Seattle Symphony Day of Music

Sunday, 18 September 2011, 12:45-1:15pm
Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas
Seattle Symphony Day of Music
2nd Avenue & University Street
Benaroya Hall, Seattle | MAP
FREE

Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas appears at the Seattle Symphony’s Day of Music. Soprano Betsy Baeskens performs with percussionists Byron Au Yong and Stuart McLeod in the fountains in the Garden of Remembrance outside Benaroya Hall. They are part of the 40+ musical groups invited to perform in seven locations as part of this community-wide celebration of Seattle music as well as welcome for conductor Ludovic Morlot.

Water and the World

From 2004-2005, I lived on East 6th Street between Avenue C and D in the East Village in Manhattan. I remember walking along the East River. The disconcerting experience of being near this waterway was that I never heard the water. The swoosh of cars along East River Drive drowned out the lap of the river against the concrete wall.

From October 27 to November 1, the Electronic Music Foundation presents Ear to the Earth 2010: Water and the World throughout New York City. Included in the events are a number of soundscapes and sound mappings. The festival features composers, sound artists, performers and thinkers that include:

• R. Murray Schafer (composer and founder of the World Soundscape Project)
• Bernie Krause (bioacoustician and founder of Wild Sanctuary, Inc.)
• Francisco Lopez (sound artist who founded the Mamori Sound Project)
• Yolande Harris (artist/composer who researches Scorescapes)
• Tomoko Sauvage (hydrophone and water bowl musician)
• Aviva Rahmani (ecological artist in charge of the Gulf to Gulf project)
• and many many more…

As the rain falls in Seattle, I think of listening to New York wanting to hear the water of the East River and hearing only the sounds of the city. If you attend Water and the World in New York this week, let me know what you hear.

Water Stethoscope

To listen to water around the world, visit aqua-scape. It is a website from Japan that records water and streams it online. Presently, there are four locations to hear:

• Sanshiro Pond at the University of Tokyo
• Shokoku-ji Zuisyun-in Suikinkutsu in Kyoto
• Pier 28 in San Francisco
• a location in Mumbai

The interactive graphic of the earth is worth the visit.

Kidnapping Water Trailer

Back from Los Angeles, where filmmaker Vivian Umino cobbled together a trailer from footage of a Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas performance at Kubota Garden.

Thanks Viv. The source material was sketchy, but the trailer looks great.