Episode 35 Brightwood Projects

March 1, 2026

Brightwood Projects

Preserving/Building Lute-family instruments, across the cultures of West Asia and the Mediterranean.

📍Worcester, Massaschusetts

Brightwood Projects: https://www.brightwoodprojects.com/ 

Thoughts and Reflections

I woke up late; my alarm did not wake me up. Rhea got there before I did (by almost an hour), and they just hung out and nerded out on instrument-building and got to know each other more. Besides their instrument-making they are both heavily in the free improvisation avant-garde music scene in Boston. 

I arrived pre-frazzled.

Jesse has a stronger background in playing the music of these particular cultures. Rhea and I dabble, but are no experts in the slightest. Also knowing our shared interest in free improv jams, at two separate points (first with a variety of instruments, and second with different ouds), we had some fun free jams. I initially included that in the earlier drafts of the episode. After some conversation, all of us came together and discussed the sensitivity of us playing these instruments on video. We agreed that it wasn't appropriate to include for a variety of reasons:

• We were not representing the music of the cultures in a way that in any way would be more effective than if we had a musician(s) of those cultures representing it, especially as we are discussing it. 

• And the free-improv elements vs the instrument work of this diaspora were two separate fields of music.

It was incredibly valuable to have this discussion and come to this conclusion. 

Here at The Instrument Makers, we aim to tell the authentic stories of people and instruments, and respect the traditions that they've come from.