So thrilled to announce that I will be presenting a lecture at the Altamira Hong Kong International Guitar Symposium in July 2019. Even more exciting is the theme of this years conference, this being, improvisation. Colleagues who know me well, understand how dear improvisation is to me. Both on a spiritual level and in my academic life. The wonderful thing about improvisation is the fleeting quality it presents. You can hold on to one single chord, one idea. Then you can play with the inversions, omit chord tones and run the gamut between diatonic and chromatic harmony. There’s so much that can be done, because the standard 32-64 measures doesn’t necessarily apply here. Sometimes, this is a mirror of life, where one takes risks, falls down and gets back up again. However, for me, as I get older I am becoming a lot more empathetic towards the audience. Previously, I had no desire to please the general public. Although, sincerely, I was only being true to my art and I achieved this by being dead serious. Both on stage and in the practice room. Some are fortunate to have had musical training and others are usually self taught. I began my musical journey as a self taught musician, but I have become even more stronger since studying composition at university. If we train ourselves (musically), even feed ourselves with musical concepts, this will give us the patience to investigate improvisation and pedagogies. Therefore enabling us the ability to communicate our intentions as well as creating a relevant dialogue with the audience and inner voice. Our musical voice.