Claire Chase (flutes), Susie Ibarra (percussion), Alex Peh (percussion) and Senem Pirler (live electronics) explore Oliveros' score “The Witness” at Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale, New York.
This exploration foregrounds the more-than-human sounds of the mine - rhythmic water droplets, footsteps, birds - and welcomes these contributions as directive and collaborative forces in the performance.
The Deep Listening Witness collective includes experimental trio Talking Gong (Claire Chase, flutes; Susie Ibarra, percussion; Alex Peh, keyboards), electronic musician Senem Pirler, & IONE, playwright, director, teacher, spouse of Pauline Oliveros. The group often includes elders, students and members of the Deep Listening community in the Hudson Valley. In Spring 2021, the group played in bird sanctuaries, beaver ponds, woods, nature reserves & mines in upstate New York, and in Brooklyn, NY. The group has joined sessions hosted by Eduardo Kohn & Manari Ushigua, of the Ecuador Witness project, and soon will involve university students as well (Harvard University, The Juilliard School, SUNY New Paltz and Bennington College), to continue exploring how we can improve the world by listening to its sounds, apparent and hidden.