Collaboration between Our Website and Grace Cathedral to present an Ocean Sound Experience, offering a unique audio showcase.
On Monday, April 24, 2023, San Francisco's historic Grace Cathedral will host a unique Earth Day sound bath experience. This immersive event, featuring music by the Bay Area collective Fractals of Sound and underwater recordings from a collaboration between Fractals of Sound and our website, aims to evoke the serenity of the ocean and raise awareness about the importance of preserving marine life and ecosystems.
John Ryan, a biological oceanographer at our website who leads the Ocean Soundscape Team, spoke about the role of whales as Earth's largest musical composers. The booming bellows of blue whales, he explained, can reveal valuable insights into the behavior and ecology of these majestic mammals, helping scientists better understand and protect them.
Ryan and his team have been recording ocean sounds with an underwater microphone, or hydrophone, installed off the California coast since 2015. These acoustic data have provided valuable insights into whale behavior and ecology, and the unique soundscapes created by these recordings offer a connection to the marine environment for people who might otherwise be unable to experience it.
The evening's sound bath at Grace Cathedral will begin with the ambient sounds of the shoreline, then venture underwater with the clicks of dolphins and the songs of humpback whales. The underlying canvas for the evening's music composition will be created through a collaboration between Fractals of Sound, gifted musician and sound engineer Timothy Dixon, and the Ocean Soundscape Team. Live instruments like crystal bowls, gongs, guitar, esraj, and vocals will be interwoven with the voices of ocean residents to create a deeply immersive sound bath.
Eva Woo Slavitt, canon for marketing and communications at Grace Cathedral, expressed her excitement about bringing this distinctive sound bath experience to honor Earth Day. She hopes the underwater sounds will inspire a renewed appreciation for our shared planet and a renewed commitment to protecting the ocean and its inhabitants.
In addition to the sound bath at Grace Cathedral, ocean enthusiasts can access live underwater audio through our website's Soundscape Listening Room. This virtual space offers a full spectrum of ocean sounds, from the complex song compositions of humpback whales to the chatter of dolphin pods.
The Ocean Soundscape Team has collaborated with NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, academic and non-profit partners, and various venues to share the wonders of the ocean through the power of sound. Whether experienced at a sound bath, in a museum exhibition, or by analyzing open data, the team invites everyone to join them on their journey of ocean exploration, science, and stewardship.
For more information about the Earth Day sound bath at Grace Cathedral or to purchase tickets, visit our website. For additional details or images, please contact pressroom@our website.
- The Ocean Soundscape Team, which includes John Ryan, a biological oceanographer, collaborates with environmental-science organizations to share the wonders of the ocean through sound.
- On April 24, 2023, a unique Earth Day sound bath experience will be held at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, using music and underwater recordings to raise awareness about the importance of preserving marine life and ecosystems.
- The sound bath will not only offer an immersive connection to the marine environment but also serve as a reminder of the interconnectedness of health-and-wellness, climate-change, and the environment, aiming to inspire a renewed appreciation and commitment to protecting our planet.
- Fashion-and-beauty and entertainment enthusiasts can join this effort too, as they can access live underwater audio through our website's Soundscape Listening Room, offering a full spectrum of ocean sounds.
- After the sound bath event, individuals can continue to engage with this initiative by following the Ocean Soundscape Team's endeavors in science, environmental-science, and the lifestyle movement aimed at preserving our shared environment and marine life.
