Who We Are
The Convergents is an improvisational string trio borne out of the inspiration and influence of the players diverse musical backgrounds. Julian Smedley, Julie Egger and Michele McCulloch use familiar music as their palette and weave together an entirely new tapestry of sound. Their introspective artistry touches the inner sanctum of the listener, bringing them along on a journey to places unknown. All compositions are spontaneous.

What is improvisation?

Every style of music seems to include improvisation in some way. The generally accepted definition of improvisation is to play spontaneously, without a specific script or score. However, most improvisation requires guidelines for the performer—some structure which the players can follow to keep from getting lost from each other. Often this is a key, like G major or C minor, and almost always includes a rhythm that aligns players with each other. Some music allows ample room for improvisation and other music has evolved to include very little space for improvisation.

As Convergents, we are interested in exploring improvisation without conventional structures, or at least, with the barest minimum of such structures. What we often use as scaffolding is visual images, patterns that occur in nature or patterns that grow out of human behavior. When we refer to free improv, however, we give this a special significance. In free improv, we are starting from nothing. There are no keys, no prearranged structures, no planned ideas, no leaders or followers. We only listen and respond to each other. We don't know how these pieces will sound any more than our audience does. This is a mysterious process. Our hope is that you will feel some of that mystery, too.


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