Photo of the Pando aspen forest by Jeff Rice. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.
Please join me for the opening reception of my audio installation ‘Pando Suite’ at the Jack Straw New Media Gallery in Seattle on January 19th at 7 PM. The exhibit runs from January 19th to March 8th. More information is available on the Jack Straw Cultural Center website.
Yes, there is still hope! About a year ago, the Natural History Museum of Utah reached out to me to contribute sounds to their newest permanent exhibit, ‘A Climate of Hope,’ which launched earlier this month. The premise is that in this age of human-caused climate change, it’s not too late. We can make a difference in the battle to curb global warming. The exhibit includes the beautiful immersive environment shown below and it features all kinds of information about how people are coping with and responding to one of our greatest ecological, and societal, problems. My job was to add sounds to several of the exhibit stations and the project was full of interesting challenges. People know what the natural world sounds like, but how does one convey the sounds of climate adaptation? Ultimately, the exhibit included interpretations of both natural and engineered environments, from a pond and an alpine forest (pictured) to cooling centers and reflective roofs. As serious as climate change is, I hope people will still enjoy this exhibit and come away feeling inspired to take action. Positive change often begins with hope. We can significantly reduce our carbon footprints and demand that our governments do the same.
Two adobe buildings are among the few structures that remain at Trinity Base Camp on the White Sands Missile Range. Photo by Jeff Rice. Approved for release.
The night before the world’s first test of the atomic bomb, scientists heard a strange sound coming from the edge of Trinity Base Camp. Hear a rebroadcast of my story “The Toads of Trinity” on NPR’s Here & Now. The story makes a great tie-in to the new Oppenheimer movie.
What is the sound of Pando?
“What does Pando sound like? For most people, the sound of an aspen grove is defined by its trembling leaves. For me, as someone who has been around aspens my whole life, this sound is instantly recognizable and almost impossible to describe.” Read more in my “Pando Journal,” a short essay now published by Friends of Pando. The page also includes some of my experimental audio work.
Presenting Hidden Soundscapes 2023, a sound installation of ambisonic recordings of the High Plains ecosystem played on nine speakers. Opening today through October 14th at Tinworks Art.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.