in Discord

in Discord explores the impact of human activities and climate change on the natural world, including specifically oil and gas exploration/extraction and urban development. The work is focused on avian populations and the resulting adaptations on song characteristics, habitat choices, and migratory patterns of species that include the White-Crowned Sparrow, Mourning Dove, and Black-Chinned Hummingbird. Noise pollution has forced these species to adapt by altering migration patterns, changing the frequency ranges at which they sing, and affecting feeding opportunities and survival rates. Awareness and advocacy for this issue can lead to the adoption of newer technologies that help mitigate the worst of these effects. Recordings used in this project were generously provided by the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, as well as collected by the composer during a residency at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences.