Resounding Earth: A Sonic Landscape

Augusta Read Thomas (University of Chicago)

Organized by the Society for New Music and the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Resounding Earth inspires a participatory sonic landscape in the park amphitheater, featuring a performance of Pulitzer finalist Augusta Read Thomas’s music for percussion quartet and ambient sounds celebrating community across cultures.

Ambient sounds, in this case, refers not only to sounds within the natural, outdoor setting but the fact that the musical score calls for 500 bells or sculpted metals of different sizes and shapes, from different cultures and historical periods.

To make this distinctive to CNY and the park, four regional composers will create mini-soundscapes in mapped locations nearby for visitors to explore before, during, or after “Resounding Earth.” Attendees are encouraged to bring a bell to ‘ring in’ the performance, helping to change the sonic landscape for themselves and others.

The 4 movements of Resounding Earth:

1. INVOCATION – Pulse Radiance
2. PRAYER – Star Dust Orbits
3. CEREMONIAL TIME SHAPES
4. CRYSTAL LATTICE

“Everything that we are made of, everything that we know and love, is made from the stars.” – Composer Augusta Read Thomas

This event is part of the Syracuse University Humanities Center’s 20th annual Syracuse Symposium, focused on a “Landscapes” theme for 2023-2024.

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