We are honored to be a part of the 2026-2027 season of the Resonance series at First Church Berkeley UCC’s Unity Hall, and will be presenting a very diverse program of our own compositions and some free improvisations!
$35 general admission
$25 Students + First Church members
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CWICO (Creative Women Improvising Composers Orchestra) -
Rika Iwasaki Ellis, Frances Feldon, Rebecca Hass, Lee Heuermann, and Joyce McBride
Pieces include:
Wade in the Water, arranged by Frances Feldon
The King’s Theme, improvisations based on J.S. Bach’s The Musical Offering, by Frances Feldon
Centimonk by Rebecca Hass
Meditation for Minneapolis by Rebecca Hass
Maracatu de Manatim by Rebecca Hass
We Are Dancing Love, by Lee Heuermann
Small Victories, by Lee Heuermann, text - Ruby Sales and Lee Heuermann
Ridge of Blue Longing, for two pianos, by Lee Heuermann
The Buddhist Parable of the Singing House, by Joyce McBride, text - Bertolt Brecht
Estompie Stomp, by Joyce McBride
Choral piece TBD, by Joyce McBride
Improvisations
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Formed in 2025, CWICO (Creative Women Improvising Composers Orchestra) came together to workshop, play and perform each other’s work, creating a space for women composers to collaborate. We will feature compositions by each of our members, as well as improvised pieces.
All of us come from diverse backgrounds with wide experience in many musical genres. Collectively, we bring vocal experimentation, African-American music, Brazilian music, medieval/renaissance/baroque European music, classical chamber music, singer song-writer, jazz, alternative chamber pop, new choral music, electro-acoustic, sound design, contemporary dance collaboration, new and experimental music, theatre, and East-Asian-inspired music to our group. We value the power of music to create community, and often include audience input in generating improvisations, through written prompts, picture dice, and other tools.
We value being a part of the long-time Bay area tradition of radical experimentation and especially find it essential in this current time.