Glasgow School of Art — Reid Building
5.00–8.30pm
GIOglobal
Sounding At Sea (world premiere) — Alex South & Michal Lovecky
Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra — free improvisation
GIOfest XVIII opens by looking outward, exploring improvisation across bodies, species, technologies and geographical borders. The evening features GIOglobal, the orchestra’s international network developed through pioneering work in online and hybrid improvisation, connecting musicians in Glasgow with collaborators across distance.
At the centre of the evening is the world premiere of Sounding At Sea, a new multi-artform project led by musician Alex South and creative XR technologist Michal Lovecky. Exploring the effects of human noise pollution on orcas and other marine mammals, the project combines virtual reality, movement and improvised music. Movement artists immersed in a virtual underwater environment generate live visual material which is projected into the performance space and simultaneously becomes a constantly changing graphic score for improvising musicians.
The evening culminates with the full Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra in free improvisation — the spontaneous collective music-making that has remained at the heart of GIO throughout its history.
The Old Hairdresser’s
7.00–10.00pm
The George Lyle Commission — new work by Isaac Gunnoo
GIO Small Groups
Friday focuses on history, friendship and the musical relationships that have sustained the orchestra. The concert opens with the latest work in GIO’s George Lyle Commission series, this year created by Australian musician and bassist Isaac Gunnoo.
The commission was established in memory of double bassist and founding GIO member George Lyle (1948–2016), a hugely influential presence in Scotland’s jazz and improvised-music communities. The George Lyle Commission celebrates that legacy by supporting new work rooted in George’s exploratory and collaborative spirit.
The evening then turns to GIO’s traditional small-groups programme: one-off duos, trios and ensembles creating space for close listening, individual voices, risk, intimacy and the particular chemistry that emerges in the moment.
University of Glasgow Concert Hall
10.00am–2.00pm
10.00–11.00am:
GIObabies — creative music workshop for children aged 0–5 and their carers
11.00am–12.30pm:
Lecture and discussion with Tia DeNora and Raymond MacDonald
12.00–2.00pm:
GIOdynamics — open public improvisation session, curated by Jer Reid. No previous improvising experience required.
University of Glasgow Concert Hall
7.00–10.00pm
Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra with
Maggie Nicols
Rie Nakajima
Corey Mwamba
Rob Burke
Anna Kaluza
The festival culminates with the full orchestra joined by an exceptional group of guests, bringing radically different approaches to collective creativity — voice, objects and sculpture, vibraphone, electronics and saxophones — into dialogue with the full Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra.