In response to a natural sound world that is often treated as invisible, bird song presents us with perhaps the most ubiquitous and virtuosic soundscape to open our ears to.
2018, designated the “Year of the Bird” to celebrate 100 years of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, also coincided with my month long trip down to Tennessee as an Artist-in-Residence at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Thus began my obsession with bird song, an area of research my musically-inclined brain flocked to in order to understand the relationship between my own inner musicality and the natural sound world. The first major expression of this research came during my 2019 Artist-in-Residency at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park where I gave a public visitors presentation about the overlap between bird song and human music. Since then, I have continued this research and written several small musical compositions that incorporate bird song. You can see excerpts of this work below.
Giving a visitor’s presentation as an Artist-in-Residence at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Taking a field recording of bird song as an Artist-in-Residence at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Excerpts of my visitor’s presentation as an Artist-in-Residence in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Other artistic odds and ends
This presentation was for 2023.
Reach out if you are interested in hearing this presentation again! andyjarema@gmail.com
Original text: Come and join me for my bird song and music talk to learn about the virtuosic physicality and mind blowing brain science behind bird song. You will also sharpen your musical skills to help identify birds in your neighborhood by ear! This event is designed for all ages and is open to the public, so feel free to share with friends/family.