A partnership between Sound and Music and the Forestry Commission has won support from the Arts Council’s Strategic Touring Fund to create a new way for audiences to explore forests.

Composers Daniel Jones and James Bulley’s Living Symphonies uses digital technologies and sensors to generate music in real time.

If a flock of birds moves across the canopy, for intance, the visitor may hear a cluster of clarinets move with them. When rain causes some animals to emerge while others hide away, it will also trigger moisture sensors causing their musical counterparts to do the same.

Having secured a £106,000 investment from the Arts Council, Living Symphonies is in a position to tour areas of the country where people have limited opportunities to experience the arts, calling in at Bedgebury National Pinetum & Forest, Fineshade Woods, Channock Chase and Thetford Forest.

“The project will reach thousands who might never otherwise be involved, as well as offering a unique experience of new music within the natural environment,” Susanna Eastburn, chief executive of Sound and Music, said. 

“We’ll work with the Forestry Commission to sustain the possibilities opened up by the project, including how we continue to build audiences for innovative [ideas], and sharing the legacy of resources and learning with promoters and artists looking to work outside traditional venues across the country.” 

A partnership between Sound and Music and the Forestry Commission has won support from the Arts Council’s Strategic Touring Fund to create a new way for audiences to explore forests.

Composers Daniel Jones and James Bulley’s Living Symphonies uses digital technologies and sensors to generate music in real time.

If a flock of birds moves across the canopy, for intance, the visitor may hear a cluster of clarinets move with them. When rain causes some animals to emerge while others hide away, it will also trigger moisture sensors causing their musical counterparts to do the same.

Having secured a £106,000 investment from the Arts Council, Living Symphonies is in a position to tour areas of the country where people have limited opportunities to experience the arts, calling in at Bedgebury National Pinetum & Forest, Fineshade Woods, Channock Chase and Thetford Forest.

“The project will reach thousands who might never otherwise be involved, as well as offering a unique experience of new music within the natural environment,” Susanna Eastburn, chief executive of Sound and Music, said. 

“We’ll work with the Forestry Commission to sustain the possibilities opened up by the project, including how we continue to build audiences for innovative [ideas], and sharing the legacy of resources and learning with promoters and artists looking to work outside traditional venues across the country.”