The Living Arts Apprenticeship Program
A 7-day live-on-the-land cross-discipline arts intensive, located in New York's Catskill MountainsPicture this…
You pitch your tent along the banks of the Rondout Creek in Catskills New York, surrounded by some of the most beautiful nature the North East has to offer. You wake up at the crack of dawn and prepare for a full day of immersion in your art.
This summer, we are offering our eighth apprenticeship with a focus on drum-set study and music composition. As a participant, you will have the opportunity to refine your craft during a week-long intensive period of inquiry and practice. You'll work closely with a primary instructor, as well as acquire hands-on experience within the other discipline, gaining new insights as to how universal principles such as, timing, motion, rhythm, dissonance & harmony, which exist in all art forms, can reshape the understanding, practice and depth of your art.
Throughout you will be energized with delicious home cooked meals made with local organic produce. At the end of the day, allow your body and mind to relax as you sit by the fire, gazing at the stars and the nightly firefly show. Now head to your tent for a much-deserved sleep, and prepare to do it all over again.
LAAP 2012 Highlights
Register here for 2013
“It feels like a year of music school.”
“LAAP would feel like a dream if the impact of what I learned there didn't resonate for so long. I attended the very first LAAP several years ago and I can safely say that no other single experience in my life has had such a profound influence on my technique, musicianship, and sense of self. If this sounds hard to believe, it's because the whole thing is kind of a miracle...very, very few things like it seem to happen in the world any more. ”
“One of the greatest things is spending a lot of time with your teachers and suddenly, spontaneously things come out. That is one of the beautiful things that don’t happen in a class if you go to a school situation. ”
“Gadi's presence at LAAP helped turn the experience into something larger than a drum-set/Aikido/music composition workshop. His level of Aikido mastery is immediately apparent, and he provides much inspiration to push oneself further, though he does so with his actions and not his words. He also helped place the drumming and music in a larger context. The Aikido material we worked on helped strengthen the connection between mind and body, and it also pointed towards a greater connectivity that drumming, composing, and Aikido share with all disciplines of study. Mind, body, spirit, focus, balance, strength, rhythm, grace, dedication. ”
“The body coordination ties in with the musical coordination ties in with the mental coordination to compose. ”
“Getting here I was immediately amazed just by the beauty of this place. I think that’s a huge part of it. ”
“They are all masters of their art and I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to take a serious step to towards mastering drums, composition, or martial arts. ”
“Amir, Jordan, and Gadi have an intuitive sense of the students' skill level and could easily accommodate people who were coming from a different perspective. The program provides an opportunity to re-center yourself, reach within, and maximize your own potential. Nearly every meal was gourmet, with fresh, local ingredients from the Catskills, and provided clean, healthy fuel for the long days of hard work.”
