Led by tri-centric orchestra concertmaster Erica Dicker, This workshop is dedicated to the exploration of the compositional/improvisational systems of NEA Jazz Master Anthony Braxton. As much as we are trying to faithfully approach the work of the maestro, we will use this music as a springboard to unlocking our own creativity and unique approaches.

In the course of these 3 hours- participants will learn how to spontaneously arrange music utilize Braxton’s Language Music, and have the opportunity to ask burning questions about score interpretation. The last half of the workshop will be dedicated to practicing the scores as a collective ensemble. For those up for the adventure, they will then perform the scores in the concert to follow in the evening.

This workshop is open to all instrumentalists, composers, and “friendly experiencers.” The ability to play notated music is useful but not necessary for the enjoyment of the workshop.

Instrumentalists in the workshop are required to bring their own amplification to play in the concert. There will not be use of the PA. Vocalists should bring their own mic and make arrangements prior to the workshop.

Tickets are sliding scale $20-30, $30 Day of Show.

Bios

Violinist Erica Dicker works in a wide variety of musical settings, bridging the realms of notated and improvised music. Erica lends her creative voice to the Brandon Seabrook String Society, Blood Luxury, and her electro-acoustic trio Vaster Than Empires. Taking Auspices (Tubapede Records), her “knockout solo debut,” [Bandcamp Daily] features her own solo compositions for violin that explore extended techniques and alternate tunings, yielding music both familiar and strange. Erica is a founding member of the horn-trio Kylwyria. With hornist John Gattis and pianist Mabel Kwan, Kylwyria commissions adventurous chamber music for this unique instrumentation, enabling luminaries such as Eric Wubbels and Katherine Young to make invaluable contributions to the repertoire.

Erica is, perhaps, best known for her work with composer and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton as a performer and collaborator as well as an educational ambassador for Braxton’s non-profit Tri-Centric Foundation. Erica writes about and curates performances of Braxton’s work, most recently coaching members of Tactus (Manhattan School of Music) in performance practice and lecturing on analytical approaches to Braxton’s music at Columbia University. Additionally, Erica has toured with Braxton internationally, appearing at festivals such as Berlin Jazz Festival, Jazz Middelheim Festival (Belgium), Jantar Festival (Poland), Akbank Festivali (Turkey), Skopje Jazz Festival (Macedonia), the Venice Biennale, and Warsaw Autumn Festival.

Praised for her rich sound and stylistic versatility, Erica is an invaluable recording artist and colleague. With pianist Karl Larson, Erica performed Morton Feldman’s epic, 80-minute for John Cage at the Jewish Museum in 2022 and had the honor of performing Braxton’s Composition No. 222 with pianist Cory Smythe at the Library of Congress in March of 2025. Notable releases on which she is featured include David Lang’s opera Anatomy Theater (Cantaloupe Music), Durand Jones and the Indications’ Private Space (Dead Oceans). Recent recordings include Contemporary Chaos Practices (Intakt Records) by Ingrid Laubrock, Concrete & Void (New Focus Recordings) with Wavefield Ensemble, Anna Webber’s Idiom (Pi Recordings), and Modney’s Ascending Primes (Pyroclastic Records).

As an orchestral performer, Erica served as associate concertmaster of the Peoria Symphony, held section positions in regional orchestras in the Midwestern United States, Germany, and continues to perform with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Erica also enjoys her role as an instructor at Lehigh University and member of the Frequency String Quartet - the faculty chamber ensemble there. A proponent of new music, Erica collaborates with nascent composers of all ages and particularly enjoys her roles as artist in residence at the Walden School Young Musicians Program and Mostly Modern Festival. She holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the University of Minnesota and her doctoral degree from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. She also attributes a significant part of her early musical education to the Illinois Wesleyan University college radio station 88.1 WESN (Radio to the Far Left) FM, reaching her in her hometown of Normal, Illinois.