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Composer’s Blog

The Water is Me – New Composing Project

The Water is Me – New Composing Project

small boat on Lake Champlain
Photo by Jeetan Khada

 

Watershed Voices will create musical works that celebrate regional biodiversity (through sonification of scientific data) and human diversity (through writings from diverse cultural voices both past and present), thereby engaging audiences in both New York State and Quebec in a shared artistic experience of our shared Champlain Basin. Glenn McClure will compose at least two new musical works. He will also mentor three composers in the creative technique of sonification and each will write one musical work.

Sonification of data from Lake Champlain

A minimum of five choral and instrumental works will emerge from the sonification of data from Lake Champlain Basin water sources. The core musical content (melodies and chord progressions) will be driven by lake core data collected and curated by Dr. Curt Stager of Paul Smith’s College. Data used for this project will be different from Dr. Stager’s former project. Lake core samples represent thousands of years of climate history and human intervention in the Champlain Basin.

Read more at The Water is Me website

Turning Points: Dante on the Ice

Turning Points: Dante on the Ice

Nov 25 There is no shortage of video games and conspiracy novels these days that carve out just enough of Dante’s Divine Comedy for the purpose of legitimizing the use of his name in the marketing plan. Among those things that many get wrong about Dante’s poem is the image of Hell as a place… Continue Reading

Polar Baking Hotline

Polar Baking Hotline

Nov 23 Since Great Britain and Norway have dominated Antarctic exploration, Thanksgiving, a signature American holiday, doesn’t have a long heritage here on the icy continent. Americans were preoccupied with a decade or more of pre-Civil War turmoil when James Clark Ross arrived here in the mid 19th century to the place that would eventually… Continue Reading

Every Lightning Strike

Every Lightning Strike

Nov 22 My friend Yuki Takahashi let me tag along today on his daily trip to the top of McMurdo called “Arrival Heights.” It was a pretty brutal place. Today, this snow covered, lunar landscape boasted sustained winds of about 30 mph and gusts up to 60 mph. Yuki monitors six projects for scientists all… Continue Reading

Lectures and Concerts

Lectures and Concerts

November 20, 2016  The temperature soared over the couple of days to the low 20s Fahrenheit and some snow started to melt in the warmer spots at McMurdo. Worries of tracking volcanic mud into the dorms were quickly forgotten as the temperature dropped and the snow arrived yesterday. The station is hunkered down today with… Continue Reading

Open Mike Night at the Seal Beach

Open Mike Night at the Seal Beach

Nov 17, 2016 I spent the day out on the snowmobiles with Elaine and fellow NSF Artist and Writer, Maris Wicks. Maris is a science cartoonist (www.mariswicks.com). While I was recording their voices, Maris was sketching. The Weddell seals make a wide range of sounds both above and below water. Everything from guttural growls and… Continue Reading

Yesterday Camp – Part 10 – “The Comforts of Yesterday Camp”

Yesterday Camp – Part 10 – “The Comforts of Yesterday Camp”

Part 10 The Comforts of Yesterday Camp We arrived an hour later at the sea ice airfield and hopped into the shuttle that passed by Scott Base (operated by New Zealand’s version of the NSF) and crossed over Ross Island to McMurdo Station. I was still clad in all the necessary layers of protective clothing… Continue Reading

Yesterday Camp – Part 6 – “The Cloud of Unknowing”

Yesterday Camp – Part 6 – “The Cloud of Unknowing”

Part 6 The Cloud of Unknowing I mentioned in an early blog that it is difficult to get a sense of direction here. North, south, east, and west could be any direction. The time of day is also impossible to judge without a watch because the sun plods a slow oval around the sky, never… Continue Reading

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