About Dynamic Equilibrium

Dynamic Equilibrium is a commissioned musical work for voices and processed sound by Assistant Professor of Composition Chi Wang, which will be performed and recorded by NOTUS, an award-winning Indiana University vocal ensemble led by Associate Professor of Music Dominick DiOrio. Dynamic Equilibrium will be premiered in the town of Salem, Indiana in front of a large school and community audience with a second live-streamed performance in Auer Hall on the IU Bloomington campus. 

The project focuses on the physical environment of Salem and its history. By sonically capturing sounds of people, water, air, earth, and even limestone layers in Salem’s parks, forests, and nature preserves, composer Chi Wang is creating a composition that artfully integrates manipulated sound with those of live voices. By combining advanced sound-capture recording equipment and distance sensors, this project develops new custom audio controllers that advance research in new interfaces for musical expression. Dynamic Equilibrium uses these newly invented instruments to preserve the unique story of Salem’s history and how it relates to the greater story of how humans interact with the world around us. Dynamic Equilibrium intentionally weaves the practice of deep listening, environmental awareness and preservation, advanced sound engineering, and musical performance, the result of which leads to a unique experience for IU students, faculty and community members. 

Public performances of the work, planned for the Fall of 2021, will be accompanied by workshops and interactive demonstrations in the Salem school district that connect science, math, and artistic expression. Further collaborations with local museums and historical societies will establish this composition as an important cultural statement within the city of Salem.  

 About the Dynamic Equilibrium Composition

The limestone bedrock of Indiana formed millions of years ago. Limestone is a sedimentary rock that is formed by layers deposited, one on top of the other over an extended time. Sedimentary rock can form from layers of dirt, sand, shells, plants or other natural materials. Fossils form when an animal’s shell or other hard structure is buried without being broken into smaller pieces. Over time, the shell is replaced with limestone, forming a fossil replica or print of the shell. Each layer of the limestone captures a nature-selected moment in time and quietly tells us the story of this piece of land over its enormous time span. When looking at the limestone, one can imagine these geological layers as being like a reel of film that plays back the images created through the ages and that, through this cinematic articulation of history written in the land of Indiana, we discover and recreate ourselves anew. The biological diversity in Indiana is astonishing, and this geologic history forms the metaphoric structure that will guide the influences for the Dynamic Equilibrium composition. 

Until the late 19th century another dimension of the world, sound, could not be captured, documented, or historically preserved. However, because of recent technological development, sound can now be captured at one moment in time and brought into the present by imprinting sonic impulses onto various media such as vinyl, magnetic tape, or hard drive platters. Sound and the meanings derived from sonic imprints align deeply with the geologic records of sedimentary layers and fossils contained in the lands of Indiana. In this way, sound is a representation of the physical phenomenon that stores information about nature, about animals, and about any or all human activities.