We tried to mark the 10th anniversary anniversary with a longer program, extended to a whole week, with more workshops and more concerts, some new spaces, the inclusion of prominent names from the international improvisation scene and some new processes, such as addressing invitations to other promoters to propose groups, between some already existing and others created for the occasion.
We had four days of training in an artistic residency regime, although we could also attend the workshops on an individual basis. The teachers were Biliana Voutchkova, Axel Dörner, Carlos Zíngaro, Hanna White and Stephen Shiell.
There was a sound installation created by Nuno Rebelo and the presentation of Juan Calvi's new book; we held a concert for children again, this time under the guidance of Elisabetta Lanfredini; and we recreated PREC with poetry recited by Paulo Ramos as it happened in the first edition of the Meeting.
There were a number of random groups and ensembles as usual, as well as late night jam sessions. For the pre-defined groups we had three types of origin. Some through invitations we made to our partner associations in France, Italy and Denmark that brought us Punk Puppets Ritual, Kerlox Dynamic 4tet and The Way Out respectively. Some through carte blanche to usual collaborators resulting in the following: Pedro Santo introduced the Sereias, from Porto; Luís Guerreiro proposed Uivo Zebra & Horns; and Rui Eduardo Paes created Salomé. Another of the groups' origins was the spontaneous presentation of new projects that some musicians did and that we accepted, that is Adriano Orrù offered us Unknown Shores, Maria do Mar the Lantana and Pedro Castelo Lopes his quartet with Sei Miguel, Fala Marian and João Madeira.
And also the groups created by the workshop supervisors, that is the duo Axel Dörner and Biliana Voutchkova (in addition to the solo concerts that they also did), the StringChamberPot by Carlos Zíngaro and the Blanc Seol by Hanna White and Stephen Shiell.
Audio recordings from MIA 2019
