This July 8 - October 14, I am presenting a series of “Hidden Soundscapes” as part of the Invisible Prairie exhibition at Tinworks gallery in Bozeman, Montana. Sounds will be presented in a 5.1 surround format with the help of Tinworks staff, engineer KC Luchsinger, and Jason Bolte of the Montana State University School of Music. Recording locations include Montana’s American Prairie Reserve and sites in Texas, Indiana, Nebraska, and Washington.
Presenting at ASA in Chicago
The Pando aspen grove with storm clouds. Photo by Jeff Rice.
Get your name tag and head over to the Chicago Marriott on May 10th to hear my presentation at the Acoustical Society of America conference. My talk “Beneath the tree: The sounds of a trembling giant” will feature recordings of the Pando aspen grove, from its leaves to its roots. The presentation is a collaboration with Lance Oditt of Friends of Pando.
Music for rockfish
It was fun to hear some of my music in a new episode of Salish Sea Wild. The guys at the SeaDoc Society produce the absolute, hands down best nature show about the Salish Sea. This one is about long-lived (but endangered) rockfish.
Artist residency with Friends of Pando
Whenever I am near an aspen grove I know I am in a good place, usually somewhere high in the mountains or far enough away from the city to hear the earth again. Watch this space for new recordings from the Pando aspen clone in Utah. I will be an artist in residence with the group Friends of Pando this month. I will be capturing more sounds from the world’s largest tree.
Karine Laval: Trembling Giant
Karine Laval, Pando #1, 2018, 48 x 72 inches, archival pigment print. Image courtesy of the artist and the SOCO Gallery website.
My recordings from the Pando aspen clone can be heard from April 27th through June 8th as part of a beautiful and inspiring gallery exhibit presented by the artist Karine Laval. “In Trembling Giant, Laval invites us to dive into a magical forest through an immersive installation of wallcoverings, stills and moving images with a soundscape by artist Jeff Rice.” — SOCO Gallery, North Carolina.
So many cranes...
Sandhill cranes return to the Platte River. Photo by Jeff Rice. All rights reserved.
More than a million sandhill cranes fly through Nebraska every year, many of them stopping at the National Audubon Society’s Rowe Sanctuary in March and April. They settle on the Platte River at sunset making even the most casual observers scramble for their cameras. They also make a lot of noise and I‘ll be sharing some of my recordings from a trip I took to the sanctuary last week.
Saving the scoters
Researchers are trying to understand why surf scoters are disappearing in the Salish Sea. The latest episode of Salish Sea Wild from the SeaDoc Society follows an expedition to tag and track the birds and I was happy to contribute some of my scoter recordings to the show. The SeaDoc Society’s mini-documentaries are always exceptionally interesting and informative and you don’t have to live near the Salish Sea to appreciate them.
Now playing: Sounds of the prairie
A new video playing at the American Prairie Reserve’s National Discovery Center features many of my recordings from Montana’s grassland habitat.
"Phaneron" by Chris Lortie; performed by Marco Fusi
This incredible piece by Stanford University composer Chris Lortie shows exactly why I like to share my work with artists. You can hear excerpts of my recordings of the Pando forest at the beginning and end of the composition, which explores “the aggregate sensory input on consciousness.”
DXARTS Fall Concert: Real & Imagined Soundworlds
This is a rare chance to hear Ambisonic compositions in a multi-speaker surround format. I feel very honored to be able to contribute some of my recordings to the DXARTS Fall Concert at the University of Washington.
Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - 7:30pm
Meany Hall—Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater
FREE
ArtsUW Covid-19 Safety Protocols
The Department of Digital Art and Experimental Media (DXARTS) is pleased to present a program of the very latest holographic sound works from DXARTS composers and associated researchers. Nature recordist and sound designer Jeff Rice’s sound portraits frame an evening of Ambisonic sound, drawing the listener through ecosystems and soundspaces known and unknown.
PROGRAM
Prairie (2021)* - Jeff Rice
Doomsday Machine (2021)* - Juan Pampin
Sheep drive (2021)* - Jeff Rice
Living Water (2020)* - Theresa Ambat
***
Frog pond (2021)* - Jeff Rice
a_voi(ce)_d (2021)* - Wei Yang
Return to the cave (2021)* - Jeff Rice
Vanishing Portals (2019/21) - Daniel Peterson
*World premiere