Imagination Exploration is an interactive live show appearing in schools across Australia as part of Musica Viva Australia In Schools. It features the musicians of I Hold the Lion’s Paw, a four-piece improvisation ensemble who play everything from keyboards to guitars to trumpets and flutes. Trumpeter Reuben Lewis spoke with us about working in schools, playing for diverse audiences and the joy of making things up as you go along.
‘Music teaches so many integrated skills—communication, collaboration, creativity—that are essential to surviving and thriving as humans.’
For Reuben, who trained as a jazz musician and is a core member of I Hold the Lion’s Paw, one of his favourite parts of the Imagination Exploration show comes right at the beginning, as the children walk in to hear their live performance. The four-piece ensemble is already playing a free improvisation while the students get settled, which takes shape as a response to whatever is happening in the hall. Reuben watches the students’ reactions as they notice.
‘You can see the moment when they realise that this isn’t a fixed piece of music and they have the power to change what’s happening on stage. Moments like that—where the kids realise the show is theirs as much as ours—are really special.’
Imagination Exploration. Photo Credit: Teniola Komolafe
Reuben continues:
‘I Hold the Lion’s Paw has been working together since 2016. It's an established, hard-working ensemble. We do all sorts of things from traditional concerts to working with dancers and jazz concerts. This project is a really interesting extension: in developing Imagination Exploration we have gone deeper into the fundamental concepts that brought the band together. Making the show, we make better music and become better artists. The more we perform this work, the more we understand what we want to do as musicians, and the more we engage with our audience—be it the children or the teachers in the room.’
Can you put your approach to improvisation into words?
‘Improvisation for me is a fundamental, universal way of creating. Everything we do in the ensemble comes from that. We want to be able to show that it's possible, that it doesn't have to be connected to particular styles of music or instruments or practices. It's more about a philosophy of making and experimenting.
‘I think all the musicians in I Hold the Lion's Paw and the Imagination Exploration project have a similar approach. Yes, we are jazz-trained. We do rock music, pop music—all those things are part of it. But for us, it's more about whatever's in the room and how we can have a play.
‘We’re passionate about leaving kids with a sense of freedom. Just give it a go, be goofy, and see what happens! You can be rigorous and careful with what you do and still have a good time and be silly.
‘Much of the show is quite open: the kids prompt us to create a sound for a word, invent a dance move, or come up with a song right there. They see four professional musicians on the edge of their seats, putting things together on the fly and having fun. I think that’s powerful—seeing adults being vulnerable and working together as a team.
‘Then we'll finish a show, get in the car and then chatter away non-stop for half an hour as we race to the next school, figuring out how we can hone in on elements of the show. It's a vibrant, continually evolving piece of work.’
Imagination Exploration at Ashwood School. Photo Credit: Studio Einwick
You’ve given performances in a number of schools with students with diverse access needs. What kind of preparation did you do?
‘There are a lot of assumptions around what diverse access needs audiences can handle.
‘We were fortunate to be one of the first ensembles to develop a Musica Viva Education show with diverse access needs audiences in mind. We worked closely with the Musica Viva Australia team from the start and did a series of trial shows at specialist schools, which gave us clear feedback and removed some of the fear of the unknown.
‘What we found was that we didn’t need to change the show dramatically—it was more about understanding how to communicate certain elements. For example, we had to be aware of things like volume control, proximity to the kids, and how we could allow them autonomy.
‘With guidance from the experts —educators and consultants who know the students well — we can walk in and perform the same show without issue. In fact, focusing on making the show work for diverse access needs contexts improves the quality of the show for all audiences.’
Imagination Exploration at Lowther Hall. Photo Credit: Leah Phillips
Imagination Exploration has already toured regional Victoria and NSW and will, over the next four years, visit every state and territory in Australia. Have you had any memorable adventures so far?
‘We had a great experience on the last tour in Gippsland, right in the middle of a massive windstorm. One school lost power 10 minutes before we arrived so we raided the cupboard, found old xylophones, ukuleles, and even a bass recorder, and did the show anyway.’That’s hardcore improvisation!
‘Exactly. And after the show, Adam jumped in the back of the car and bought a bass recorder online because he loved it so much! It's not about physical resources, it's more about a new way of working with your materials in the room. Every context has something magical about it that we can unlock. And it’s all framed within a rigorously-designed educational program that offers life-changing experiences.’
Learn more about I Hold the Lion’s Paw and about their interactive school show, Imagination Exploration, here.
Imagination Exploration at Lowther Hall. Photo Credit: Leah Phillips