Home      Calendar      About       Donate       Register       Pay Bill       E-News       Contact       Search
X

Welcome to Hochstein's Creativity Lab!

Have you always dreamt of writing music, making visual art, or writing stories, but find yourself intimidated by the act of creation? Well, here’s your chance to discover that creativity is a skill that can be cultivated and practiced like any other skill! Hochstein’s Creativity Lab is dedicated to exploring a variety of creative practices and cultivating the next generation of makers and innovators.

Hochstein’s Creativity Lab will offer lessons and workshops focusing on fundamentals like music theory, the basics of drawing, or the essential elements of improvisation. Beyond that, more advanced studies include subjects such as making comic books and graphic novels, composing music in a variety of styles, advanced songwriting/demoing, and advanced jazz improvisation. 

If you are looking to explore a topic not listed here, please reach out and ask. Hochstein also offers Independent Study on a variety of topics. Mastery of one discipline tends to effectively ease open doors into other disciplines. 

Lessons or classes in the Creativity Lab can also give students a much-needed outlet for self-discovery, providing a safe space for students to find their own personal means of healthy expression. 

                                                - Dr. Dave Chisholm, Director

Creativity Lab Open Hours

Starting in October 2023

Tuesdays, 4:00-6:00 pm

Saturdays, 9:30-10:30 am

Drop in and try out the space or discuss your big creative ideas. Additional hours available by appointment – just ask: dave.chisholm@hochstein.org

About the Creativity Lab

Hochstein’s Creativity Lab is outfitted with 8 linked iMac computers with piano keyboards, plus the teacher station. On the computers, students will be able to access music notation and digital audio workstation applications that easily adapt to just about every genre of music. 

Throughout the school year, Dave Chisholm will host monthly Saturday afternoon pop-up events, ranging from easy group creativity challenges to fun, pop-culture-centric lectures. 

Short-run workshops – one or two sessions max – offer another opportunity to explore your creativity on a specific topic.

There are also open lab hours where you can drop in and try out the space or discuss your big creative ideas with Dave.

See the schedule of pop-up events and workshops below. For more information about our year-round Music Theory classes, click here.

Saturday Creativity Lab Pop-Ups

Ages 12 to adult
Free, no registration fee.

Note: Space is limited as noted for each class. To sign up, stop by the Front Office to be added to the list, or call 585.454.4596. Register early - and we will create a waitlist if needed.

 

 

Pop-Up 1: Making Mini-Comics

Saturday, October 14, 2023; 1:00-2:30 pm; free
Limit: 12
To sign up, call 585.454.4596 or stop by the Hochstein Front Office to be added to the list.

Beginners welcome! Join Creativity Lab Director and acclaimed comic artist Dave Chisholm in a crash course at making your own short mini-comic. The mini-comic tradition is an open door for all skill levels and any type of story. At the end of this 90-minute class, you’ll have created your own mini comic and opened the door to a new means of self-expression. Please bring a pencil and any other favorite drawing utensils. Paper will be provided.

 

Pop-Up 2: Composition Challenge!

Saturday, November 11, 2023; 1:00-2:30 pm; free
Limit: 8
To sign up, call 585.454.4596 or stop by the Hochstein Front Office to be added to the list.

This is the perfect icebreaker for anybody interested in writing music or songs! Join Creativity Lab Director Dave Chisholm for a 90-minute composition challenge. He’ll provide a prompt and some tools to get you started and offer help and wisdom along the way. Do you want to write a piece of electronic dance music? Perfect. How about a heartfelt song? Wonderful. A string quartet? Fantastic. This challenge is open to any skill level. The technology in the Creativity Lab will help bridge the gap for beginners. If you’ve ever been curious about writing music but afraid to take the plunge, this is the workshop for you.

 

Pop-Up 3: Guided Listening with Dave: OK Computer by Radiohead

Saturday, December 16, 2023; 1:00-2:30 pm; free
Limit: 12
To sign up, call 585.454.4596 or stop by the Hochstein Front Office to be added to the list.

Join Creativity Lab Director Dave Chisholm for a 90-minute guided listen through one of the greatest and most ambitious rock albums of all time, OK Computer by Radiohead. Through the session, Dave will uncover the musical ideas woven through the album, illuminate the underlying themes in the lyrics, and demonstrate how Radiohead ties it all together. If this is one of your favorite albums, you won’t want to miss this – and if you’ve never heard it before, prepare to have your mind expanded! Open to musicians and non-musicians.

 

Pop-Up 4: The Secret History of the Marvel Universe

Saturday, January 13, 2024; 1:00-2:30 pm; free
Limit: 12
To sign up, call 585.454.4596 or stop by the Hochstein Front Office to be added to the list.

Are you a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Join Creativity Lab Director and acclaimed comic artist Dave Chisholm for a discussion on the origins of the Marvel Universe – especially the under-credited contributions of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. We’ll talk about the timeless characters, the interwoven stories, and the groundbreaking techniques used by these brilliant artists. 

 

Creativity Lab Workshops

Ages 12 to adult
$30 for each workshop, no registration fee.

Note: Each offering is limited to 8 people max. So register early - and we will create a waitlist if needed. For more information, call 585.454.4596.

 

 

Workshop 1: Writing Songs and Making Beats

Monday, October 23 and 30, 2023; 7:00-8:30 pm; Fee: $30 
Limit: 8  Click here to register or call 585.454.4596.

Here's your chance to make cutting-edge music using a variety of technological resources. Students will gain experience in beat making, music composition, melody writing, song construction, and movie scoring by working on creative personal projects and sharing their learning with others. 

 

Workshop 2: Comics & Music

Thursday, November 9 and 16, 2023; 7:00-8:30 pm; Fee: $30 
Limit: 8  Click here to register or call 585.454.4596.

Join musician and graphic artist Dave Chisholm – writer/artist for the graphic novels Enter the Blue, Chasin' the Bird: Charlie Parker in California, and Instrumental, as well as the comic-book series Canopus – in a wonderful exploration of the intersection of cartooning and musical sound. Students will participate in some general light-to-medium formal/structural/narrative/lyric analysis of choice pieces of music and then create comics informed by the musical selections.

 

Workshop 3: Basics of Improvisation

Saturday, December 2 and 9, 2023; 1:00-2:30 pm; Fee: $30  
Limit: 8  Click here to register or call 585.454.4596.

Musical improvisation can feel intimidating, but did you know that you improvise every single day when you engage in conversation? Join Creativity Lab Director Dave Chisholm in an unpacking of the fine art of musical improvisation – jazz or otherwise – in this short-run course. By the end of this session, you will be engaging in improvised, cooperative musical conversation with your peers! Perfect for any instrumental student at Hochstein. If you’re curious about this but not sure, reach out to Dave at dave.chisholm@hochstein.org.

 

Workshop 4: Music Theory Basics

Tuesday, January 9 and 16, 2024; 7:00-8:30 pm; Fee: $30 
Limit: 8  Click here to register or call 585.454.4596.

Gain a deeper understanding of the music you already know and love as Creativity Lab Director Dave Chisholm unpacks the basics of the harmonic structures in music. This course would be perfect for the beginner or enthusiast (of any genre of music!) who wants to gain this deeper understanding.