How does it work?

Artistic resources are identified: anyone who plays or has played an instrument or sings. non-musicians may participate through elements of spoken word, dance, visual arts, or another performing component they might suggest. The staff of Gravity Arts - through dialogue with the ensemble - selects, composes and arranges music customized for each individual, and the unique orchestration of the group.

Rehearsals are the heart of OIE’s collaborative creation experience. These naturally correspond to how members of highly innovative teams get out of their heads, pick up on non-verbal cues and constantly learn new ways to experiment, and fail, so they can ultimately get to the most successful business outcomes. Improved creative, improvisation and listening skills improve daily interactions with teams.

Who is it for?

ANYONE. Some participants come to OIE with musical experience, others come with no experience. It doesn’t matter. Our ‘organic’ ‘begin anywhere’ process makes it possible for anyone to be a part of the ensemble and display their innate creativity. Participants are usually outgoing innovative people who are seekers: they want to be better listeners, picking up on the cues from their colleagues; they want to be better collaborators, designing and building projects with their team; they want to be better improvisers, turning whatever resources are at their disposal into the next big idea.

When is it / how long does it take? Where does it take place?

We’ll spend 11 hours together, at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, MA. The program includes six 90-minute weekly meetings and concludes with a final performance. A Final Concert open to anyone serves as the culmination of an OIE project. These concerts have always met with great audience – and participators – response.

Why should someone do this? (What will happen as a result?)

Having a flexible, creative mindset allows one to evaluate ideas and consider possibilities. It is a clear path to revealing original products, services, and new ways of doing business. Creative innovation is paramount to companies who want to maintain success and relevance in today’s markets. Creating and delivering delightful products to customers is experientially the same as creating artistic productions and performances that delight audiences.

OIE workshops develop deep changes in how employees go about innovating and producing desirable products for the marketplace. This significantly raises a company’s innovation quotient and grows outreach and community involvement. OIE’s workshops are for anyone who wants to understand and experience how direct immersion in expression of ideas through sound, images, and words drives greater openness and original thinking in business, technology, products and services.

This is not a new concept. The world-renowned composer and jazz musician Wayne Shorter recently remarked: “To be able to perform with the willingness to trust one another’s desires to create a unique performance ‘in the moment’… the four of us in my band (Danilo Perez, John Patatuchi, Brian Blade, and Shorter) do this kind of improvisation onstage every night. All of us have unexpectedly benefitted from this process of learning to trust while staying in the moment, which has heightened our awareness of group dynamics and leadership capacities. I see that the life circumstances of each member of the band are being enhanced, and that each member is commanding enormous respect, and we are becoming a band of individual leaders.”