Credo
by Sebastian Noelle (10/28/02)

Our modern times are overloaded with acoustic information. Walking through the sonic swamps of New York and experiencing its multiple layers sounds on a daily basis, whether indoors or outdoors, makes me think a lot about the difference between music and noise.
Both are breaking the silence. The silence that is so necessary to keep our soul in a balanced state. But music as compared to noise is breaking it for a reason. And while random noise doesn't take into consideration the pressure that it exercises on our nerve ends music always leaves space for breathing. All music is a variation on the sound of the beating heart. In its best moments is amplifies the silence. It lets us hear meaning in between the lines of the absurdity of all existence.
I believe in music.

What makes music beautiful?
It's you. It's the listener. A piece of music is like a landscape painting. It is lifeless until you put yourself into it. Walk through the labyrinth of a twelve tone row or bathe in the warm summer evening sea of a low G minor chord. Skip the stepping stones of half cadences and let yourself be lifted into the air by clouds of chromatic counterpoint.

For me improvisation is the missing link between music and life. It helps deal with the changes and chances, random or deliberate, that our mental and physical existence is subject to. It is a green field of freedom within a world shaken by the uncontrollable forces of light and dark. It let's us choose. Invent. Interact. Connect.