Bristol Ensemble’s TreeSong awarded funding

treesong

We are thrilled to announce that we have received official notification from Bristol City Council today of funding for our exciting and innovative ‘TreeSong’ project, one of an exciting array of projects marking Bristol’s year as European Green Capital in 2015.

Taking place this Autumn, the project will celebrate urban nature in a unique and wonderful way. TreeSong will translate the fruitfall of a tree in Bristol into a piece of music using and interpreting the tree’s soundtrack. With the wonders of technology and the ingenuity of some skilled craftsmen we will capture the fruitfall underneath the branches of the chosen tree using a specially constructed canopy fitted with sensors, audio and recording equipment. As each fruit falls, a musical note will sound, or several if the fruit bounces on the canopy.

People can visit the tree during the installation period in October to watch and hear the Tree singing. All notes will be recorded and afterwards the raw soundtrack will be given to a local composer who will compose a very special piece of music – the TreeSong which will be performed by the Ensemble at St George’s Bristol on 29th November.

We will be liaising with schools in Bristol to encourage group visits where the children can learn about trees in the city, their life cycle and their important role in the environment.

Nothing like this has ever been done in the UK and the project is already attracting a lot of attention.

We are currently planning the installation – and looking for the lucky tree which will become the focus. It could be a chestnut, or an oak, or a Scots pine, but we are also exploring other suitable tree candidates which are easy to visit. Watch this space for more details.