Many instruments have within their design a method of capturing, redirecting, focusing, and amplifying the otherwise not-quite-so-extraordinary sounds produced by whichever simple vibrating element they employ. When those vibrations bounce off chambers, refract around curving elements, they refract, combine, and grow to a beautiful pitch, much like a wave as it approaches shallow waters. Canyons, reefs, points and sandbars- these determine the acoustics of moving water. The geometries of curved wood, arcing metals, stretched skins- these form the underwater topographies of sound. It’s all in how you hear it.

Every song has its roots in water.

This series was created live during the Redwood Coast Music Festival inside the Morris Graves Museum of Art. The overall concept of the series was to explore the connections between music and water, through a set of shared geometric structures.