I recently got a commission from Cristin Colvin, a soprano in Denver, to write a piece for soprano, oboe, and keys. The event that my new piece will be on, (de)Composition, is a new music event that involves creative intermingling with the audience in an intimate concert venue. The event will involve audience participation and Cristin also asked me if I could talk about my piece beforehand.
I decided that this is the perfect opportunity to write a piece that ties back to the work that I’ve been doing in the lab. Even though I had not completed a collaborative project, I still had learned plenty about bumblebees from Kennan and the other scientists in Michael’s lab. I planned to use my recordings in a piece of music to tell a story about bumblebees, and use the (de)Composition event as an opportunity to not only teach people about bees, but also to open their minds to the possibility of science/art collaboration.
At this point, the piece is finished, and we are ready to bring our music to the public. I decided not to include electronics in my piece, but Cristin came up with a great idea to still include them; we will play a buzzing track that I will create out of my recordings as ambient noise. I will also have a handout ready for people who are interested in learning how they can help bumblebees that will include some science/art collaboration ideas. Finally, I want to give out little bees to audience members who participate in the event. They look like this!
I’m excited to participate in this event! It’s at Redline in Denver, next Monday (May 1st) at 6:00.
Play With Bees 