Harmony of Nature: music-educational workshop

ATTENTION! Workshops moved from Fort Sokolnicki to the Local Activity Space at ul. Marii Kazimiery 20.

Harmony of Nature: music-educational workshop
21.03 / Saturday / 12:00–18:00
Local Activity Space, ul. Marii Kazimiery 20
Cost: 30 zł / registration via the portal strefazajec (registration opens 10 days before the event)

“Harmony of Nature” is a six-hour music-educational workshop combining artistic education, the practice of mindful listening and modern music technologies. Its aim is to develop listening sensitivity, creativity and ecological awareness through a creative experience of sound — from nature to electronics.

During the workshop participants learn how to record, process and compose sounds, discovering that the acoustic world constantly surrounds us and can become inspiration for artistic expression. The classes show how sounds of nature, everyday surroundings and body movement can become full-fledged musical material.

Workshop goals:

• develop listening sensitivity and ecological awareness
• learn basics of recording and sound processing
• foster creativity through experiment and improvisation
• experience the harmony between nature and technology

Workshop program:

1. Experiments with technology
   Participants get to know interactive sound tools such as Playtronica, Makey Makey and motion and touch sensors. With them they learn to create music using gesture, touch, their own body and everyday objects. This stage shows that music can be “played” not only on traditional instruments.
2. Listening to the acoustic space
   The instructor invites participants to experience the environment through conscious listening. Outdoors — in a park, forest or another acoustically rich space — participants learn to listen to the space, not only “nature”: to perceive relations between near and distant sound sources, recognize rhythms, tensions and silence. The exercise develops perception and mindfulness, forming the basis for further creative work.
3. Recording sounds of nature
   Each participant works with a sound recorder or a smartphone with a recording app. In practice they learn the basics of working with a microphone, equipment settings and ways to avoid interference. Collected recordings — such as the rustle of leaves, water sounds or birdsong — become the basis for further artistic activity.
4. Creating soundscapes
   Recorded materials are brought into music programs such as Ableton Live, Reaper or Audacity. Participants learn to trim, filter and combine sounds, giving them a new character. The result are individual mini-compositions — ambient soundscapes where nature meets technology.
5. Movement and sound
   The workshop finale combines all previous experiences. By using sensors, participants’ movement becomes a tool for generating and transforming sound. Movement acts as expression and music becomes its extension. The collective exercise has performative and symbolic dimensions — human, nature and technology create a single, coherent language of sound.

LEAD:

Paweł Pruski – composer and music producer whose work sits at the intersection of deep ambient, drone and experimental electronics. His distinctive sonic language grows from the idea of controlled improvisation and combines organic textures with a synthetic layer. A central element of his practice is a custom, self-designed modular system — a tool for exploring the mathematical and acoustic boundaries of sound. He is the author of six albums released on respected international labels such as IIKKI (France), Whitelabrecs (UK), Crysalisound (Italy).

His concert activity is interdisciplinary and includes both classic live acts and multimedia performances combining music, video projections and sound installations. He has presented his works at numerous festivals, galleries and art institutions in Poland and abroad. He performed, among others, at the National Gallery Zachęta, the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, Studio Monome in Berlin, Oil Club in Shenzhen (China), and at events such as Tauron Nowa Muzyka, Ambient Festival, Ars Cameralis Festival and Biuro Dźwięku. His work has also been presented in film contexts — for example at the Krakow Film Festival and the Silent Film Festival — where music was an integral part of projections and audiovisual performances.

Directions:

• Nearest stops: Marymont (trams, buses) – about 4–5 minutes on foot.
• The route is along flat, even pavement without gradients.
• Crossings in the area have lowered curbs.
• Street parking along the estate – paid parking zone.
• Two parking spaces for people with disabilities near the entrance.
• Above the door there is a ToTuPoint sign.

Accessibility:

• spaces in the MAL are flat and step-free
• MAL has a toilet accessible to people with disabilities
• sensory-friendly venue
• on site noise-reducing headphones and a weighted blanket available for borrowing

Accessibility details in the Deklaracja Dostępności