In November 2019, this site-specific work by composer Angélica Negrón premiered among the fall leaves of NYBG’s Thain Family Forest—and with the current situation, it felt like the perfect time to revisit this most momentous of past live musical performances at NYBG.
Weaving together choral performances, robotic and percussive electronic instruments, and live and recorded forest sounds, this immersive, specially commissioned work was performed along a half-mile of trails in our old-growth forest. Enjoy the Chorus of the Forest, created to explore humanity’s relationship with the forest and our connections—and disconnections—with nature.
I designed and built robotic percussion instruments that we installed at two entry points into the forest. The tree structures and woodblocks are made from sustainably sourced hemlock, which is one of the primary species of tree found in the forest.