Dynamic duo New Morse Code was joined by composers Christopher Stark and Andy Akiho in creating a new collaborative piece last Saturday, collecting sounds of the environment with members of the community of Salem, Indiana. They held a workshop in the morning, discussing and demonstrating their work and encouraging audience members to listen to the environment in new ways. An afternoon performance featured a new piece developed from combining natural sounds from Salem’s local environment with sounds created by instruments, synthetic materials, and the audience.
The workshop and performance were part of a two-week residency at Indiana University in Bloomington, launching a project called “Music and Environmental Resilience.” Using music to explore the climate crisis, New Morse Code members Hannah Collins, cello, and Michael Compitello, percussion, explore the positive outcomes of connecting sustainability science with storytelling through the arts. This residency follows the success of The Language of Landscapes, a new work created in collaboration with composer Christopher Stark. Stark describes the piece: “The single-movement work has four scenes that each incorporate found discarded objects, field-collected environmental recordings, and live electronic processing as a way of making commentary on our wastefulness and resourcefulness.”
The New Morse Code project was hosted by the Jacobs School’s Office of Entrepreneurship & Career Development, and is part of IU’s Themester 2021: Resilience. Other partners include Arts Midwest and the IU Center for Rural Engagement.
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