At 8EAST, 8 East Pender Street, Vancouver, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Saturdays April 5 to May 23, 2026
With a Special Workshop event April 5
co-presented with Sound of Dragon Society
For up to 25 participants, Free with a NOW Membership
Workshops are drop-in, please bring your instrument (and/or amps) and be ready to play!
Donations gratefully accepted (here).
Since 1978, the New Orchestra Workshop Society (NOW) has presented music improvisation workshops, offering space for exploration and participation. Our workshops are for improvisers of all levels of ability and ranges of experience, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, race or religion. We protect privacy in our workshops and adopt the We Have Voice Collective Code of Conduct. Read more about NOW workshop policies here.
NOW Society improv Workshops, Saturdays 2 - 3:30 pm
April 11 - Anju Singh
Anju experiments with texture, sound, and compositional structures in her practice and work as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, sound artist, and curator. Her interests include extreme dynamics, noise, electronic and acoustic sound interplay, and sonic sculpture. Anju's main focuses are experimentation, collaboration, and staying in process in her art and music making. She has composed in the areas of music, media arts, performance, theatre, film and opera and has toured, presented and performed her work across Canada, in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and the United States. Her work has been commissioned by artists, ensembles, and directors locally, nationally, and internationally. In addition to her composing, free improv and sound art work, Anju plays drums for heavy metal bands and has a noise/experimental violin project called The Nausea. Anju curates and organizes events and shows independently and is the Director of Vancouver Noise Fest (12 years now). Anju lives in Vancouver and plays in a few music projects with her partner Graham. They live with a cat named Vito named after Don Corleone from The Godfather.
April 18 - Aaron Leaney and JahSun
photo by Pierre Landlois
Aaron Leaney is a Montreal based Indo-Trinidadian-Canadian saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist and recording producer. His most recent vinyl LP, “Lockdown” features pioneer avant-guard drummer Guy Thouin (L'Infonie) and was released on Astral Spirits Records. In 2025, Leaney performed with Mats Gustafsson’s Fire! Orchestra at FIMAV, as well on tour with the experimental electro-latin drummer, Mas Aya (Lido Pimienta) and was co-leading his afro-caribbean post-punk trio, H ii Regions. Other projects include; an ongoing duo with Grammy-nominated percussionist, Chris Dadge, being a long-standing member of the avant-garde big band, The Ratchet Orchestra (recently featured on their 2024 double CD “Alive”) and exploring collaborations as an improviser, as well as developing analogue compositional techniques through his ambient and solo works. Leaney (Mus.B) is an active educator running empowering and creative outreach music programs for diversified youth in Little Burgundy.
photo by Mynello Art
Jahsun Promesse is a Montreal, Canadian/Caribbean based drummer, futurist & arts event curator. His music brings voice to ancestral memories manifested in imagined futures. Exploring free black expression, the abandon of traditional ‘drummer’ timekeeping roles, continuously seeking new sounds, contrasts, harmony, dissonance, storytelling, deep grooves, free time & authentic cultural exchanges.
April 25 - Bahar Khazei
Bahar Khazei is a musician, educator and first-generation immigrant living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people. With a diverse musical foundation spanning classical piano, Iranian traditional music, and synthesis, Bahar has developed a particular sonic identity that bridges cultural and artistic boundaries.
Central to Bahar’s practice is her exploration of free improvisation as a form of inquiry and alternative ways of communication. She uses sound as a tool to reflect on concepts such as language, othering, loss of home, and belonging, particularly through the lens of cultural identity. Her solo ambient/noise project Fide serves as one platform for exploring these improvisational concepts through ambient drone, noise, collected sounds, field recordings, and speech.
Beyond her performance practice, she co-curates a bi-monthly improvised music series with the NOW Society, serves on the board of the Barking Sphinx Performance Society, and regularly contributes to the experimental and contemporary music scene in Vancouver.
May 2 - Bruce Freedman
Bruce Freedman, composer/saxophonist, has been a part of the Vancouver creative music community for several generations. He has lead many groups over the years including Claude Ranger, Paul Plimley, Clyde Reed and many others. He was a regular member of the NOW ORCHESTRA for many years. His most recent recording is an Infidels release named COLLAGE.
May 9 - Russell Wallace
Russell Wallace is an award winning composer, producer and traditional singer from the St'at'imc Nation (Salish) in Canada. His music has been part of a number of film and television soundtracks and theatre/dance productions. In 2022, Russell was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Arts and Music Award in recognition of his music and contributions to arts and culture in British Columbia as well as had his composition “Journey” performed at Biennale Arte 2022 in Venice this past September. Currently, Wallace is the Director of the Indigenous Vocal Ensemble at Vancouver Community College and works with the Vancouver Youth Choir’s Kindred Program alongside Deann Gestrin.
