Brookfield Meadow - Launch Event
“I want to make work that connects people to the world around them ... encourages people to experience places like this more deeply”
Listen to the River Ching was launched at Brookfield Meadow on Wednesday 6 May and we were delighted by how many people popped by during the afternoon and the lovely response to the music. People of all ages took the opportunity to slow down, pause for a moment to listen and wander by the river. This project is hyper local for me and there really is a lot of love for this district in NE London.
Some visitor feedback
‘Lovely to see this previously neglected corner come to life. The music and words are beautiful and moving. Thank you for a wonderful project’
‘Beautiful moving music … the most incredible way to connect with nature’
‘What a lovely thing to have on our doorstep. Thank you – the music is lovely’
‘Music was magical and so lovely to sit on a toadstool and listen under the trees by the river’
‘Made me experience the place in a different way’
A lesson in listening
Pupils with vision impairment worked with Ellie to pick some of the sounds used in the piece.
This new music composition grew from a series of workshops with pupils with vision impairment at Joseph Clarke School. We visited the River Ching to explore the landscape through sound and collaborative listening. Together, we captured a sonic portrait of the environment using hydrophones and microphones.
The resulting composition combines percussion and whispered voices (water spirits) captured in the classroom with field recordings of the riverbank and its underwater world. This is combined with violin, synthesiser, piano,percussion and sound design for an immersive experience, evoking the flow of the river as it meanders through Epping Forest and slips quietly past back gardens, playing fields and allotments.
Working with the students was a lesson in listening for me too as many of them rely on their ears (and touch and smell) to navigate their surroundings. They were so enthusiastic and I enjoyed working with them.
Here’s a word cloud with some of their answers to the listening survey I gave them.
