UPDATE SEPT '21
LIGHT WATER IS BLACK WATER
A recording of commissioned work will be released on October 29th to co-incide with COP26 in Glasgow, and live performances with Michael Begg and the Black Glass Ensemble.
The confirmed performances are:
Exclusive Preview: InSpace, Edinburgh. November 5th 2021
Premiere: The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, January 15th, 2022
The recording will be available on digital platforms from October 29th 2021
In July 2021, subsequent to a successful residency, Michael was commissioned to produce a full work for performance and recording.
LIGHT WATER IS BLACK WATER will arrange the material developed in the Ocean ARTic residency into compositions to be performed by the Black Glass ensemble later in the year.
This activity links the commission to Michael's residency at The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, where his LIMINAL programme uncovers new musical approaches in the margins of contemporary classical and experimental music.
In June 2021, Michael began a residency as a sound artist within the Ocean ARTic partnership. He is working with a team of scientists based at AWI, Germany, aloingside scientists affiliated with MASTS, and Blue-Action EU.
Ocean ARTic is a new partnership that aims to bring creatives and marine climate scientists together to explore the impact of climate change in the Arctic and Scotland through climate data.
Michael is one of two artists currently in residency on the project. The other is environmental artist, Eve Mosher (https://www.evemosher.com/)
Throughout the residency, Michael maintains a development journal to offer an insight into how he tackled the challenges of creating musical compositions from the huge amount of data available. You can find the journal entries at the bottom of this page.
Information about the project from MASTS:
This new partnership, funded by Creative Scotland and led by MASTS, has been established in a pivotal year for climate change negotiations at CoP26, and the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
The Ocean ARTic project will run until March 2022, with the following key components:
1st April 2021: An online workshop to provide a platform for creatives and marine climate scientists to discuss their work.
May and June 2021: Residencies for two creatives, to be paired with scientists to explore data and science, co-creating an approach to a response or expression of stories of climate change in the marine environment. Ideally, we are seeking a mix of visual and sound art.
July and August 2021: Commissioning of works, ideally flowing from the residencies.
September 2021 to March 2022: Exhibiting and public sharing of the works and the creative process, at venues and online before and during CoP26.
March 2022: A legacy workshop to consider the formation of a long-term network of collaborators across the marine science and creative communities of Scotland.
OceanARTic will bring artists and marine scientists together to look in depth at how climate change is affecting the Arctic and, in turn, Scotland.