May 16 - Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson has studied with many acclaimed jazz musicians including Oliver Gannon, Dave Holland, John Abercrombie, Kevin Eubanks and Steve Coleman. Tony won a West Coast Music Award with his band Video Barbeque and released the critically acclaimed ‘Lowest Note’ in 2001, which went on to become a pick of the year in the Globe and Mail. Tony’s current sextet, which includes 5 young Vancouver improvisor’s, is turning heads after recent successful appearances at this year’s Guelph and Vancouver Jazz Festivals. Tony’s compositions have been played by artists as diverse as the NOW Orchestra, The Hard Rubber Orchestra, Myra Melford, Kokoro Dance, Marilyn Crispell, François Houle and Zubot & Dawson. Tony has shared the stage with well know international artists such as Vinny Golia, William Parker, Wilbert de Joode, Gerry Hemingway, Han Bennink, Marilyn Lerner, Toby Delius, Benoit Delbecq & Eric Boeren in the US and Europe.
May 23 - Anthony Schulz
photo by Ian Spence
Australian accordionist Anthony Schulz operates at the intersection of free improvisation, folk, and chamber music. A seasoned collaborator, he has performed with the likes of Barre Phillips (ECM), the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the ARIA-winning Zulya and the Children of the Underground. His workshop will explore spontaneous prompts and how improvisational events can establish and deepen musical relationships.
www.anthonyschulz-music.com
~ 8EAST ACCESS STATEMENT ~
The 8EAST social space for new culture is a project of the NOW Society, located on the Territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh and səlil̓wətaʔɬ Peoples, in Chinatown, in the DTES, in Vancouver.
We are committed to making 8EAST a safe(r), welcoming and more accessible space. We do not tolerate discrimination based on age, gender, neuro a-typicality, disability, place of origin, cultural background, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. We do not tolerate racism, sexual aggression, assault, or harassment which can include unwanted touch or comments that objectify or sexualize. We adopt and follow the We Have Voice Collective Code of Conduct. We can accommodate a variety of needs, including assistance dogs, walkers, wheelchairs, scooters, and strollers. To arrange for American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, please contact now@nowsociety.org.
We recognize that access is an ongoing and evolving discussion, and acknowledge that this statement may be insufficient. Concernts or suggestions can be addressed, discussed or expressed anonymously by emailing safety@nowsociety.org. 8EAST ventilation: Open windows and door, 3 HEPA air purifiers and UV lights on return air in the HVAC system. Mask wearing is recommend and masks will be available. Seating, wooden stackable chairs without armrests, is movable.
Seating is generally arranged in groups of two or threes with space between groups for easy mobility. Wheelchair seating is easily accommodated. The 34 inch wide main entrance to 8EAST has a threshold of approximately 0.5 inches high. There is no door automation. During events, the door is open or can be opened by the Front of House person. There are no ramps or stairs to navigate. Internal floors are smooth concrete. Outdoor plaza events are held on concrete pavers, some are uneven. Paths and hallways are kept free of impediments.
8EAST has a wheelchair accessible, non-gendered toilet on site with a door width of 35 inches. Additional public toilets, not wheel chair accessible, are located in the adjacent hallway. The NOW Society emergency evacuation procedures are in place for all individuals. The Front of House person or a staff member onsite is trained in naloxone administration and will be the contact person in case of emergencies.
GETTING THERE AND PARKING:
8EAST is located within 50 meters of buses 004, 007, 019, 022, 209, and N19 on Pender Street. Stops for buses 003, 008, 014, 016, 020, N8, N20, and N35 are located within 250 metres on Hastings Street. Stadium–Chinatown SkyTrain Station is approximately 400 metres away. General metered street parking is available on surrounding streets. A passenger drop-off zone without a curb is located within 50 metres at 531 Carrall Street. To arrange for HandyDART transportation and accompanying assistants, please contact now@nowsociety.org.
There is a bike rack on the SW corner of Pender and Carrall Street, viewable while inside 8EAST and on the Plaza. Covered bike parking is available at the Main Street – Science World Skytrain Station. From there, one can take the #3 bus, then walk West down Pender to 8EAST (c. 5 mins), walk to 8EAST (c. 15 mins) or ride one skytrain stop to Stadium – Chinatown and walk Northwest to 8EAST (c. 5 mins). The closest Bike Locker to 8EAST is located at VCC Clark. From there, one can take trains to Stadium – Chinatown Skytrain Station and walk NorthWest to 8EAST.