If you believe, like Vancouver composer Jean Routhier, that life is a concert that never stops, if you hear music in the trees or enjoy the act of listening, truly listening, to nature, you should try the latest in interactive concert attendance, a soundwalk. On Sept. 25 at Willow Farm on the edge of Sechelt, three musicians will help an audience of active listeners to enjoy the soundscape of the environment during a short walk through the forest. Routhier will be the guide; his own compositions, radiophonic pieces, will be heard emanating from somewhere in the trees. At one location on the walk, soprano Wendy Humphreys will sing - a performer who is experienced at singing in the wilderness after appearing in R. Murray Schaefer's work The Wolf Project among the forests and lakes of Ontario. At another site, shakuhachi flute player Alcvin Ramos will lend the haunting sounds of his bamboo flute to the mix. The audience, or participants, as the Soundwalk cast prefer to call them, will step outside their safe listening zones with a guide to show the way. In this case, Routhier is not so much a composer as a sound architect; they don't have a program, he explains, as much as they have visualized a plan for the afternoon. Anything could happen. Local frogs could add their input, or cackling crows could act as counterpoint. Giorgio Magnanensi, artistic director of Vancouver New Music, is helping to sponsor the soundwalk. He explains the concept is not new. Vancouver has been at the centre of a soundscape project that started in the 1960s. Such innovators as Hildegard Westerkamp still lead soundwalks in Vancouver on a regular basis. In an urban soundwalk, you'll hear lots of noises, traffic, shouting and so on.
"We usually filter those sounds out," says Magnanensi. "But in a soundwalk everything can be involved, even city sounds." Magnanensi sees this event as valuable for people who usually think of listening to music as a privilege, with no sense that they could be a part of a musical event. No previous musical experience is necessary, says Magnanensi, just a desire "to be available, to listen actively." In fact, the entire event is a leap of faith for Willow Farm's Janice Pentland-Smith and Stephanie Crane. Previous concerts have also been a bit unusual, it's true, with most of the action taking place on an area of moss-stripped land known as The Rock, around a natural pool overlooking Jim Krieger's metal sculptures. They have hosted numerous performances, from the Madrona Ensemble to the Coast String Fiddlers. Most recently, shakuchacki flute musicians held a workshop and outdoor concert at the site on a hot day in August. At one event, deer rested by the stage, and at another, guitarist Celso Machado interacted with a dragonfly. But the soundwalk in the woods is still a far cry from the usual format of a conventional stage and surrounding audience.
Magnanensi has recently moved to the Coast and he's excited to move the soundwalk concept out of the city. The noise levels are lower here, he explains. But there are still the wind and the birds. And as Pentland-Smith points out, the local elk make interesting noises.
The Soundwalk at Willow Farm will take place rain or shine, say the organizers, at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25. Don't wear your usual concert fancy apparel; walking shoes will be more helpful on the short trail. Some umbrellas and walking sticks will be available.
Tickets are $15 and can be booked by phoning 604-885-3989. Willow Farm is at 6739 Norwest Bay Road. Follow the signs or phone for directions.
