IF: Improvisers Forum Concert Series

Frederick Experimental Music Association, Inc. (FEMA) announces its first concert series – IF: Improvisers Forum – beginning October 15th at the Frederick YMCA Arts Center in Frederick, Maryland. Funded by a grant from the FAC/National Endowment for the Arts Create and Activate Now (CAN) program – and curated by author, critic, and Frederick resident, Bill Shoemaker – IF features internationally renowned improvising musicians performing as duos.

Concerts will begin at 8pm at the Frederick Y Arts Center, located at 115 East Church Street, with doors opening at 7:30. Suggested donations are $10, with free admission to children and students with ID.

Pending future mandates in Frederick, wearing masks is recommended, but not mandatory. Seating will be arranged to facilitate distancing without diminishing the concert experience.

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Susan Alcorn, pedal steel guitar and Robert Dick, flutes

Susan Alcorn has extended the pedal steel guitar far beyond its traditional role in country music, exploring jazz, tango nuevo, and other idioms. She has collaborated with numerous iconic musicians like Pauline Oliveros and Evan Parker. In 2017, she received the Baker Artist Award; in 2018, she and her long-time collaborator Joe McPhee won the Instant Award in Improvised Music.

Robert Dick is to the flute what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar, an artist who introduced new worlds of sound. His trademarked Glissando Headjoint allows for voice-like pitch fluctuations and his use of multiphonics and his palette of timbres are unparalleled, particularly on the seldom-heard bass and contrabass flutes.