A world-premiere work by James Parker (in collaboration with Austin Soundwaves)

For tens of thousands of years there has been a constant ebb and flow between nature controlling humanity, and humanity controlling nature. Natural phenomena like the climate, severe weather, and natural disasters have shaped how we live our lives for the entirety of the human experience. In return we have affected the environment, both wittingly and unwittingly, through industrial agriculture, hunting, and more recently, through our carbon and methane emissions. In Bloom is an immersive sound installation that allows audiences to examine our relationship with the natural world and question traditionally conceived ideas of control. The audience is invited to experience the blooming of several flowers as a spatial experience instead of a temporal one. Improvising musicians are spread out along a circular path in small groups, each group representing a progressive stage in the blooming of the flower. The audience is given the choice as to how fast they move through the installation, what direction they move through it, and at what points they choose to start and stop, allowing each individual to control how they view each event.

In Bloom is a collaboration between the students of Austin Soundwaves, Panoramic Voices, composer James W. Parker and author Paola Caballero Daza. Support the next generation of musicians as we showcase the power of local talent and share in their inspiration. The event is part of Umlauf’s Family Day and is free and open to the public.