Environmental Engagement in the Concert Hall

The purpose of this treatise is to create opportunities for environmental engagement: in the performance space, through programming environmentally-conscious repertoire including environmental sound art; and in the classroom, through the use of creative projects designed to combine musical composition with sound-specific technology, all in an effort to increase environmental awareness. The term environmental sound art is a relatively new one and can be understood in numerous ways. The definition suggested by Jonathan Gilmurray as “encompassing a collection of artistic practices in which environmental sound constitutes the medium, material, and/or subject matter for the work” will be adopted. In addition to environmental sound art, environmentally-conscious repertoire includes any programmatic work in which the composer translates environmental elements into the work through the evocation, imitation or inclusion of the environmental element. Two methods for realizing this engagement are detailed: the first Apollonian, or objective (realizing that objectivity is always questionable), and the second Dionysian, or subjective. The demonstration and creation of procedures which make environmentally-conscious repertoire more accessible will contribute to the world view of performers and audience members by encouraging them, through musical interactions, to experience environments, both those familiar and new to them, in meaningful ways. This project provides exposure to and dissemination of these works, specifically environmental sound art, to a more diverse and inclusive population of performers and audience members. As a result, this project has both aesthetic and activist goals and aspects.