. |
Previous concerto soloists include:
Masters of African-American
Improvisational Music
Yusef Lateef - woodwinds
Big Black - kongo drummer
Oliver Lake - alto sax
Dwight Tribble - vocal
Hamid Drake - drum kit
Bennie Maupin - woodwinds
Poetry - Saul Williams
Theatre - Robert Wisdom
Dance/Butoh - Oguri
Morocco - Gnawa master Hassan Hakmoun
Ghana - Ewe master drummer Alfred Ladzekpo
Mongolia - khoomei throat singer Shinetsog Dorjnyam
Brazil - Afro percussionist Dende de Bahia
Nepal - vocalist Prabhu Dhakal, sarod player Suresh Bajracharya, tabla player Rabin Shresta
India - tabla maestro Debashish Chaudhury
Turkey - Omar Faruk Tekbilek - ney & zurna, Haci Tekbilek - ney, Ibul Ork - laptop orchestra
Italy - Consort Di Flauti Dolci Dei Conservatory of Cosenza, Ensemble Dissonanze |
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 Ewe master drummer Alfred Ladzekpo
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IN CONCERT: PRESENTERS PRAISE FOR GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA
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"Go: Organic Orchestra is a true delight to work with! I'm always amazed at the communal cooperation that's achieved in the environment of such complex music. Rudolph's leadership of this large ensemble is a success due to his enthusiasm for, and deep mastery of, the rhythms and concepts he's developing."
- Carlos Niño
Los Angeles Based Producer
"What a mind blowing experience to see and hear Adam Rudolph's Go Organic Orchestra deliver its musical message. The band showed the ecstatic audience what organic really means! One of the best bands of the festival this year, no doubt."
- Seppo Pietikäinen
Tampere festival MC
"The magic that Adam creates in teaching the basic principles of his approach and in conducting the GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA is invaluable for any observer who is involved in music –no matter deeply or slightly."
- Dost Kip, Director of ISCMS 2010 & EcoFest Istanbul |
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Cosmogram banners by Adam Rudolph |
"Adam's creative musical energy from delicate to powerful draws in the audience through the last note. Invariably he has gotten standing ovations, which shows such appreciation for the work." - Joel Shapiro, Director Electric Lodge Theatre, Los Angeles
"Adam Rudolph has twice led the Go: Organic Orchestra project in Naples. On both occasions the approach of Adam was overwhelming, his energy and his ability to make music in the moment, captivated us all in an innovative experience."
- Tommaso Rossi, President Dissonanzen Festival Association, Naples, Italy
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CONCERT REVIEWS
"This was certainly one of the year's most ecstatic performances —in any city, any festival, anywhere."
Martin Longely, All About Jazz
The evening was brilliant and engaging. - Stefano Valanzuolo - Il Mattino, Naples
"I caught a performance Go: Organic Orchestra down in SoHo last spring and was swept away by what they were doing. It was fascinating and ahead of its time, in the best possible way. I loved every minute of it."
- Marc Meyers, jazzwax.com
"Of the 10+ times I attended at Roulette, every time was absolutely magical and distinct, yet sublimely unified and delicately cohesive." - Charles Blass Sun Radio, Switzerland
"The music was poetry and elegance together with extraordinary power"
- Francesca Odillia Bellino, All About Jazz Italia |
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Adam Rudolph conducting Chicago Go Organic Orchestra
photo: Lauren Deutsch © 2015 |
"I was fortunate to have attended two nights with Adam Rudolph's Go: Organic Orchestra at Roulette a few months back and was blown away by Adam's distinctive blend of jazz and world music as well as his conducting."
- Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
"The music, performed by a large ensemble of wind and percussion players, rose like vines from hand drummer Adam Rudolph's written instructions and hand signals. And it truly is organic -- a blend of gentle sustained dissonance, heaven-crashing rhythm jams, and individual improvisations. No joke: a startling and involving development in roots music, with more to follow." - Greg Burk, LA Weekly
"This mixture of planning and spontaneity is brought to life with such a high level of musicality that the "organic" part of the group's name is always honored."
- Steve Holtje, The Big Takeover
"Extraordinary.... the audience was absolutely absorbed." - Howard Mandel, Jazz beyond Jazz
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CRITICS PRAISE FOR GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA CDs
"I loved every minute of it."
- Marc Meyers,
Wall Street Journal
"The music was poetry and elegance together with extraordinary power"
– All About Jazz Italia
"Adam Rudolph is percussion master, composer, arranger, and producer…. the music world should sit up and take notice of this man as a front line composer, bandleader, and arranger"
- Thom Jurek,
All Music Guide
SONIC MANDALA "Best Large Ensemble Release of 2013"
- The New York City Jazz Record
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photo: Adrien H. Tillmann
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©
2002-2023 Adam Rudolph |
