"Revelatory"

—Cara Lieurance, WMUK Radio

Perspective

"Improvisation, like nature, seems to arise from a place of infinite variety and beauty. Its unfailing capacity for surprise fascinates me. It doesn't come 'from' me but through me, which gives me a further sense of connection to something far bigger than myself. I think audiences experience that as well.

My cabin, nestled in a wood of cherry, maple, ash, and oak, overlooks a wetland and beyond that, a monastery. I hear the bullfrogs and sandhill cranes in the summer, the coyotes and groaning ice in the winter, and through it all the timely ringing of the abbey bell. These sounds, together with the rhythms and cycles of the natural world, keep me searching for an ever deeper musical wisdom. We're all connected—with each other, with the coyotes and sandhill cranes, with the monks and the frogs!

Playing the music of great composers, particularly Bach, fuels my own creative spirit. I love the tapestry of sound that is created by alternating Bach's music with my own. The vibrant art of musicians living all over the world today is deeply inspiring too.

Learning and playing Bach is incredibly strenuous, requiring such painstaking effort and attention to detail. Improvisation is effortless, or should be. If I find myself trying to improvise, it's time to get out of my head and get back to listening as the music unfolds."